Auto Insurance Claims: Property damage - auto accident, gmc dealership, american airlines

Question
Charlie,

I'll try and make this brief.

My wife works for American Airlines and she recently took a major cut in her pay.  We had decided that we would sell my pick-up to help reduce our monthly expenses.  We had set a goal to sell the vehicle by June 1, 2003 (her pay cut took effect May 1, 2003).

On May 23rd, I was involved in an accident where the other party was clearly at fault (failed to yield ROW).  

I took pictures of the vehicle, I got an estimate from the GMC dealership and I got a price to sell the truck from Carmax with the damage.

I made several attempts to contact the adjuster that was assigned to my claim but he failed to return my calls (I have exact documentation of dates and times and names).

They are now telling me that they did not have a chance to inspect the vehicle and based on the estimate that I sent them they are only offering what they feel would have cost to have the truck damage repair rather than replaced.

I feel that I'm entilted to at least the amount the vehicle would have sold for to Carmax undamaged (which I think can be established based on my estimate from GMC and used vehicle values at that time) I think the value they offered encompasses the actual damage plus diminished value and time that it took to repair the vehicle.

Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.  I don't think this is a cause for an attorney but I have no intention of taking a loss because they drug their feet and failed to inspect the vehicle.

They had about a week after I sold the vehicle to Carmax to go an inspect it and they were told were the vehicle was located.

Thanks again
Harvey Wells

You wouldn't know how many CEO's in the US would you?

Answer
Harvey,

You did not specify whether this adjuster is the at-fault party's insurer, but I will assume he is. You also did not specify the time elapsed between the date of loss and when you disposed of the truck. However, an insurance company will have the choice of paying the cost to repair or the cost to replace a vehicle of like kind and quality, whichever is less.

If you can show the adjuster unreasonably delayed his inspection and thereby his company's settlement offer, then you have a good case. And it sounds like you'll be forced to take this to court if the truck is no longer available for inspection. There are state regulations that govern how long an adjuster has to inpsect a car after a loss.

Insurance companies do not like to be told what to do. Your actions, while reasonable, show your determination to do it your way---something they are not used to seeing. In many states the measure of damage is defined as the difference between the value of the property harmed before the loss and afterwards, plus the cost of repair. Your approach is unconventional, but sound in its reason.