Auto Insurance Claims: insurance claims, aaa auto club, ford taurus

Question
QUESTION: I am in need of help. I am dealing with AAA auto club. The insurance adjuster totaled out my car, which is ok with me. I have a 98 ford taurus sho with 140000 miles. THe adjusted offered me 3300 for the car. Now I understand that they do not have to use N.A.D.A or kbb for the value of the car. But listings in my area range from 3300 with less miles, and I have seen some in the area go for 6000 that have more miles than my car. That does not set a very good margin for average price. I also have reciepts for an engine that I had put in that cost 4000 with labor that has 60000 miles on it. And a trans that was 1100 with 76000 miles on it. The adjusted stated that since the work was done more than a year ago, that it does not affect the ammount they are trying to settle for. What should I do? and is there anywhere that I can print out state laws and regulations on AAA for insurance adjustment?

ANSWER: Hi David,
By law, the insurance company only owes you the fair market value of your vehicle.  The fact that you have a replacement engine with 60K miles on it and a replacement transmission with 76K miles on it adds absolutely no value to your car.
You can never recover the full cost os such work, but if the loss had occured within 90 days of the replacements there would be a small adjustment.

The adjustor has hired an independent firm to do a computer search within a 25-50 mile radius and has a list of 10 or more cars that have been found and is making you an offer of the average.  The amount of the offer is not chisled in stone but is negotiable.  The adjustor will gladly give you a copy of the list and you can go look at some or all of the cars.
If you still feel that you are deserving of a higher payment, you can start building your own list from newspaper quotes, dealer ads and visits to dealers.  Once you gather documentation, you can then meet with the adjustor and enter into negotiations for a settlement.

I hope that you find this information to be of help.

Your feedback by rating my response will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area

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QUESTION: well that is not quite what I wanted to hear. But I was afraid of that happening. Is there somewhere where I can research the laws about insurance adjusting? or is it still a mystery to the public.

Answer
Hi David,
Every insurance policy in your state is written and administered under the insurance laws governing your state.
I've been in the auto insurance business since 1964 and am not aware of any single source that you can go to for researching laws about insurance adjusting.

For a specific question you can contact your own agent for discussion and for a complaint you can contact your state insurance commissioner.

When settling a claim, you and the adjustor are in adversarial positions.
His job is to settle the claim for the least amount possible and of course you wish the largest payment possible.  For this reason, the adjustor's first offer is always lo-ball.  Just do the necessary work  to establish the fair market value of your vehicle and you should be able to negotiate a settlement greater than the first offer, but probably less that the amount that you would like to receive.

Bennie