QuestionQUESTION: I am having a heck of a time dealing with my insurance company on settling my claim. They have treated me like the bad guy since the beginning. I was hit by an uninsured driver that totaled my truck. They have been very unavailable and cryptic in their e-mail responses to my questions and concerns. We finally "agreed" on my truck value after two months of negotiating. Now we are dealing with the personal stuff. The biggest issue is the rental. I had to have a rental for two months of which they are offering me 25 days. Originally at $25 a day until I showed them a quote from Enterprise Rental for a Tahoe at 49.99 a day. She came back at 50 for the 25 days after talking to her "MANAGER". Their inefficiency and lack of communication has caused this to go into it's 4th month. I still haven't been paid for the vehicle. What can I do to get what I deserve?
ANSWER: Hello David,
You have several different issues here. First to the delay of the claim. There is absolutely no legitimate reason why you would negotiate with your own insurance company for two months. You say you have agreed on the price. Did you do some research of your own in determining a fair market value. That means checking online for a "blue book price", taking your mileage and the general condition of the vehicle into consideration, and checking with used car dealers for prices on a vehicle like yours.
In view of what has been going on with your claim, is it possible you were lowballed? If so, have you signed the paperwork?
With regard to the continued delay, this is unacceptable. First, I would recommend against dealing with your adjuster via e-mail exclusively. Call the adjuster. If you get a voice mail, leave a message. If the adjuster does not call back, call the claims manager to complain. (You can get that number by calling the main number with your claim number and asking for the name and phone of the claims manager for that claim.)
The point is, you have to be very proactive. Those who are not, will get swept aside - especially if the company "does not want" to pay your claim. Sounds like your vehicle is high dollar. Insurance companies tend not to like those kind of expensive claims. Beware of an unfair offer. Beware also that they will delay you to wear you down to the lowest possible settlement amount.
For more detailed information on combating claim delays, I suggest you go to my website and read the full articles. That site is http://solutionsforyourinsuranceclaim.com
Your rental situation is a different matter. They owe you what your policy provides for. If you are claiming with a third party carrier, they owe you a vehicle similar to your vehicle. But for your own coverage, your policy likely specifies a maximum amount. That appears to be the $25 per day amount. The fact that they agreed to pay more than this is probably because they are the ones delaying your claim! In my opinion, it is unethical for an insurance company to unreasonably delay your claim and then to penalize you for rental benefits. If you can verify that the adjuster, not you, is the cause for the claim delay, I would demand full payment for the cost of your rental.
The bottom line is to be proactive - very proactive. Polite, but very persistent. Call the manager if you cannot resolve this with the adjuster. Follow up in writing if necessary (not e-mail). If all else fails, file a complaint with your state Department of Insurance, which you can find online. The state cannot intervene in the specific handling of your claim, but the complaint is unsettling for the carrier.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Jane Pytel
http://SolutionsForYourInsuranceClaim.com
http://FloridaAutoInsuranceCentral.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you for your quick reply. I did settle with the vehicle portion after negotiating with the Vehicle side of the department. I only left about $700 on the table I believe in value. Let me be clear on the delays, they were very slow to respond to any of my rebuttal information on the truck value. She told me that the truck had to be settled before the personal items and rental could be settled. My Agent who has been very unhelpful has taken the party line and will only reference Texas Law and says he has no ability to fight on my behalf. (He will not be my agent soon.) TX law does allow for $25 a day rental, but I say I am allowed a vehicle similar to the one I have. The Adjuster on the property side has not communicated and I feel like I am being treated as the bad guy. My agent suggests that if I can't get close to what I feel I am owed I should ask for arbitration, which is final. How do you feel about that? Once again Thanks for your Help.
Answer Hello again David ...
Again, there are several different issues here.
First, the notion that personal items cannot be settled until after the valuation is, in my opinion, absurd. What, do they have an arbitrary limit for how much they can pay out on your claim?
As for the rental, that amount is set once you turn in the rental. But as we discussed before, if they are the ones unnecessarily delaying the claim, is it fair and ethical to stick you with the excess charges?
You state that TX law provides for $25 a day. That is unusual, and I cannot confirm that. Ordinarily your rental reimbursement limits are set by you when you purchase comp and collision. If you have only $25 a day and you want a comparable replacement vehicle, you need to look into this when you purchase a new policy. Extra coverage means higher premiums, however rental reimbursement coverage is typically inexpensive.
The fact of the matter is, they are not contractually obligated to pay you over the limits of the policy, though their delays should be considered in a management decision. Because your rates are contractual, if you are considering arbitration on the rental, that is a bad idea. You will lose. And, furthermore, if TX is like most states that allow arbitration, it would not apply to a rental reimbursement dispute anyway. Look at your policy. It will define precisely where arbitration applies.
Only through a third party liability carrier who accepts liability would you be entitled to a car similar to the one at issue.
As for the agent, their job is to sell insurance. They have no power to intervene in a claims process. That would apply to all companies where you go through an agent. My advice - never go to an agent for claims help. If, however, that agent has given you faulty information, then it probably is time for a new agent.
Follow the process I described before, and also read those articles. Good luck.
Jane Pytel
http://SolutionsForYourInsuranceClaim.com
http://FloridaAutoInsuranceCentral.com
