Question I have a question on getting money for a car that was in an accident. The insurace is paying me the blue book value amount 1800$ but the cost to fix the car is 3000$. I was not at fault, do I have any way to get the insurance to pay the total 3000$ in order to fix my car since I was not at fault.
AnswerWhile you indicate that the accident was not your fault you do not state whether it is your insurance or the at-fault's insurance that has given you the $1,800 number.
The LEGAL measure of damages (whether you are dealing with your own carrier (assuming you carry COLLISION coverage) or the at-fault carrier (Property Damage (PD) claim) is the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of your car at the time of the accident and not the cost of repairs.
Based on the scenario you presented your car is a TOTAL LOSS in that the cost to repair exceeds the ACV of the vehicle.
The ACV is based on the make, model, optional equipment for that model and year of your vehicle as well as its condition and mileage.
Developing an ACV is not an exact science regardless of what anyone may tell you. Suggest you ask the carrier how they came up with that number and then do some research/homework of your own to see if that number is legit.. you can look at the Red Book the N.A.D.A book and you can check with local used car dealers, etc... If you do your howework and can support a higher number you should be able negotiate to a higher number.
IF you have your own COLLISION insurance and even though the accident was not your fault you can have your own company develop a valuation for your car and you can then compare the two figure keeping in mind that your COLLISION coverage has a deductible. You would then have the option of selecting the better net number.
The way that would work is that you company would pay you net the deductible and then move to recover (the process is called Subrogation) their payment to you as well as your deductible from the at-fault carrier... that could take a few weeks to several months.
Additionally... if you want to keep and repair the car regardless (you would pay the difference between the repair number and the ACV) you should have the option of retaining the car in its unrepaired condition (salvage value). That agreed to salvage value would be deducted from the final agreed to ACV plus applicable state sales tax.
One last thing......If you were injured in the accident (Bodily Injury (BI) claim) that would be a seperate matter and you might be able to recoup enough net (after paying your medical bills, etc) from the BI claim to make up the difference between the cost to repair the car and the final ACV number or close to....
Hope and trust that I have answered your question(s) and provided some direction.
Feel free to get back to me with any further questions/issues relative to this matter.
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