Car Insurance Adjusters & Payout

[runwad]

Hi there! I learned something I never knew and wanted to see if anyone works in the Automotive Insurance business and can collabarate.

My sister was in a car accident, she's fine, other guys fault, he hit her from behind. She was offered some money for injury and they also totaled out her car. She told me that you can negotiate the amount of money the insurance co. is going to pay for your car and also for the injury clause (not really sure what to call that? Basically you take $$ so you can't go back and sue them or claim any more money if you end up being really hurt).

So she basically got more for the injury part and more than what they originally were going to offer on the car by countering. They didn't know you could negotiate all that, a friend had told them and she was telling me. She didn't get a lot more, well maybe 2k more total, but still is all that up for negotiation? I figure it would be good for people to know.

 

[Klayfish]

This is what I do for a living.

Yes, it's negotiable...to a degree.

 

[supersnoop]

They have to make you whole. You can argue over the value of the car. When there’s bodily injury involved, they want to settle quickly. Taking more money before you know the extent of your injuries is a bad idea.

 

[Jewel1310]

I was in a similar situation. Hit from behind while stopped for a school bus. Pushed me into the person in front of me. My 2 month old car was totaled. First offer was very low. They explained they use a company to come up with the price. I advised it would help me to accept the low offer if I could talk to the vendor to make sure they included all options. The person listened and conferences me in with their vendor. They added on all my options and the value came up $4,500 - almost 20% higher.

I am currently in PT and have not discussed any other settlements so am unsure about bodily injury. It was stressful, but I tried to stay calm and make sure everything was included.

 

[Darcy03231]

I've always negotiated a higher amount. Once I had to file a claim with our State's department of insurance. Once the claim was filed the adjustor amazingly found that the car was worth a lot more than what they were initially offering. Keep in mind that the adjustor's job is to keep the insurance company from paying out as little as possible on the claim. They represent the insurance company after all, not your best interests.

 

[Klayfish]

Keep in mind that the adjustor's job is to keep the insurance company from paying out as little as possible on the claim. They represent the insurance company after all, not your best interests.

Absolutely incorrect...both statements.

 

[runwad]

Absolutely incorrect...both statements.

Well then why is it negotiable? Why don't they give you as much as you're entitled to instead of playing this game? I never knew it was up for negotiation.

 

[Klayfish]

Well then why is it negotiable? Why don't they give you as much as you're entitled to instead of playing this game? I never knew it was up for negotiation.

It's not a game. It's negotiable for the same reason that purchasing a used car is negotiable. A cars' value is somewhat subjective, not 100% objective. I can find 20 Honda Accords within a 30 mile radius that are similar. Asking prices will be in the same ballpark, but still have variation. When a car is totaled, there's no way for the insurance company to know right off the bat every last option your car had. They try, but they may not always get it exactly right. It's not intentional. As a PP stated, 95% of insurance companies use a third party vendor for vehicle values (there's one giant in the industry, everyone uses them). The value is calculated using data provided to them...mileage, options (to the best of the insurance companies knowledge), condition rating. It takes that and then uses recent historical and current sales info to come up with a local market value. It's usually pretty good, but not always spot on. If it's wrong, there's nothing wrong with pointing out to the insurance company that they missed "option X" your car had, or that it's in better condition than they rated, or there are 5 cars locally selling for more. They certainly won't give you $15,000 for a $10,000 car, but if the initial valuation is wrong and you can help them understand why, they'll change it. Nor will they likely raise the value if you just say "I want more"...you need to be able to explain why the valuation they have is wrong.

I can assure you, it's not a game and it's not intentional if the value comes out low. They don't say "We see this car is worth $15,000, but let's try to just give them $12,000". The insurance industry is very heavily regulated. The state Department of Insurance will audit them at their whim. If they catch an insurance company trying to do what I just described in the example in this paragraph, the fines they would levy would make the $3000 they tried to cheat someone out of look like pocket change. I can also promise you that sometimes the value comes out higher than what the market actually supports. You never hear about those, because obviously nobody complains about that. And yes, if the value comes out higher than what the market really supports, they still pay that anyway...again, they'd get in a world of trouble if they didn't.

 

[cedricandsophie]

As the wife of a personal injury attorney, I can say from my husband cases and experience, you never want to settle with an insurance company for injury until you know your injuries will not require additional medical attention. Even a relatively minor crash with limited car damage can cause serious long term injury. My husband is not an ambulance chaser and doesn’t look for clients who want to pretend they are hurt more than they are. But every insurance adjuster wants to get you off his or her books as quickly as possible for as little money as possible. A ethical experienced attorney can tell right away if you should settle quickly or not. It’s his job to ensure you get prompt medical attention with sufficient follow up. He has clients who refuse medical attention because they think the6 are fine and then notice pain a few days later, directly caused by impact, etc. Not seeking attention immediately can seriously damage your ability to claim money for injury later.

 

[runwad]

Ok Klayfish, thanks for that explanation that makes sense. But my sister also ended up getting $800 more than originally quoted for the bodily injury payment so I guess there is wiggle room there too.

Honestly, I've never been in an accident so haven't dealt with this myself. I was surprised you get a payout if you're not actually hurt. No wonder insurance rates are so high!

edit: My sister did go to ER to make sure she didn't have any injuries. That's another thing, how long is that offer on the table if you don't need it?

 

[Klayfish]

Ok Klayfish, thanks for that explanation that makes sense. But my sister also ended up getting $800 more than originally quoted for the bodily injury payment so I guess there is wiggle room there too.

Honestly, I've never been in an accident so haven't dealt with this myself. I was surprised you get a payout if you're not actually hurt. No wonder insurance rates are so high!

edit: My sister did go to ER to make sure she didn't have any injuries. That's another thing, how long is that offer on the table if you don't need it?

That has a lot to do with plaintiff attorneys, who will tell people they are injured (even if they aren't), tell them what "doctor" to go to, tell them when they should stop treating, etc... Like it or not, they are EVERYWHERE, you see them on TV all the time. They drive up the cost of insurance more than you can even imagine. So that becomes a business decision for the insurance company. Sometimes it's better to make a settlement offer to someone before a plaintiff attorney gets a hold of them and runs up insane costs...of which the actual client sees almost none of the money...the attorney and medical provider take the vast majority of it. The amount of money insurance companies spend settling claims involving these types of attorneys and their doctors dwarfs the amount of money they spend on totaled cars.

As for how long the offer is "on the table", that's depends from carrier to carrier. Usually they won't leave it open too long, maybe a few weeks. But that DOES NOT mean that after that your claim is gone. You have a legal right to make a claim as long as your state statute allows you do to do. It can vary state to state, but it's typically between 1 and 4 years. The only reason insurance companies won't leave them open forever is simply logistics. If you only go to the ER and aren't treating, they don't want to "sit" on that file for months if you don't respond. Usually people who want a settlement respond quickly. On the odd chance they don't, and it does happen, the file can easily be reopened if the person comes back months later.

 

[supersnoop]

Well then why is it negotiable? Why don't they give you as much as you're entitled to instead of playing this game? I never knew it was up for negotiation.

Well, for one, I think “keep the insurance company from paying out as little as possible on the claim” is the exact opposite of what was intended.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I always got an atty to my negotiating. But that is me.

 

[cvjw]

My family has been on the receiving end of several crashes that were not our fault. We never take the first offer from the other person’s insurance company. It has been our experience that the longer you hold out, the more money they will offer you to settle. Also, by not settling so quickly, you can see if any injuries that you sustained in the crash have healed properly.

 

[mya1k9]

So, I am a old poster and sometimes lurker and stumbled on this thread. I was in a 4 car accident at a stop light, the first car in a chain reaction, 4th car hit 3rd ect. I honestly didnt even know we were hit. My daughter felt it, no injuries but a crack in bumper. Now my car has 140,000 miles the crack doesnt impede the car at all. Its strictly cosmetic. I want to take the money as loss on the value of the car. My husband insists we have to get it fixed. Do we? How do I phrase it without saying " just write me a check and we'll call it a day". I'll get it fixed if that is what Im supposed to do. I just think it seems kind of senseless. Thanks so much!!!

 

[kymom99]

So, I am a old poster and sometimes lurker and stumbled on this thread. I was in a 4 car accident at a stop light, the first car in a chain reaction, 4th car hit 3rd ect. I honestly didnt even know we were hit. My daughter felt it, no injuries but a crack in bumper. Now my car has 140,000 miles the crack doesnt impede the car at all. Its strictly cosmetic. I want to take the money as loss on the value of the car. My husband insists we have to get it fixed. Do we? How do I phrase it without saying " just write me a check and we'll call it a day". I'll get it fixed if that is what Im supposed to do. I just think it seems kind of senseless. Thanks so much!!!

If you don't have a lien on it you can just take the money

 

[mya1k9]

If you don't have a lien on it you can just take the money

Thats what I thought but not sure how to phrase that I would rather have the money then fix my old car.

 

[Klayfish]

You don't need to phrase it anyway at all. It's your money, you can do what you want with it. However, how long ago was the accident? If you've been driving the car around for months and never had the insurance company look at it, you're going to run into an issue.

 

[Judique]

So, I am a old poster and sometimes lurker and stumbled on this thread. I was in a 4 car accident at a stop light, the first car in a chain reaction, 4th car hit 3rd ect. I honestly didnt even know we were hit. My daughter felt it, no injuries but a crack in bumper. Now my car has 140,000 miles the crack doesnt impede the car at all. Its strictly cosmetic. I want to take the money as loss on the value of the car. My husband insists we have to get it fixed. Do we? How do I phrase it without saying " just write me a check and we'll call it a day". I'll get it fixed if that is what Im supposed to do. I just think it seems kind of senseless. Thanks so much!!!

I guess it really depends on how someone feels about the look of their vehicle.

I've taken the money more than once and it was bumper damage the last time - I was rear ended and my bumper was marked up. On my 7 year old and already scratched up suv I could have cared less.

Now for my daughters car which is also in my name she was rear ended and we had the damage fixed as she had an almost new car and it just made it look shabby too soon. It bothered me to pull into the driveway and see it. Didn't feel the same way about any of the older vehicles.

But, taking the cash upfront gave the insurance company a bit of an edge. When you put the car in to be fixed, if there is additional unseen damage, the insurance will usually pay it. So, you should always be careful about taking cash in case there is undiscovered damage.

 

[tvguy]

I guess it really depends on how someone feels about the look of their vehicle.

I've taken the money more than once and it was bumper damage the last time - I was rear ended and my bumper was marked up. On my 7 year old and already scratched up suv I could have cared less.

Now for my daughters car which is also in my name she was rear ended and we had the damage fixed as she had an almost new car and it just made it look shabby too soon. It bothered me to pull into the driveway and see it. Didn't feel the same way about any of the older vehicles.

But, taking the cash upfront gave the insurance company a bit of an edge. When you put the car in to be fixed, if there is additional unseen damage, the insurance will usually pay it. So, you should always be careful about taking cash in case there is undiscovered damage.

Only time I had to deal with this the check went directly to the body shop, so I had no option to keep the money and not repair the car.