2023-05-11 04:13:49
Mélanie was very surprised by her insurance requests to reimburse her for the gas tank she had filled up just before her accident.
Victim of an accident which fortunately caused no injuries, Mélanie saw her car being downgraded. “I received compensation for my vehicle which is proportional to its age and condition“, she specifies. The whole procedure goes well and Melanie receives a certain amount. “I had filled up the day before, so I asked to be reimbursed for that as well“, she adds.
“The person at fault and I are with the same insurance company. I thought it would make things easier, but no“, is surprised the mother of the family.
At first, the insurance requests do not disturb Mélanie. “I received an email asking me to explain the number of kilometers I had done since I had filled up. I gave an estimate, but I did not know how to prove it in writing“.
Funny proof
It’s following that it thickens. “I received another email telling me that I was supposed to prove that I had tried to siphon (Empty a tank of its contents using a siphon, editor’s note) the tank of my vehicle. I was quite surprised, I had never heard that.”
“What did they expect from me as an answer? A picture with a pump? I don’t know how the person might respond favorably to their request“, she is offended once more.
Wanting to find out regarding the thing, she makes a phone call to the scrapyard where her car was left. “They told me that they had never heard of this type of approach and that it is very expensive. I was told regarding 3 or 4,000 euros.“
Balance the prices
For Test-Achats, the law requires that the victim limit his damage. “I was given the example of a water leak. If that happens, I have to cut off the water supply and make sure to ‘stop the bleeding’“, says our alerter. Mélanie therefore has the right to siphon her tank.
“Here, we might make a balance between the amount of the price of a full tank of gas and how much the mechanic costs to siphon the tank“, analyzes Lisa Mailleux, spokesperson for the consumer association. “If the refueling cost less than the garage price, then it is better to reimburse the gasoline directly. But if it is the opposite then it is better to reimburse the costs of the mechanic. But if the lowest price is that of gasoline, the insurer will surely ask to prove how many kilometers you have driven, etc. It will be very complex for the victim to defend themselves once morest all this“, she admits.
The wreck is a whole
For Assuralia, the Professional Insurance Union, the situation is different. “In case of downgrading a vehicle, it is considered as a wreck that will be resold. The wreckage is everything, including fuel, so there is no additional compensation at this level“, explains Nevert Degirmenci, the spokesperson.
The fuel cannot therefore be recovered, according to this explanation, because it is considered part of the car. Moreover, all of the original parts of the damaged vehicle cannot be recovered. Only accessories such as a bike rack or a roof box can be returned to the owner before the wreckage is redeemed.
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