Questionmine question is common after an accident, had a 250 deduction on collision. The car has two dents on the side and body shops come up with a 1500 amount to fix it. My insurance come back and tell me because my car is old it is only worth $850 according to them, it a 1992 dodge caravan with new paint and engine, so they offer me $600 dollars. I assume 850-250=600
They said they just find compare value in state Washington, even after I told then new paint and engine they said I have to prove
this I did not keep my receipts never had any I idea I would need them or fight my insurance company.
Why would the sell me a policy had it for 15 years never a claim on my car I could not collect on. Why can they sell me insurance I could not collect on?
Do I have any recourse of action to help me or do I have to take the 600 offer?
I tried reading your posting but there is way to many A,B sub C options to understand. can it be posted in plain English?
thank you ross
AnswerI'm not sure what posting you tried to read that had A, B, sub C options on it, but anyway, here's the answer to your question, in plain English.
You can invoke the appraisal clause and hire your own appraiser to estimate the value of your vehicle and force your insurance company to hire an appraiser. The two appraisers will either agree on the value of the vehicle or all will hire an umpire to agree with one or the other of the appraisers.
If for some reason your policy does not have an appraisal clause (I have never seen a personal auto policy that doesn't), you could still hire an appraiser and get the value documented and sue your insurance company for what they owe. You'll have to be sure you understand the policy. It probably says they owe the ACV on the vehicle or the cost of repair, whichever is less. In this contaxt, ACV means your vehicle's replacement cost minus depreciation. You'd have to have an appraiser that understands the definition precisely in your State.
Even if you could prove the van had new paint and engine, it would not likely increase the value that much, because without the paint and engine the van would be scrap metal. Those items are generally considered maintenance items, if you put a new engine in, it is because the old one wore out, the body of the vehicle still goes with a worn out engine and it's common not to trust a rebuilt engine because they have a higher failure rate than factory ones.
In summary, you have a choice. . . 1) get a professional involved and submit better evidence and fight, 2) accept the offer, or 3) fight a little on your own and try to negotiate up by providing some sort of proof that your vehicle is of a higher value than they are offering.
Considering the value of your vehicle is not going to be huge no matter what, you probably can't economically justify spending any money on an expert, so you really do have a tough choice. I see why you are searching for answers. Your type of case is the reason I started my company. I help people with this sort of thing daily. If you need more help, hunt us down, we shouldn't be too hard to locate. Information is always free at Petty Details, LLC! I hope this helps.
