Auto Insurance Claims: insurance claim, volkswagon jetta, insurance adjuster

Question
My wife was in an accident in the beginning of October.  She was in traffic on a highway when a van rear ended the car behind her at a pretty high speed, which then slammed into my wife's car and then my wife hit the car in front of her.  the front of the car that was behind my wife went under her car.  There was also damage done to the bumper.  The officer on scene labeled the car as not drivable, because it was making and awful sound like there was no muffler.  When we set everything up at the body shop the insurance adjuster came out and took some pictures and wrote everything up.  when we picked up the car the body damage was fixed but the sound was still there.  The insurance agency said that it is not responsible due to wear and tear and the muffler  had rust on it.  We argued and argued and insisted that this was caused by the accident.  We noted that we were not happy.  When i picked the car up I immediately took it to our family mechanic who told us that underneath the car did not look like this when he did work on it in September.  There was no rust, just dirt.  Our mechanic said that the part is going to cost big money and the car should have been totaled.  The initial cost at the body shop was $2000.  We were informed that the job is going to run us around $4500.  The car is a 2005 Volkswagon Jetta.  Our insurance is with Statefarm, and they refuse to cover this claim.  We feel like we have our hands tied however it does not make any sense at all.  When my wife calls and tries to talk to the supervisor they are down right ignorant and rude.  My wife is  5 months pregnant and  was being screamed at, and treated so nasty.  please tell me what my options are and how we can get state farm to cover this claim.

Answer
Hi Anthony,

You should take your vehicle back to your mechanic and bring your digital camera. Have the mechanic put the vehicle up on a lift and take several photos of the underside of the vehcle that clearly show the damage and the fact that there is no rust. Then have your mechanic write up a brief report stating that he has inspect the the vehicle, that there is no rust on the damaged parts, that he regularly works on this vehicle and is familiar with its condition and that this damage was not there when he last inspected the vehicle. He should state that that in his opinion this type of damage could have only been caused by a collison. He should also state exactly what is damaged, what it will require to repair the vehicle and at what cost.

You will then prepare a demand letter. In your letter you will indicate that you have had the vehice independently inspected by your mechanic and briefly stste his findings. Enclose the photos, the mechanics letter and an estimate of the cost of the repairs. End your letter stating that you hereby demand payment in the amount of $XXXX.XX within 10 days or you will have no choice but to file suit against their insured.

Then if they don't respond or try to make excuses, you should file a law suit against the at-fault driver. You will then need to bring your mechanic to court to testify as an expert witness along with your photos to explain all of this to the judge.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh