QuestionHi I live in Wis. and i was in a car accident were someone ran a stop sign and i ended up running into them. The vehicle didnt even look like they even made an attempt to stop at all. The roads werent the best but i wasnt even hardly doing the speed limit (25) and was trying to stop when i noticed them. When they blew through the stop sign it looked to me like instead of them trying to stop they tried going faster to try and make it though. I hit them on there front driver side and my front passenger side, they spun around and also hit the back of my vehicle. There insurance company is trying to put me at 20% blame saying that i was speeding and i know for sure i wasnt and wasnt even ticketed. they are also trying to value my car at atleast a thousand dollars less than actual value. Mean while i have no car, and they will only pay 80% for rental but i cant afford it and dont believe i should have to pay for it. I dunno what i should do. It has been almost three weeks and they said they have to send a check out to me within three weeks so i think just to cover themselves there sending one for a price i dont agree with. I only have liability so it seems like im stuck doing everything myself... Please help me out with some answers.. Thank You
Answer Hello Tony,
You have a couple of issues here. First, the liability. It always amazes me when an adjuster finds fault for "speeding". How? Was the adjuster a witness? Does the adjuster have the qualifications to approximate speed? Can the adjuster evaluate speed from crush damage? No. My guess is the adjuster is neither a witness nor an accident reconstructionist.
Did the other driver say you were speeding? If so, why didn't he stop? Was there a witness? If so, why weren't you charged?
Plain and simple, unless the insurance company can prove otherwise, their driver ran a stop sign. Case closed.
Now this is not to say they will actually listen to you. But on the other hand, there is no reason why you cannot question the faulty evaluation of your claim. Ask them on what evidence - evidence - was it determined that you were speeding.
Based on the determination that you are 20% at fault, they are cutting your settlement at the same rate. Hence the reduction in the rental car.
The problem with all of this is their driver caused damages to you and paid premiums for both of you to be protected. This is not happening.
Now, as to the value of your car. If you haven't already done so, go online and find several sources for car values. Insurance companies usually arrive at an amount somewhere between the trade in value and the dealer price. They will take into consideration condition and mileage. They'll subtract. Usually, they don't add. Now you need to do the same thing. Arrive at what you believe is a fair value for your car.
Understand that when an insurance first extends an offer, it almost always represents the lowest end of the range. The adjuster typically has an authorized range, and will start at the lowest end of that range. It is your job to know what the fair value of your car is, and to question that first offer, even the second and third if those remain below the fair value.
However, remember they are finding you partially "at fault", so your settlement will be cut by 20%.
On final and important point. The insurance company cannot set an artificial time limit. In other words, they cannot cut you out of the negotiations and lead you to believe that they will make the decision on their own based on an arbitrary, artificial time limit. If the settlement check does arrive without any input from you and it is grossly undervalued, you're going to have to negotiate. That adjuster cannot close her file until you agree to a settlement!
No doubt they will also include a release for you to sign. Meaning its done. Do not sign that release until you have done everything you can to negotiate a fair settlement.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Jane Pytel
http://SolutionsForYourInsuranceClaim.com
