Auto Insurance Claims: Insurance Deductible, auto theft

Question
Hello,

My question is about insurance deductibles. My car was stolen, recovered, and claimed a total loss by my insurance company. I decided to keep my car. My insurance paid me what they felt was the value scope estimate minus my deductible. My insurance three days after mailing my check sent me a letter stating basically if I want to get my deductible back I will have to take the necessary steps in order to "fight" for it. My question is my car was a total loss, it will be a salvaged title but does the deductible apply if there is no repairs to be made by an outside party and no other claim has been made other than the initial theft? All repairs will be performed by me, I will be buying all the necessary parts, and will do all the necessary actions to get my car checked by the DMV to get it back on the road. Can I get the amount ($1000) my insurance took out when they cut me my check for my deductible?

Thanks for the Help,

Ron

Answer
Ron,

  You can't get your deductible back from your insurance company.  What they are telling you is they are not going to attempt to get it back for you under the subrogation clause of the policy.  What they mean by "fight" for it is that you will have to coordinate with the police on your own and request restitution from the victim coordinator for your county.  The only way you will see your deductible is if the State prosecutor/police department locates the thief, files charges, successfully convicts the thief and then order the thief to pay you back as part of the sentence.  This means you will have to at least document the amount of your loss to the proper prosecutor so in the chance they locate a thief and convict them, then they will have your damages to add into the restitution part of the sentence.  Make sense?

JP