QuestionMatt, Its been ab 6 weeks now and very little repair has been accomplished on vehicle. We are very frustrated. Talked to a supervisor today. We may be looking at a "total"-- as there are supplemental charges beyond the original appraisal. If goes the way of a "total", and they don't offer what we think the car is worth; Blue book value-- what can we do? Thank you ! PS What has been your experience in cars that suffered smoke damage-- does that smell ever really go away? susan williams
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Matt- Things are progressing well. Damage appraised at $4,0000-- car in shop. Rental car issued. Recorded statement made and followed up with written questionaire. They are asking us to sign a legal document: State of Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor VEhicles Division of Motor Vehicles; Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney/ Odometer Disclosure which essentially seems to be a Power of Attorney to secure title on our car-- if it is "totaled"-- which seems totally ludicrous in our case ! The adjuster says it is standard procedure and he must have it signed in order to proceed... It's scary to us ! Your honored opinion please -- and THANK YOU ! Susan
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A fire occured in my sons locked car while parked in driveway. Driver's door suffered much interior damage. Appears to have started in area of window open/close controls. Car has lots of mobile electronics in it.... some of it installed by my son who is MECP certified (Mobile Electronics Cert. Pro) I am afraid insurance will say fire caused by faulty wiring job ? Can they strip themselves of responsibilty for covering damages in this way? Thank you - any thoughts appreciated.
Answer -
Susan,
Thank you for the kind words.
Matt
Susan,
I answered this yesterday, but didn't hit the confirm button. Sorry for the delay.
When it comes to a car fire, an owner messing up their own repair and accidentally causing a fire is fully eligible for coverage. If a shop made the mistake or it was caused by a factory defect, then the insurance company will still pay for the damages but will then pursue the responsible party for repayment. This is called subrogation. Touting your son as an expert will only cause the insurance company to look deeper into the cause to rule out arson.
I'll tell you a funny story about one of these claims.
I handled a fire a few years ago where a professional mechanic had goofed up a repair on his own car resulting in a fire. He was so paranoid about the claim being denied, that he created false documents from the shop that he worked for to make it look like he was not the one responsible. In either case, we would have paid the claim and we did. However, since we now had a shop to go after, we subrogated his employer. He ended up getting fired over the deal.
Once we had the evidence that the documents were falsified, we also had cause to deny the claim. Most policies have a fraud provision that if any portion of a claim is found to be based on fraudulent statements, documents etc, then the insurer can deny the entire claim, go after the insured for money paid out and then cancel the policy.
In his case, we left the payments in tact and didn't pursue him as the fire was accidental. However his policy was not renewed and he then had to go find someone that would insure him with a fraudulent claim on his record.
Keep it simple and good luck! I'd appreciate your feedback.
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Totaled or not, these are standard forms required by state and federal law to process any title. You're title must be processed from your name into a salvage title.
Totaled cars have to have a salvage title so anyone else who comes in contact with that car will know what it is. You see, the insurance company will sell the salvage at an auction. It may be purchased by a junk yard and parted out. They are required to have a title on file for every vehicle on their yard. There are alot of other things that can happen to salvage, but that's too much to go in to.
I'm glad that everything is going well!
AnswerThe smoke smell with go away, but usually only with a complete interior replacement. Basically, unless it's made of metal, it will hold smell.
As far as what you believe the car is worth, that is not the question. It boils down to what you can prove it's worth. Book values mean nothing. They are only reflecting the suggested "asking prices" of a retail dealership. The insurance company is using real selling price numbers for vehicles just like yours. That is the "actual cash value" which is what they owe. Dealers intentionally overprice the cars in ads and in books for two reasons. It gives them a way to mess with numbers and get people with bad credit into a car. It also puts their ads first on many search engines as they sort from highest price to lowest price.
