QuestionHello, I live in Alexandria, VA and on June 16th I was involved in a 3 vehicle accident. A girl ran a red light and hit a 2007 Yukon, which in turn hit my 1998 Sienna (as we were both going through the intersection in opposite directions), the Yukon proceeded to spin and flip. It was a serious accident leaving at least my vehicle and the Yukon totaled. Thank God noone was seriously injured (I had my 3 children and my husband with me., However, if it were not for the Yukon being struck first, the outcome would have been devastating! The at-fault partys insurance company called me and said the the girl did not have enough coverage to pay for the 2, maybe 3, totaled vehicles, and that I should file through my own company, and they would reimbursement my $250 deductible. Now my insurance company has offered me a settlement of $7500, that is below what we consider fair and reasonable. We spent six hours at the accident scene waiting for the tow truck (which is not easy with a 3,7 and 9 year old who are hungry), and close to 2 days without a rental, resulting in my kids missing a day of school because I was unable to drive them. I have been with my insurance company for at least 13 years and have never had an accident. I have had a migraine since the accident, and they haven't helped it! Hopefully you can!:)
AnswerDear Angela,
You are right to give thanks that there were no SERIOUS injuries. However, the fact that you have migraine headaches gives me a warning signal that you might have sustained some injury. It is best to have a doctor check out any such complaints. Likewise for the kids; make sure that they are examined for any aches. Soft tissue injuries can make themselves known slowly: one day it is a dull ache for a bit, but the next week the ache is more prevalent. Don’t let these signs go unheard: see a doctor ASAP.
As for the rental problems, it is your right to have a rental vehicle paid for by the tortfeasor. Even if you did not rent a car, they OWE YOU THE COST OF A RENTAL OF A VEHICLE LIKE SIZE TO YOURS.
Next, is the issue of making you go thru your own company. I suppose that is OK if your company knows and agrees that it will lose most of its subrogation claim. AND THAT YOU WILL NOT FACE AN “AT-FAULT” DESIGNATION FOR THIS ACCIDENT. Just make sure of that. I think that if there were a lot of personal injuries and you had no coverage for underinsured motorist coverage, a good attorney would go after the parents of the girl on the theory of family car doctrine. BUT, that is not the topic here, UNLESS it turns out that all of you have some injuries.
NOW, on to the choices facing you when you have a low offer for a car that has been declared by the adjuster as “totaled”. First off, the designation of “totaled” is not something that one has to accept if she is wants to keep the car and have it repaired as I will now discuss.
THREE IDEAS FOR COMBATING AN OFFER OF AN UNDERVALUED VEHICLE THAT THE INSURANCE AGENT WANTS TO TOTAL
• First, consider lowering the repair cost by repairing with USED and/or NON-Original Manufactures' Equipment (OEM) PARTS and stipulating to ignore some cosmetic damage; that will allow the insurance company to do the repairs within the percentage of allowance of actual cash value that it has already specified; OR
• Second, buy back the car from the insurance company as salvage, repair it, re-title it, re-license it, and KEEP YOUR CAR; OR
• Third, fight the actual cash valuation with your own research and communicate in writing.
Here are the details on those three choices.
A.) SAVE YOUR CAR FROM BEING TOTALED BY REPAIRING WITH USED and/or NON-OEM PARTS and STIPULATING TO IGNORE SOME COSMETIC DAMAGE.
Before we get started, have you thought about keeping your car? Many times people have put a lot of money into maintenance OR EXPENSIVE REPAIRS (i.e. new transmission) in a high mileage vehicle, and they KNOW what they have will work as reliable transportation for them.
Have you considered whether or not YOU want your car "totaled"? Do you know whether or not the money you will receive will buy you anywhere near the same quality of transportation that you enjoy with your present vehicle? Will you have to incur a loan payment to get adequate replacement transportation? What if you put a lot of money into repairs and new parts in the past 18 months? You will not get that money back in cash value of the car, but the repairs may have made your vehicle desirable to continue operating.
So, rather than taking the low offer of cash and trying to find a vehicle that will be reliable, they put the money into fixing the wreck with used parts, leaving aside cosmetic damage.
So the first thing, if you are happy with the performance of your car, and if you have put a lot of money into maintenance or repair, as you have, would be to explore ways to keep the car.
Ask what the body shop would charge to repair your vehicle with USED and/or NON-OEM parts. You can negotiate to leave some cosmetic damage showing to save money. I would not be surprised to see up to 40% come off their repair bill in that case. If you have a car that was running fine, why not keep it, even if you have to drive around with some dents showing?
Find out the maximum amount that the insurance company will pay for repairs before they elect to total your vehicle. Then arrange for your repairs to be done within that limit. This is my first choice and better if you can make it happen. If the adjuster still wants to total your car, then you have to go to the next step.
B.) BUY BACK CAR FROM INSURANCE COMPANY, REPAIR IT, RE-TITLE AND RE-LICENSE IT, AND KEEP IT. YOU GET YOUR EQUITY, LESS THE SALVAGE VALUE THAT YOU PAY TO BUY IT BACK AND THE COST OF REPAIRS PLUS INSPECTION AND RE-LICENSING COSTS.
Here is one way to get the insurance adjuster at her own game. Let's say that you value your car at $9,000, but the insurance adjuster, after considering the latest documentation you have to offer, values it at only $7,500. Don't forget, that is her value BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.
One would have to consider the amount of damage done in the accident to come up with a salvage value, but it should be a lot lower than the value before the accident, which the adjuster already told you was only $7,500. So, before you decide to total the car, ask the adjuster what the salvage value would be. That is the amount that the company will get for the car after the accident, in its post-accident state, without any repairs having been made. In this example, depending upon the cost of the repairs, the salvage value could be around $1, 400. Hey, this is ONE advantage of having them give your car a low actual cash value: the salvage value should be pretty low!
NOW, if you were to pay that amount and then to set up the repairs to be done with USED and/or NON-OEM PARTS, and perhaps forgoing some of the strictly beauty finishing items, you could get repairs done for a lot less than the estimate given to the insurance company. Say, around $4,500.
Plus, once the car is repaired, you will have to take it to the state patrol to be inspected as a salvaged vehicle. You will need paperwork from both the insurance company and the auto body shop that confirms both the amount you paid for the salvage, the fact that you are authorized to title the vehicle, and a receipt for the work and parts from the auto body shop. You pay for the inspection and then the re-licensing through the Department of Licensing. So leave aside around $100 for the state inspection, plus the cost to get new title, license plates, and tabs. The cost for the latter will be the same for any other vehicle of the same price as your salvage buy-back price.
Here is how the math would work out. You get the actual cash value that you and the adjuster agree upon, which is going to be $7,500 in this case. Then you have to buy back the car from the insurance company, which in this case will be the $1,400 salvage.
You will have the auto body company authorized to repair with USED and/or NON-OEM PARTS, which in this case, will bring the cost of $4,500 (thus, for state licensing fees, the "value" of the car to you is what you paid, or $1,400 plus $4,500). To that you will add the cost of inspection ($100) and re-licensing (say 8% sales tax times the salvage buy-back price of $1,400, equals $120).
In summary, you got $7,500 cash for the car, and you paid out $1,400 plus $4,500 to get it repaired and ready for inspection and licensing, which are $100 and $120, respectively. Thus, your total out-of pocket outlay will be a grand total of $6,120.
C.) THIRD, FIGHT THE ACTUAL CASH VALUATION WITH YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATE IN WRITING.
Now, changing topics back to how to get that value up for the insurance adjuster, let's get started for you. The first tasks are to get at the actual cash value and next throw out that outrageous offer that they made you.
My favorite sites for valuation are www.Edmunds.com and www.autotrader.com. They want to know your zip code, and then they ask for a range in miles to search. Don't limit yourself to your city: it is reasonable that someone could go up to 300 miles to pick up a used car. That way you will get a lot more information. Be aware that you should pick the option "any distance" from your zip code. You can use information from local papers, advertising flyers, car dealerships, and the Internet.
Be aware that the prices shown are the "asking" price, not the actual cash value. But also be aware that the insurance adjusters have used a computer scan of sales that were at the trade-in value, NOT the actual cash value.
If you have made major item replacements, above and beyond normal maintenance, you need to document them and ask for a review of those extras. For example, a rebuilt transmission or the like will add value to a used car. How about new tires or a new stereo system? The issue is: how much (if any) did they increase the FMV or actual cash value of the car. See this link and scroll to the bottom for more information on that topic. Car Accidents: Totaled, Repair, Valuation, Your Rights http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0007.htm
FINAL TOPIC: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster.
Let him know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking him what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should he not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let him know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
