Question
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My daughter's fully restored 1958 Volkswagen Beetle was stolen after 5
months of ownership. The insurance company (Mercury) gave a
settlement offer of $4300, which is below her outstanding loan, below
the insuraned amount by $3700 and below the value of the vehicle.
They based their offer on 4 1958 Beetles located within the state of
California, which is where we live. None of the vehicles were
restored: 1 had no mechanical parts and was just a shell, 2 lacked any
restoration and the last had been converted into a dune buggy.
We requested that the insurance company toss out their comps because
they had no bearing on the condition of my daughter's Beetle and then
spent a considerable amount of time tracking down 4 1958 Beetles for
sale within California (pre Mercury's instructions), one of which was very
comparable to her vehicle. We also provided 2 price guides from
classic car organizations (NADA & CCMR). The average of the guide
prices and the comps were within a couple of hundred dollars from each
other, so we felt we had done a fair and respectable job. The average
we came up with was also less than the asking price by $3000 of the
vehicle we found that was a very good comparison.
The insurance company came back today and said they will only accept
comps from within the Los Angeles area, which is where we live. The
problem is we can't locate any in our area. We've thoroughly searched
the internet and asked for help at thesamba.com, a site dedicated to
sellers and buyers of VWs. My daughter's vehicle is 50 years old and
there aren't that many left.
We feel very boxed in and don't know how to satisfy the insurance
company. I know it's not our job to provide the price comps, but the
insurance company has done such a poor job and haven't offered any
reasonable comparisons to justify them even offering a settlement.
We like to avoid hiring a lawyer because we have a limited income.
Please advise us on how to work toward a fair remedy.
AnswerHi Cathrine,
The first thing that you have to understand is that the insurance comapny has no interest in properly compensating you. The want to try to force you to take what they want to pay.
Their excuse about having to find comps within Los Angeles is rediculos. With a vehicle this old you have to expand the search as needed to find an acceptable number of comps. They are just trying to bully you, which you should not stand for.
In your policy is a clause called the "Appraisal Clause". This is designed to help settle a dispute between you and your insurance company. The Appraisal clause states that you and the insurance company will each hire an independent appraiser. The two appraisers will appraise your vehicle and will then get together to try to reach an agreement. If they can not agree then the two appraisers will select a third party umpire appraiser. Then an agreement reached by any two of the three appraisers is final and binding on all parties.
The key is finding a qualified, local, independent appraiser who does not work for insurance companies.
Once you find an appraiser you will need to sent a certified letter to the insurance comapny invoking the appraisal clause of your policy.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
