Auto Insurance Claims: Question about dealing with insurance company claims, blue book value, school insurance

Question
My 1999 Oldsmobile Silihuette Van was parked on a public street.  A school bus that was parked on an incline rolled down the incline and across a street and totaled my van.  I happen to work at the school that the bus belongs to.  We are not sure if the parking brake failed or was not set, but the tire blocks were not put under the tires as they should have been.  The van is blue booked around $4000.  I just had about 4-5,000 worth of work done to this van so that I would not have to buy a new one.  What can I do if the school insurance only offers blue book value on the van.

Answer
Hi Jody,

The value of your van may or may not have been increased by the work you had done. It will depend on what was done. A new engine or transmission will increase the value a bit but new brakes will not. You will have to provide the insurance company with copies of the invoices for the work to show what was done, when it was done and how much it cost. Any items that do increase the value will not do so on a dollar for dollar basis but will add some value.

Also, insurance companies do not use blue book to settle claims. They will obtain a market search to see what other vehicles like yours are selling for in your area. You can check this also by going to www.autotrader.com . Look for 5 to 7 vehicles like yours and average the values which should give you a good average value. Then adjustments would have to be made for differences in mileage as well as the the items you had done that may add some value.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh