An insurance write-off is a vehicle that has been involved in an accident and is declared no longer safe to drive on the road or is cost-prohibitive to repair. If the insurance company determines that the vehicle is beyond repair, they will offer cash compensation. If the legal owner of the car is dissatisfied with the offer, they can reject it. A vehicle that is judged uneconomical to repair is determined by the repair-to-value ratio, and the insurance company determines that it is preferable to provide a cash payment rather than have the vehicle fixed. If a vehicle is considered uneconomical to repair, the owner may choose to keep the vehicle and fix it themselves, resulting in the vehicle becoming a ‘Category N’ or ‘Category S’ write-off.

You could be wondering why this is such a crucial car write off check, or whether you should get an insurance write-off. If a vehicle has been repaired properly, you should have no trouble obtaining a Cat S, Cat N, Cat D, or Cat C vehicle. These cars are often less expensive than vehicles that have not been in an accident. If you buy from a merchant, this information will be explicitly provided to you with a written off check as required by UK legislation. Private owners are not required to do so and rarely divulge information that might influence the sale price.