My Own Little Budget-Buster (Final Update - 02/16)

[dumbodame]

I was "t-boned" 2 years ago and my insurance company totaled my car. They offered my well-below what I felt the vehicle was worth. I refused to sign off on the claim.

I have a friend who in an insurance adjuster (for a different company) and he told me what to do.

I got Kelly Blue Book valuations, along with ads for similar vehicles for sale in my market area and presented it to my insurance carrier.

They couldn't argue with black and white proof of the value of my car, and they wrote me a check for the amount I had originally requested.

 

[MomToOne]

Get an appraisal by an independant appraiser and give that to your insurance company - it will show you mean business and know what you are doing. If they don't up their offer, look into taking them to small claims court - some states now allow you to sue for up to $15K in small claims court. You can see what your state allows here:
http://law.freeadvice.com/resources/smallclaimscourts.htm

If your state doesn't allow enough to cover your claim in small claims court, I'd hire a lawyer for an hour or two to write a few nasty letters. And throw in a complaint to the state insurance commissioner (cc:ing your agent, of course) for good measure!

 

[Jeff_G]

Can’t you just go back to the other guys insurance and see what they will pay out? If you haven’t gone too far down the road just tell the other insurance company you are exploring option and they can either settle with you or settle with your insurance company.

When I was rear ended a few years back I called my agent and he said that I certainly could file a claim with them however I would have to pay my deductible and then I would have a claim against my own policy on record. Even if they recover that claim from the other person’s insurance my record will still show a claim. This could affect future insurance prices. So I decided to file the claim with the other drivers insurance, when I went down to speak to them about the claim I had an estimate from a body shop in my hand showing what it would cost to fix it. Without looking at my estimate they went into the back room and produced an almost exact copy (different sources and body shop) of the parts and prices my body shop would have charged. The adjuster said everyone is basically using the same adjustment tables and sources…

 

[1bandaid]

I was the victim in a felony hit and run. Fortunately, the girlfriend that owned the vehicle the felon was driving said it was their fault. I had her insurance and my insurance company appraise the vehicle. Her company was low but agreed to the generous settlement amount from mine to avoid the hassle.

As previous poster said get your own appraiser to get a favorable amount.

I was driving a van and i always have one of he captains chairs out of the second row and sitting in my garage. No one ever asked for the fourth chair and my van wasn't clean. So if it is salvage they won't care what it looks like, they are selling it for parts. It seems like a lame excuse to low ball you.

We had our check in a week. I didn't want anything for my doctors visit. I was annoyed with the time I had to take off to go to court. I just wanted to put it behind me.

Good Luck!

 

[disneymarie]

I am confused why you have your own insurance involved at all. The other company, should offer you the KBB< add the receipt for the tires. It may be a consideration that the structure damage is not that bad, you could do an offer, of $200 less and keep the original title, find the used parts and repair to keep running.

The reason people take this option, like you they maintained and know the vehicle. To use the $$ and buy something else, is a chance to do okay or a nightmare money pit. Unless it is a down payment on something late model.

I would go the Erie route. hands down. Shove the tire receipt in the pot too!!!!
Good luck.

Side note as retired law enforcement with no accidents, at any time it could happen. That is why they are accidents. We are not perfect, can certainly be cautious, but an accident can happen. No one in their right mind wants an on purpose......

 

[cm8]

And it still hasn't gained any credence, according to yesterday's news.

Go over the claims adjusters head. I have USAA and had to do so when the CA was trying to get out of paying for new parts on my vehicle. I also received a refund for my deductible. It is ridiculous what one has to endure sometimes with USAA when dealing with their insurance division. I hope that you get what you need to settle this issue quick and painless

 

[Swimalie]

I am confused why you have your own insurance involved at all. The other company, should offer you the KBB< add the receipt for the tires. It may be a consideration that the structure damage is not that bad, you could do an offer, of $200 less and keep the original title, find the used parts and repair to keep running.

I agree. USAA should know about the accident but they should not be involved unless the other driver didn't have insurance. Let Erie take care of it.

As the wife of a former law enforcement officer with 10+ years experience, I can tell you he had 0 accidents in those 10 years. Just because the person who caused this accident is a law enforcement member doesn't mean he should be held to a higher standard. Accidents happen to everyone at any time.

 

[jcgonczi]

We have had USAA for almost 20 years for auto and home. They have always been wonderful when it comes to claims.

 

[tlbwriter]

Like the others, I don't understand why you're dealing with USAA instead of Erie. But since you are, here's my advice.

I dealt with USAA before, when someone who had their insurance hit me. They told me not to bother with getting my own estimates, because they would send their own adjustor. I laughed and got estimates anyway, which turned out to be a good thing, because that's how I realized how badly their adjustor was lowballing me. In my case, the car was a POS but was cosmetically perfect before being hit. The wreck was minor, but it tore off a chunk of the black rubber part of the bumper (this was in the 80s - I don't know if anyone even has those type of bumpers any more). Their adjustor, rather than specifying that this needed to be fixed, had simply allocated $50 for me to "put up with it." I politely told him that was not going to happen, that the car was cosmetically perfect and that I expected it to be put back in that condition (truth was that I had no intention of fixing it, but that doesn't mean they didn't owe me what it would have cost had I chosen to do so). The adjustor was an hour away, and he said that rather than drive to my town *again*, he'd give me what I wanted. Score one for me.

Many years later, I dealt with my own insurer twice over totaled cars (I wasn't at fault for either). Both times they offered about 25% less than what the car was worth according to locally obtained comps. Both times we refused their first offer and insisted on the actual value (plus tag), and both times we got it. The first time, it took a lot more arguing, and a threat to take it to court. The second time they looked at our comps and quickly agreed to a reasonable amount. But we never accepted a check from them for the first offers - we didn't sign anything until we had what we wanted.

In your case, I would present your comps, and tell them "Look, this isn't coming out of your pocket anyway, since Erie is going to have to pony it up, so just pay me what it would cost to replace my car and be done with it."

 

[tonilea]

I agree. USAA should know about the accident but they should not be involved unless the other driver didn't have insurance. Let Erie take care of it.

As the wife of a former law enforcement officer with 10+ years experience, I can tell you he had 0 accidents in those 10 years. Just because the person who caused this accident is a law enforcement member doesn't mean he should be held to a higher standard. Accidents happen to everyone at any time.

Wow! My DH has been involved in multiple accidents - all but two involved suicidal deer. One was a low speed rollover on ice and the other one - I'm not quite sure what happened, but it was a minor fender bender and he was at fault.

 

[princessmom29]

I just received a call from USAA -- they are willing to offer me a little less than 60% of the vehicle's current retail value (the vehicle concerned has a NADA retail value of roughly $8K with options and mileage taken into account).

I was also told the 60% was not inclusive of Illinois sales tax - which would be reimbursed to me if I bought a replacement vehicle within 30 days (nothing like being strong-armed into a decision - I had not planned on purchasing a replacement vehicle until later).

I am being told this "settlement" is based on the "vehicle's condition" with an unclean interior/exterior -- that does not sit very well with me, as I have kept the vehicle in near-perfect condition (and we've had snow/ice on the ground for over 2 1/2 weeks - of course, there is going to be something of a dirty carpet/mats, this time of year).

I told the USAA Rep that I am not signing anything until I receive paperwork from them stating what enabled them to come to this decision.

I called the other party's claims representative @ Erie, and he told me when he interviewed my wife, yesterday she told him "we were dealing with USAA". I somehow doubt she said that, because even though she is on the policy, she is not on the title (I purchased the vehicle before I got married) and cannot legally make decisions on the disposal of my vehicle.

Here's my question to those of you who have "been there/done that" - if I were to sign anything, would I be signing all future rights away, or could I collect and perhaps file a civil suit for the remaining $3K?

Should I be looking to "lawyer-up" at this point in time?

I am unclear as to why you expect them to give you full retail value of the vehicle? The was I understand it, you are entitled to the value of the vehicle if it were to be sold, which would be the NADA private party sale value. Retail value is what a dealer would charge for the vehicle, and we all know that no one sohuld pay what a dealer is asking for the vehicle, as it is inflated.

 

[tlbwriter]

I am unclear as to why you expect them to give you full retail value of the vehicle? The was I understand it, you are entitled to the value of the vehicle if it were to be sold, which would be the NADA private party sale value.

I don't think this is correct. They're not supposed to give you what you'd get if you sold the car. They're supposed to give you what it would take for you to buy the car.

Retail value is what a dealer would charge for the vehicle, and we all know that no one sohuld pay what a dealer is asking for the vehicle, as it is inflated.

I got it. Twice.

 

[ICan'tWait]

We have USAA. I know from experience you can definately argue the value of something with them. I did it years ago with stolen items from a home theft and a few years later when we had a car stolen. When arguing the value of the car I printed out ads for comparable cars that had had one owner. I did pay for carfax at the time to run VINs. I did just help my MIL buy a used car and a lot of dealerships now post the carfax report on line - especially when the vehicle has only had one owner. It's such a pain that you have to put in so much work to get a fair deal.

Good luck.

 

[ZehnJahren]

As I cannot seem to make a hyperlink at the moment, go to http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_411f2abe-ff3b-56fe-9b4e-f016d4b12e6b.html and try telling Kim Schlau and Brian Uhl "these guys make mistakes".

Do you know Kim? She is an amazing woman.

So sorry to hear about your car; I really hope you can get a fair price for it. And glad your wife is fine; in an accident like that, not many walk away without an ambulance.

 

[JB2K]

Do you know Kim? She is an amazing woman.

So sorry to hear about your car; I really hope you can get a fair price for it. And glad your wife is fine; in an accident like that, not many walk away without an ambulance.

No, I do not know Kim personally -- I, like many in the local area know of the pain she had to endure at the hands of irreponsible law enforcement "gone wild".

Whatever she ended-up getting at the end of her ordeal, IMO, it still won't be enough.

At the end of the day, I do count my blessings that I didn't end up in her situation.

 

[Leajess99]

No, I do not know Kim personally -- I, like many in the local area know of the pain she had to endure at the hands of irreponsible law enforcement "gone wild".

Whatever she ended-up getting at the end of her ordeal, IMO, it still won't be enough.

At the end of the day, I do count my blessings that I didn't end up in her situation.

Wow, I just read the story and I know that patch of road well due to many, many trips through there on our way to Kansas (we have made that area our halfway point a few times). It was disgusting reading the story and that area is too crowded for any cop to be running at 126mphs. Very sad that two innncent teens lost their lives because of that idiot.

We have police organizations here being sued for chasing someone at a high speed and NOT clearing the main road or backing off before hitting the main intersection. They had plenty of time to clear the intersection but in the end a young father was killed and another man seriously injured.

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

I didn't read the other posts after your update, but ERIE should be paying for your car. As I previously posted on our accident, our insurance came into play to start with our medical, then we have to sue the at fault guys insurance for the rest. His insurance took car of the car stuff right away, had a rental car to us in days, settled the price and check on our car within a month (so they didn't have to keep paying the rental.) The paperwork for the car is separate from everything else, or should be. We just were signing over the title of our car to them and accepting a check for the car. We will be unable to settle anything else until DH is done with surgeries and physical therapy, up to 8 months at this point. So yes, you can settle with the car and still sue. And yes, I'd contact a lawyer now. We waited, not planning on suing, and it didn't matter the wait, but we had to contact one eventually after finding out the extent of DH's injuries.
Again, talk to Erie about the car, it's their responsibility. In the meantime talk to an attorney and see where you go from there.
Best of luck to you! I know how miserable this can be going through it right now and hate hearing someone else is too!!!!

 

[daddyof2]

The sad truth is that a car's true value is never going to be enough to replace it...and even demonstrating how much money you 'put in' to the vehicle won't change that. You shouldn't expect any more than blue book value, and perhaps even a small amount less.

I will say that USAA has consistently demonstrated fairness in any claim I've had. Years ago my car was totaled with only two payments left. I got a fair amount based on the car's age and condition. Even though I had JUST put four brand new tires on the car, it didn't matter that the $600 I'd spent was now gone. Tires are a necessity and regular maintenance item and the age of the tires didn't figure in the overall value of the car.

Best of luck to you in finding another vehicle.

have your records ready my van was totaled and the tires were new the ins. gave us like 54 per tire and I showed recipts that I paid 75 per and I got an adjustment to 70 cuz they wernt new any more

also the other ins should pay for the car and I got more then book value due to good upkeep and records

 

[mickeyangel]

I haven't (thank goodness) had to file a claim for a long time, but I've had USAA as my insurance since I got my driver's license 20 years ago. I have been in a situation where I was in an accident and the other driver was at fault, but their insurance only wanted to give me a pittance of what my vehicle was worth. USAA gave me a more fair price, then went after the other carrier. I have always been happy with them. I will say that since they opened themselves up to serving more than just military & their family, the service has not been AS stellar, but I've even filed a home owners claim, and gotten good results. Hopefully things worked out for you!

 

[Suz D]

OP could you please explain to us why you aren't dealing with the other insurance company instead of your own? Thanks!