ATT: Auto Insurance Experts and Everyone. I need help ASAP!

[snakezilla]

Hello everyone,

My DD T-bird was rear ended while waiting at a red light when my wife and daughter where coming home. Thank god the other person had auto insurance Because it was a pretty bad accident. Im not going to talk about the injuries involved I just need help with the compensation of my car for now. Now today Finally after 20+days the other persons insurance left me a voicemail saying the car is a total loss and they where going to give me chump change for my car. Then 30 min later a tow company called me saying they had a scheduled pickup for my car. I said "wait a min... I have not taken the insurance offer and you will not pick up my car". I understand that the car is old but I need more money than I was offered to replace it. I was offed less than KBB and about 2k less than the going rate on Autotrader. Keep in mind that these cars go between 3-5k only. Now I have to spend my personal time shopping for a new DD car. Shopping for a new DD is costing me time and money. I need help with choosing my words and making some point about being compensated better than what they want to pay me. I know im in for a battle. This sucks im stuck with DD the cobra and my wife has to drive our nice family car. Any feedback and advice is highly appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[Instigator99]

Best thing you can do is give them proof of examples what the going rate of the car is. Print off some autotrader ads with cars that are similarly equipped. As far as lost time goes you are pretty much sol. Also they can't take your car until you have signed off on the reimbursement amount. I do believe they are responsible for providing a rental car until you buy a replacement car.


-Eric

 

[snakezilla]

. I do believe they are responsible for providing a rental car until you buy a replacement car.


-Eric

Wow. This is good info. Is there a limit to how long they have to give me a rental?

 

[adtp337]

Best thing you can do is give them proof of examples what the going rate of the car is. Print off some autotrader ads with cars that are similarly equipped. As far as lost time goes you are pretty much sol. Also they can't take your car until you have signed off on the reimbursement amount. I do believe they are responsible for providing a rental car until you buy a replacement car.


-Eric

Some good info here, present them with proof that its worth more, only way you're gonna get them to change it. Trust me on this, I do this for a living. Same goes for them picking it up, if you haven't signed anything, they can't take it. They need you to sign off on the payment amount and a power-of-attorney so they can have the title transferred into their name. As far as the rental, it depends on the state, we only provide rental for 3-5 days after the total loss is settled.

 

[Mjavant1985]

Best thing you can do is give them proof of examples what the going rate of the car is. Print off some autotrader ads with cars that are similarly equipped. As far as lost time goes you are pretty much sol. Also they can't take your car until you have signed off on the reimbursement amount. I do believe they are responsible for providing a rental car until you buy a replacement car.

This.

Also, their insurance is always gonna lowball the hell out of you on the first offer. IF you told their insurance company at any point you have another vehicle to drive, your SOL on the rental.

 

[AAG]

Get your car appraised, show them the paperwork, get paid. And yes they give you X amount of days with the rental after their initial offer.

 

[Ken03KBGTvert]

When someone pulled out in front of the daughter and totalled her Honda Accord, State Farm was the Insurance company for the other car that was at fault, their first offer was actually an amount we were happy with. They pretty much offerered the average RETAIL amount for a 2000 Honda Accord EX coupe with 130K miles plus what the taxes would cost on it, plus $1000 for her "pain and suffering", which there wasn't any, only scared the hell out of her being her first accident, went to the e.r. and got checked out but was fine, just a little sore in a couple of places for a few of days.

Who is the insurance company you are dealiing with? Figure out the average retail amount plus taxes on a car like your's and tell them you won't accept any less than that. As far as the time and money it will cost you to find a replacement, that's just life, sorry.

Ken

 

[snakezilla]

This is all great info guys, keep it coming. I almost forgot that I will have to pay taxes and registration on top of buying a car. This is all great info. I have book marked the page on autotrader with a bunch of cars just like it and the KBB page with the value. I will email it to them when I get them to call me back. I will also argue about taxes and rental. Keep the great feedback coming guys. I appreciate all of it...

Thank You

 

[snakezilla]

I am dealing with Farmers which is a great company if you are thier client but obviously they suck when they owe you. It's been about 25 days now and I finally get a offer for my car...

 

[Jefe]

I am dealing with Farmers which is a great company if you are thier client but obviously they suck when they owe you. It's been about 25 days now and I finally get a offer for my car...

I would of been on the phone talking to the Farmers adjuster the next day or every day until we came to an agreement on price. Did you not call Farmers at all in those first 20 days?

Accidents suck and are a huge distraction from normal life but you probably could of cut the time you waited in half. If they looked at the car they should of had an offer to you in less than 3 days. Something tells me they werent able to see the car for a couple weeks. Usually this means they cant get into the tow yard or their insured is not calling them back to go over what happened. Ive seen people wait 2 weeks for an answer on whether or not the claim is being covered because the insured wont call their company back to give a statement. Until the insured accepts responsibility for the claim, the company/adjuster cant move forward on dealing with you. Usually though they only let that last for 2 weeks before they are forced to handle the claim in a timely manner.

As for the value, prove to them what its worth and you shouldnt have a problem getting the offer raised up. Give them at least 4 examples of similar cars for sale and the KBB value

You sure are getting an insurance lesson with these latest claims huh? :beer:

 

[snakezilla]

I would of been on the phone talking to the Farmers adjuster the next day or every day until we came to an agreement on price. Did you not call Farmers at all in those first 20 days?

Accidents suck and are a huge distraction from normal life but you probably could of cut the time you waited in half. If they looked at the car they should of had an offer to you in less than 3 days. Something tells me they werent able to see the car for a couple weeks. Usually this means they cant get into the tow yard or their insured is not calling them back to go over what happened. Ive seen people wait 2 weeks for an answer on whether or not the claim is being covered because the insured wont call their company back to give a statement. Until the insured accepts responsibility for the claim, the company/adjuster cant move forward on dealing with you. Usually though they only let that last for 2 weeks before they are forced to handle the claim in a timely manner.

As for the value, prove to them what its worth and you shouldnt have a problem getting the offer raised up. Give them at least 4 examples of similar cars for sale and the KBB value

You sure are getting an insurance lesson with these latest claims huh? :beer:

Im having some horrible luck with my cars lately. My DD was totaled with my wife and child injured from being rear ended and I ran over a puddle of paint on the freeway in my family sedan.:nonono:

It took Farmers 20 something days to come out and look at the car then another 4 days to make an offer. I called the adjuster the same day and that was last Friday. Still no call back? I figured I would give him 3 business days to call me back. I will call him again tomorrow. I will not take a penny less than KBB value plus taxes and DMV fees for the compensation of my car. I feel as if they are not hadling this situation in a timely manner. Is there anything I can do if they dont settle it soon? Is there a time limit they have for settling my property loss?

Thank you for your help.:beer:

 

[tistan]

This.

Also, their insurance is always gonna lowball the hell out of you on the first offer. IF you told their insurance company at any point you have another vehicle to drive, your SOL on the rental.

This is not true. Last time I had an accident, I told the insurance they could compensate me for the use of one of my other cars or rent me a car. They said they wouldn't pay me to use my own car so I made them get me a rental.

 

[SVT F15O]

Im having some horrible luck with my cars lately. My DD was totaled with my wife and child injured from being rear ended and I ran over a puddle of paint on the freeway in my family sedan.:nonono:

It took Farmers 20 something days to come out and look at the car then another 4 days to make an offer. I called the adjuster the same day and that was last Friday. Still no call back? I figured I would give him 3 business days to call me back. I will call him again tomorrow. I will not take a penny less than KBB value plus taxes and DMV fees for the compensation of my car. I feel as if they are not hadling this situation in a timely manner. Is there anything I can do if they dont settle it soon? Is there a time limit they have for settling my property loss?

Thank you for your help.:beer:

You should have had a rental 27 days ago man. Shame on you for not staying on top of it.
Perhaps you can get paid for those days but doubtful without proof of rental. Call somebody and get yourself in a car on THEIR dime!

 

[Stanger00]

I didnt read everything but my car was just totaled out and I was given top market rate for my car, 2009 Mazdaspeed 3, and they included tax, title and license fees to a grand total of 24,800 minus my 200 deductible. I think the KBB for the local area was 22k. I owed 11k on the car and the bank was paid immediately and I was paid about 2 weeks later.

 

[Jefe]

It took Farmers 20 something days to come out and look at the car then another 4 days to make an offer.

Next time you talk to the actual adjuster, ask them about this. Why did it take so long? Let them know what you have been going through since the accident occurred. Let them know you need a rental and should of had one already. Let them know how much time you have had to take off from work, etc

Is there anything I can do if they dont settle it soon? Is there a time limit they have for settling my property loss?

You could get your company involved in the claim but I wouldnt do that until you guys cant come to an agreement on the value. 2-3 weeks is the max I would wait for a check.

The claims phone # is 800-435-7764. Go through the prompts on auto claims to get to a person, give them your claim # and ask for the adjusters supervisor and explain to him whats going on.

Actually give me your claim # and I can get that info for you. Im a Farmers Agent by the way. Claim # should start out 101 or 102 :beer:

 

[snakezilla]

Next time you talk to the actual adjuster, ask them about this. Why did it take so long? Let them know what you have been going through since the accident occurred. Let them know you need a rental and should of had one already. Let them know how much time you have had to take off from work, etc

You could get your company involved in the claim but I wouldnt do that until you guys cant come to an agreement on the value. 2-3 weeks is the max I would wait for a check.

The claims phone # is 800-435-7764. Go through the prompts on auto claims to get to a person, give them your claim # and ask for the adjusters supervisor and explain to him whats going on.

Actually give me your claim # and I can get that info for you. Im a Farmers Agent by the way. Claim # should start out 101 or 102 :beer:

Well I talked to the adjuster and he told me he can't talk to me because we have an attorney representing my wife and child for the injuries involved. I don't see why he can't talk to me(the owner of the car) since I was not involved in the accident. I'm just the owner of the vehicle. I will PM you my wifes claim # when I get home. I don't have it with me at work.

Thank you for your help. :beer:

 

[Jefe]

Well I talked to the adjuster and he told me he can't talk to me because we have an attorney representing my wife and child for the injuries involved.

You should have an adjuster for the liability portion of the claim and a different adjuster for the property damage portion of the claim. Sounds like you called the Liability adjuster. Yes when a lawyer is involved, the adjuster cannot speak to you anymore. They have to deal with your lawyer from now on since you are now being represented in the claim. All negotiations and offers will be made through the lawyer who in turn discusses it with you. Gotta love the middle man...

 

[snakezilla]

You should have an adjuster for the liability portion of the claim and a different adjuster for the property damage portion of the claim. Sounds like you called the Liability adjuster. Yes when a lawyer is involved, the adjuster cannot speak to you anymore. They have to deal with your lawyer from now on since you are now being represented in the claim. All negotiations and offers will be made through the lawyer who in turn discusses it with you. Gotta love the middle man...

Today my adjuster for the comprehensive claim I have with my car covered in paint came out and look at my car. He was a nice guy so I took advantage of him being there and I told him about my other claim with my DD being totaled. He told me that the other party has 40 days to accept liabilities for the loss. And they have to communicate with me atleast once a month until I settle for the property damages. He also advised me to ask for the Appraisal report of my car so I can see why they are lowballing me. Then to get 4 records of similar cars being sold at dealerships because cars sold at dealership are better descriptions of how much the same car will cost me. I asked about the rental situation and he clearly said they owe me for the use of another car and not providing a rental. I don't know if this is a California law to be paid for the use of another car if one was not offered but I will definitely demand it. Then he also told me to provide any paperwork or recipes of work done to the car other than maintenance. And lastly he said you can catch more bees with honey so be nice and respectful when you talk to them.

 

[Jefe]

Sounds like a good adjuster!

 

[snakezilla]

hell yeah! I got almost 500 bucks for back pay on a rental that they never offered me. 24 days...now I'm still working on the payment of the car...