Auto Insurance Claims: Insurance theft claim, kelley blue book, kelley blue book value

Question
On September 10, 2007 my vehicle was stolen and later recovered burned, and without most of its aftermarket accessories. After two months of investigation, Liberty mutual decided to pay my claim, well, underpay my claim. The Kelley blue book value is $11200, even thought most listing in the area for the same car run as high as $15000 not including similar accessories that my car had. The insurance is offering me $8300, which is even less than the fair trade value. My car had not been involved in any previous incident. Also, I had rental coverage and they refused to pay for it. Is there anything that I could do to get a larger check?

Answer
Hi Bielecki,

You should demand that the insurance company provide you with the documentation that they used to determine the value of your vehicle. That way you can review it for errors. You should also research the valu of your vehicle your self at the following:

1) www.nada.com
2) www.kbb.com
3) www.edmunds.com
4) www.autotrader.com

The last one will allow you to locate currently for sale vehicle like yours in your area. Print out all value information you find and average the figures. If there is a significant difference you should submit your findings to your insurance company to start a negotiation. If thay will still not negotiate with you, you should invoke the appraisal clause of your policy. Then you would have to hire a professional vehicle appraiser to appraise your car.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh