MiWay fails to offer retail value

Claim C932307 refers.

I had an accident on 29 January 2018 when I was hit from behind. My car was speedily towed in and assessed within 48 hours. Up until this point the service from MiWay was excellent and responses to my queries were quick. The decision was made by MiWay to write off the car and pay out R47 000. The car (a 2007 Ford Bantam 1.6 XLT with 170 000 km on the clock) was insured for Retail Value.

Before accepting the payout offer, I did some research to find out what the cost would be to replace my car with a similar model. I found that Bantams of roughly the same model/year and mileage go for between R60 000 and R70 000 and given the condition of my bakkie and the canopy and towbar, a price of closer to R75 000 would be payable. There are many Bantams for sale on AutoTrader/Gumtree/OLX and none of them with the same specs/mileage/year model go for anything close to R47 000 rand. I could not find a single car for sale going for that price.

MiWay themselves define retail value as follows: The retail value of a car is the amount that you purchase it for, including the mark up – in other words, the purchase price of the vehicle from the dealership floor. (https://www.miway.co.za/blog/your-car/insuring-your-vehicle-for-the-best-value).

Clearly then the value they are offering me is considerably lower than the true retail value. I tried to query how this value is calculated and what the process is for appealing against the payout value. The speedy responses to my queries I had received up to that point suddenly stopped.

MiWay themselves state that one can dispute the payout value of you wish (https://www.miway.co.za/claims/total-loss-written-off-vehicles). However, when querying about this process, my emails went largely unanswered, or the questions were ignored.

I finally got hold of MiWay telephonically where a lady told me that MiWay uses the TransUnion Car Value guide to assign a value to a car. She also stated that I'll waste my time trying to get more money. Consequently, I have to turn to HelloPeter.

I understand that there is a need for a standardized car value platform, such as TransUnion. And I understand that an insurance company would be inclined to use such a platform. But in this case the TransUnion value and the true and realistic retail value of the car in question does not correspond. Surely MiWay has a responsibility towards me, a loyal customer, to honor their agreement to pay out the true retail value of the car - "the amount that you purchase it for, including the mark up – in other words, the purchase price of the vehicle from the dealership floor."

Furthermore, if there is a process to dispute a claim, as is claimed on their website, why not allow their clients to walk that route if they so choose. I have sent numerous examples of Bantams that are retailing for much more than MiWays so-called "retail value". And I've offered to send invoices of money recently spent on the car to prove its good condition. But no response form MiWay.

This is one unhappy customer.