Questionmy question is since i was hit from the rear in a 1987 chevy monte carlo ss just reached classic in mint condition and the car was tottalled and i have sustained personaly injury will the insuranc company value my car as classic or will they throw me numbers that i couldnt possibly find another car in that condition.and what about for if the person has fullcoverage should i abandon the thought about maybe an auto trader price
AnswerHi Marvin,
It is normal to expect the insurance company to try to settle the damage for the least amount possible.
Be prepared for the fact that their first offer is going to be very low. You need to start doing the ground work now to
establish the true value of the car by researching auto trader for 3-5 comparable cars. Even though the car is now totaled, I also strongly recommend that you have a qualified antique car appraiser look at the car and write an appraisal of it's value. This way, you will be already prepared with documentation to counter their first offer by showing the true value of the car.
With the 3-5 auto trader comparisons and an appraisal from an antique car appraiser, you should have little problem in securing the full market value of the car.
Although you didn't ask for any advise regarding your injury, I am going to add some.
First of all, do NOT treat with a Chiropractor. The entire insurance industry is very anti-chiropractor and they will only consider about 50% of a Chiropractor's bills toward settlement as opposed to considering 100% of the bills when you use a Medical Doctor and have him prescribe Physical Therapy.Start building a file now that contains all your medial expenses. This includes any Ambulance bill, ER bill, each Doctor bill, each physical Therapy bill, each prescription drug all special tests such as x-ray, CT scan, MRI scan and your round trip mileage for each trip that you make for these visits and treatments at $0.43 per mile.
You really need to build three identical files, one for yourself, one to present to the insurance company when you present your settlement demand and the third one just in case you wind up having to retain an attorney.
The insurance policy carried by your father applies first, so use his medical payment coverage first. If you do not reside with your father and have your own auto insurance policy and carry medical payment coverage, it will be in the background as additional coverage should you exhaust the medical coverage under your fathers policy or come into play immediately if your father does not carry medical coverage. Be sure to report this accident to your own company so they are on notice that your coverage with them may be called into use. You want to use the auto medical coverage first, because most personal health policies require that they be reimbursed in the event you recover damages from a third party.
I hope this has been of help, please write me again if I can be of any assistance on the car damage portion and later if you need advise on handling the injury settlement.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area 12-05-07 10:45 AM PST
