Members JacieFB Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 Some of you may remember my thread about being rear-ended 10 days or so ago. To sum up: some guy hit me, he was sited. I went to the ER. Their insurance adjuster totaled my car. I've been waiting to hear back from their claims people about the payout for my Toyota Celica. I'm okay physically, btw. I heard from that lady today. She came back with some info I wasn't expecting. I had guessed that she would low-ball me on my car's value. She didn't. She said $8,600+. I thought that was reasonable. The wife and I did our research over the weekend and, although it's going to be a PITA to car shop and then re-start a car loan (especially with my less-than-employment), the number seems fair. Where it got really ugly was she told me: "I usually don't tell people this, but it's going to be better for you to go through your insurance. I'm hitting a 'limit issue'. I don't want to see you shorted, here." [The guy has high risk insurance, btw.] I say, "Well, that's not really my problem. Your guy hit me." etc She says, "Well, it is your problem because I can only pay out a certain amount." She explained further that she could pay out that $8,600+, but that the rental, the towing, the storage fee, and taxes would go over the driver's limit. She said that if I filed with my insurance co., I would get the $8600 from them minus my $250 deductable. Then, she would pay my deductable, the towing, the storage, the rental, etc. This seems like a really sweet line of BS here. What she's saying makes sense, and the way she said it leads me to believe that I would get what's due to me if I went that way. But it also feels like she's just trying to not have to deal with it. Basically saying, "F- you. Sue us. This is what's best, I'm trying to help you. Do it or sue us or our driver." She was quite clear in telling me that she wouldn't tell me what the "limit" is. It feels crappy to me. I do have a call in to my insurance guy. I just wanted to see if any of you folks had any words of wisdom. I mean, what if this guy would have smashed into and totalled a Porshe? I mean there's no way in hell a 10 grand-ish policy would take care of that. Would she tell that driver the same thing? insurance co's and high risk drivers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theglove Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 I wouldn't make a claim on your insurance. It's going to jack your rates. I'm sure your insurance guy will help you. He'll probably call them and call their bluff. I think they are betting that you don't know anything and that you will take them at their word. I f#@king hate insurance companies. Such a rip off. You pay them all this money every month and most of the time people don't even use them. Then when it's time to make a claim, they bend over backwards doing whatever is possible to not pay out. Glad your ok bro and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chunky-b Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 File a claim in small claims court against the driver for whatever the insurance does not pay. A guy hit my sister years ago and my dad put a lien against his drivers license. A few years later the guy wanted a job as a truck driver and he had to pay the lien against his license before he could get his commercial license to drive. It took a while but he has to pay it. If his insurance doesn't pay it all, then it is his fault for not carrying enough coverage. Have you seen the Allstate commercials? They show a teenager in court with his parents. The court awards the victim more than insurance covers so the injured goes after the kids college fund, and anything else the parents have. Just because they are under-insured does not mean that you have to get screwed!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JacieFB Posted November 17, 2008 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 I talked to my insurance guy. He said to go ahead and file a claim. It won't jack my rates or ding me in any way(double checking this). Aparently, they go through the same process as the other insurance company did...looking at my car, getting all the info, etc...then they go after the other insurance company or the driver to get their cash back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gbassman100 Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 Not sure what your mandatory minimum limits are in your state, most places it's 25/50/10 (Bodily injury of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 property damage). She is probably telling you that you are bumping up against the $10,000 limit for property damage and that you could get all of your money if you first go through your own insurance. She will have to reimburse your insurance company, but it will be with whatever is remaining of the $10,000 limit after she pays your storage, rental and such. If it was me, I would just call her up and say "I've thought about it a lot, and I want you to pay my property damage, let's get this settled, I'm not going to go through my own carrier". There's still $1400 left on the limits to settle your other auto-relate stuff. Plus, if they total out your car and take possession of it, they will sell the salvage for somewhere around 20% of the $8600, and credit it to the file, so they will have another $1600 or thereabouts (depending on the salvage recovery) to pay you with. If they truly run out of limits you can go to your insurer and make an underinsured claim for the difference between their $10,000 and the actual amount you are out. And you could make a claim for bodily injury, tell her you were a little sore for a week (if true) and you have a medical bill and you want $500 or whatever for your pain and suffering. The bodily injury is a separate limit from the property damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoundandBlocked Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 I had something similar to this happen a few years back. The guy didn't have any insurance and we had a uninsured/underinsured component to our policy. My insurance paid for everything and then went after the guy to recoup their money. My rates are the same. Glad to hear you're okay. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 I talked to my insurance guy. He said to go ahead and file a claim. It won't jack my rates or ding me in any way(double checking this). Aparently, they go through the same process as the other insurance company did...looking at my car, getting all the info, etc...then they go after the other insurance company or the driver to get their cash back. I had a guy back into me several years ago. He was backing out of a parking space while I was trying to drive by. I filed a claim with my agent, they paid for the repairs, then they got their money back from the other guy's insurance company. I had to answer a few questions over the telephone to be used in court, but that was it. I don't recall my premiums going up, but it has been several years... Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JacieFB Posted November 17, 2008 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 Not sure what your mandatory minimum limits are in your state, most places it's 25/50/10 (Bodily injury of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 property damage). She is probably telling you that you are bumping up against the $10,000 limit for property damage and that you could get all of your money if you first go through your own insurance. She will have to reimburse your insurance company, but it will be with whatever is remaining of the $10,000 limit after she pays your storage, rental and such. If it was me, I would just call her up and say "I've thought about it a lot, and I want you to pay my property damage, let's get this settled, I'm not going to go through my own carrier". There's still $1400 left on the limits to settle your other auto-relate stuff. Plus, if they total out your car and take possession of it, they will sell the salvage for somewhere around 20% of the $8600, and credit it to the file, so they will have another $1600 or thereabouts (depending on the salvage recovery) to pay you with. If they truly run out of limits you can go to your insurer and make an underinsured claim for the difference between their $10,000 and the actual amount you are out. And you could make a claim for bodily injury, tell her you were a little sore for a week (if true) and you have a medical bill and you want $500 or whatever for your pain and suffering. The bodily injury is a separate limit from the property damage. Yeah. I hear what you're saying. One other piece to this: Their adjuster guy said the claims people would call me within 24-48 hours. This was Monday afternoon. They didn't call until 6:30 on Friday. So their own slow-movement cost them Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday + in storage fees and rental car fees. I wish I woulda thought of that while I had that woman on the phone. The trouble is, I'm sitting here saying, "No I won't go through my insurance company. Pay me what I'm due." She's sitting there saying, "I can't pay you that much." It's a stalemate without me taking legal action. I'm also keeping good records of my medical stuff. And I have been in pain off and on for 7+ days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gbassman100 Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 You can go through your own insurer if you can handle the additional time and delay and storage and rental car, etc. And you may need to pay your deductible out of pocket and get reimbursed later. Maybe she's on the level and doesn't have enough limits to pay your claim, but it seems questionable. Might want to write or call the state insurance commissioner and file a complaint, see what they determine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J. Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 Yep. Definitely file a complaint with the appropriate state agency as gbassman100 suggested. Insurance companies practically exist to deny claims and get away with shirking their contractual responsibilities, so what you're experiencing is pretty common. I think the lady is lying through her teeth. From the info you've given, that's my hunch. She should just say "I'll write you a check for $10,000." That would cover your towing and storage. Here in Minnesota our legal minimum is $10,000 for property damage. Imagine if you had that insurance and ran into someone's Ferrari and totalled it. The car is valued at $100k and your insurance company would only pay out $10k, leaving you liable for $90k. If that was me, I'd be calling a bankruptcy lawyer ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bbl Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 I'm also keeping good records of my medical stuff. And I have been in pain off and on for 7+ days. Not sure what the law is in your state, but here in Cali we have a 2-year statute of limitations to file a medical claim. My recommendation - take as much time as you can to determine your injuries and medical costs. They may push you to settle your medical claim quickly. Don't do it. You've been rear-ended, and IIRC, you had/have neck or back issues. You may have an injury now that won't show up until 6 months from now. I know someone who lost out by settling too early. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members collinwho Posted November 17, 2008 Members Share Posted November 17, 2008 When my car was totalled two summers ago, I opted to file through my insurance and pay the deductible out of pocket. It was the other guys fault and I knew that the police report backed me up, so it was simply less work. In the end I was given a more than fair payout for the car (I actually received about $1100 more that I bought it for) and was reimbursed for the deductible and doctor's visits. It was a lot less work for me because my insurance company was more than happy to go after theirs and they gladly payed what I was asking since they were going to get it back anyways. It didn't affect my premiums at all. I'd say it wouldn't be a bad idea to let your insurance deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bluescout Posted November 18, 2008 Members Share Posted November 18, 2008 Also, on the value of your car, do the homework by getting the Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds, Vehix and other values. Then find the highest priced examples of your car that match options, year and mileage and bundle some of those in as well. Average them and you've got your value. The insurance companies will try to pay the lowest and you have to make them pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phaeton Posted November 18, 2008 Members Share Posted November 18, 2008 On the surface it *does* sound like b.s., but it's most likely not. Every insurance policy taken out has limitations. Granted, the insurance company has just told you what they're going to pay you, but the driver is liable for the rest. In theory, your insurance company can dispatch a team of lawyers for your disposal. Unfortunately, even with a solid-gold injunction, nobody can force him to pay. This is why I have an "underinsured/uninsured motorist" addendum to my policy. Doesn't help YOU right now, i know tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreaserMatt Posted November 18, 2008 Members Share Posted November 18, 2008 I was rear-ended back in august & my wife was t-boned a year & a half ago, & let me just say that ins. co's are {censored}ed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoundandBlocked Posted November 18, 2008 Members Share Posted November 18, 2008 Be sure to let us know your air date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JacieFB Posted November 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted November 18, 2008 Be sure to let us know your air date. Argh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Perfessor Posted November 18, 2008 Members Share Posted November 18, 2008 I talked to my insurance guy. He said to go ahead and file a claim. It won't jack my rates or ding me in any way(double checking this). Aparently, they go through the same process as the other insurance company did...looking at my car, getting all the info, etc...then they go after the other insurance company or the driver to get their cash back. That's standard procedure. It won't take them more than 5 minutes to get the other company to cough up the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jpabassman Posted November 19, 2008 Members Share Posted November 19, 2008 My son ( 19 yrs) was in an accident caused by the driver of the car he was riding in, we asked the drivers insurance to cover the ER bill and we told by the insurance co a week later that all they could pay was $500, limit of the policy and sugested he filed with his own insurance. they were really jerking him around. We made our son go see a lawer, by the time he was done all the medical bills were paid in full, and he was paid for the time he missed at work. No money down for the lawer. All he originally wanted was the ER bill paid but by the time the lawer was finished with them they paid alot more. serves them right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JacieFB Posted November 26, 2008 Author Members Share Posted November 26, 2008 Well, this is finally going well. My insurance company is handling the collision piece, now. After draggin their feet for a couple of days, they called this morning and told me my car was totaled and they it's worth $9,504. That's almost a grand better than Titan Insurance quoted. I'm feeling a lot better about this, for sure. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with advice and experiences! On the medical side of things, it kinda got worse. My chiropractor worked me over pretty good on Monday, and I feel a LOT better, now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoundandBlocked Posted November 26, 2008 Members Share Posted November 26, 2008 Glad to hear that all the kinks are getting worked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Banta Posted November 26, 2008 Members Share Posted November 26, 2008 On the medical side of things, it kinda got worse. My chiropractor worked me over pretty good on Monday, and I feel a LOT better, now. Be careful what you sign. Even endorsing the back of a check may absolve the insurance company from paying anything more. You may experience future medical complications for which you should receive compensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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