Auto Insurance Claims: Auto Insurance Claim, total loss negotiation

Question
I live in California and my car was involved in a non contact hit and run accident on 7/23/10 - there were no injuries - I reported the accident within 30 mins of the incident to my insurance company - I was advised that someone would contact me within 48 hours - it was 5 days before I got a response and that was only by my calling and demanding to speak to a manager.  My adjuster called me and gave me no information whatsoever - I gave her the police report number - she refused to take my statement about what all happened.  She told me she would call me within a couple of days.  I let this time go by and started calling her daily for approximately 8 days with no response.  The auto body shop that has my car sent them and me an estimate and made over 12 calls to my insurance company with no response whatsoever.  I have things on my estimate that could significantly lower the estimate below the threshold of damage for the car to total it, and have information contained in the police report and the original CHP dispatch notes concerning the original vehicle in the chain reaction (ID # of car - was commercial vehicle, not in the police report, but in the original CHP dispatch notes - I printed them out), they are completely not interested in any information I can provide them and in fact, have not even obtained a copy of the police report.  My claim has now been escalated 2 weeks later to a total loss adjuster who was to call me back today and has not.  No one answers the phone at my insurance company and I am not sure how to proceed at this point - what recourse do I have against my insurance company at this point?  This is a major insurance company  - they have not given the auto body shop a threshold of repairs - the estimator called me today to find out if I had heard from them because they have not.  What do I do now?

Answer
Ellen,

   Sorry for the delay, I am normally much faster.  I have been unusually popular lately.

  I think you probably need to call and talk to me directly, but here is what I can provide in the space we have here. . .

http://www.claimrep.com/laws/leges/Ca/statCAUnfair.htm

That is a link to the statute that dictates time limits and such for insurance companies.

Generally, the insurance company is required to make a decision and provide you with a response within 15 days of receiving notice of the claim.  Within 15 days the insurance company must:

(1) acknowledge receipt of such notice to the claimant unless payment is made within that period of time. If the acknowledgement is not in writing, a notation of acknowledgement shall be made in the insurer's claim file and dated. Failure of an insurance agent or claims agent to promptly transmit notice of claim to the insurer shall be imputed to the insurer except where the subject policy was issued pursuant to the California Automobile Assigned Risk Program.

(2) provide to the claimant necessary forms, instructions, and reasonable assistance, including but not limited to, specifying the information the claimant must provide for proof of claim;

(3) begin any necessary investigation of the claim.

If you can't get a response, I suggest making a complaint to the Department of Insurance which will at least get you a response from the insurance company.  

Finally, remember that you are the owner of your vehicle, and you alone can authorize or deny repairs.  The insurance company can only advise you of how much they will pay.  You have many options, but you need to understand all of your rights in order to successfully negotiate this claim.  The appraisal clause of your policy may be helpful in this situation as well.  

I hope this helps!  Information is always free at Petty Details, LLC!