My nine-year-old Hyundai Tucson was in an accident and my motor insurer informed me that it was beyond repair.
What does that mean and how was it determined to be so?
Whenever your insurer declares that your car is beyond repair, it does not necessarily mean that the car is completely crushed and no workshop is able to repair the damage or restore the car back to a road-worthy condition.
In your case, repairing a nine-year-old car that is near the end of its statutory life in Singapore (expiry of a 10-year COE) is not economically viable for the motor insurer and its authorised workshop.
Let’s say your nine-year-old car has a scrap value of $15,000 now and $10,000 at the end of its COE in a year’s time.
If the estimated repair bill is $5,000 or more, it would not be accepted by the insurance company. The motor insurer would declare the accident vehicle as beyond repair or as a total loss and settle the claims accordingly.
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