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2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
I was pretty shocked the judge came up with a rather low $3K DV; things in court appeared to go very well for me. Now I hate it when cases are taken "under advisement" for "further research." I'd of done better if he'd of taken my number and their number and split the difference right then and there.
Maybe he rewarded the defendant for being so purely honest. Only the insurance rep tried some legal non-sense about trying to assess shared blame. The defendant admitted "I didn't see him." Made the fault easy to prove.
I plan to buy a car in SF and I need a full coverage to lower risks. My question is simple: how there specifics for foreign people when subscribing to a car insurance? For example, if I choose a full coverage (physical damage, liability, collision) will I be charged additional fees in case I get hit (accident) ? I'll certainly buy this kind of car, it's a cheap SUV as described on edmunds.
Hopefully it's the right place to ask.
Thanks, Ben
Thank you.
The DV claim goes against the insurance company of the truck who hit you. You cannot as a rule make a DV claim against your own insurance company.
A dealer might be able to assist an appraiser by providing testimony as to the DV loss but your case should be presented by an impartial appraiser. Dealers are not considered impartial.
If your car wasn't badly "bent", and if the body shop is a very good one, there's no reason why your Jeep should drive good as new, and look good as new---however, you have still incurred a DV loss no matter how well the repairs are done.
Does anyone here know how to decipher the Rating Tier?
If you want to plow through this report from NJ on the tier system in that state, you might find some interesting information.
Tier Rating Plans and Underwriting Rules, State of New Jersey
Health care insurance going single payer for all might just be the beginning of the end for the fraudulent insurance cabal.
And with auto insurance, it really is a shame that longevity with a company means squat to them. We've found that changing companies every few years results in better priced premiums in the beginning but then after a couple of years, the prices start that familiar creep up again which facilitates the whole process being started over and taking on a new company. Seems a bit silly but for some reason, that's the way it's been here in the U S. And it's something I'll never understand. Good customers who don't file many claims, or even those that never do, should be given the lowest prices and should be wanted to maintain their policies with the current companies. But for some reason, this is just not the case. Makes me mad as hell actually!!!
"I'm mad and I'm not going to take it any more"! Maybe like in the movie, "Network", folks should stand up together and demand that things change for the better! Probably think others might just feel the same way here.
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
I live in Ohio and have a Lexus ES 2009, 84K miles, which was recently rear-ended (in Ohio) with cracked bumper and possibly some "bending" of the exhaust pipe. Bring it to the Lexus dealer, and the repair cost was estimated over $2K. But the Insurance switched out the bumper replacement to using a Replacement Part instead of original Lexus part, claiming any car over 5 years and not current mode. So it would not get OEM part. Hence the repair would now come down to less than $1500.
By Kelly Blue Book Estimates, pre-accident trade in value ranges from 11K to $13K based on varying conditions, and private sale is about $13K.
Appreciate if you can shed some lights on the following:
1) Is the adjuster right about the replacement part for my OEM part?! I mean, I am a victim here, and I see that the Ins is taking [non-permissible content removed] excuses to avoid doing the right thing!
2) About the DV claims. Based on the 17C formula, with based value of 10% of Vehicle, what is the proper "Damage Multiplier" should be used? After all those stupids and flaw multipliers, I guess I would be lucky to see $300 DV claim.
Or you think I should go to the trouble of hiring an expert in assessing the DV? How much would that be?
3) Due to various phone calls, and sending car in for repair estimates, these have taken hours of my time. Shouldn't the Ins reimburse my time?
I mean, I am a victim in this accident, yet at the end, I wasted hours of my time + getting a lousy replacement part + loss of DV of car. Feel like Ins company is rubbing salt into wound.
Thanks
Sean
You Lexus is "old" (anything over 7 years) so your DV claim wouldn't be for much more than the cost to hire an appraiser. However, if you are intent on getting DV; that's your best bet on principle. Forget the formulas and multipliers, they are bogus. You probably have about a $750-$1,000 legit DV claim. You also have a right to specify OEM parts for your Lexus. I think they will cave on that given enough pressure. Or you can bargain and negotiate and say if they provide OEM parts you'll half your DV claim right off the bat.
Claiming costs for wasted time is an uphill battle. A lot of judges will think tough luck, that's life! Of course all us good drivers know it isn't just life, but negligence that causes these situations.
You should also demand a luxury car rental vehicle while it is being repaired, or at least a "premium" rental to approximate what you have lost use of during repairs. Why should someone used to driving around in a nice luxury car suddenly be forced to drive around in a $10K econo box that might get them killed in another accident whereas they would have survived in a "safer" vehicle!
Insurance companies think amount of seats equals "the same" transportation. By that reasoning, a 2 seat Smart car is equivalent transportation to a 2-seat Bugatti Veyron.
All of the above is done in an effort to cheat people, and be cheap (saving them $$$). It's all about the money; not about being fair or equitable.
As for the DV part of your question, in my opinion you don't have a DV claim worth pursuing, as you suspected.
As for the OEM part dispute---laws vary state by state as to what an insurance company may or may not offer to you. So you would have to study those laws in the state where you live. In all the states I was able to take a quick look at, they do specify that after 2 or 3 years old, OEM parts are not required.
However, you can do two things in conformance with the regulations:
1. You can offer to pay the difference for the OEM part
2. If you can prove that the aftermarket part they intend to use is inferior, you may be able to force them to give you the OEM part. I'm not sure how you, or any insured person, is going to accomplish this exactly.
Ins company is MetLife (Metropolitan). They claim, based on their procedures, they would only replace the bumper with Lexus original part OEM if the car is either less than 5 years old, and is current model. Which in my case it is not.
So it seems like both the DV claim + OEM Bumper is not an good and quick option to me. Did not realize how Ins company is such a huge vampire!
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Is that possible to make one of my out of state relative the primary driver and me the occasional driver?
Instead, you should do what most of "us" did when we were your age. Buy a beater and just have liability on it.
I'm just happy my insurance company somehow never found out about all of the tickets I got back in my misspent youth. Never an accident though.
A lady ran a stop sign and hit me it is at the body shop now getting a estimate
What are the odds it will get fixed or totaled?
What is the cash value I could potentially get if it is totaled ?
I live in PA
I mentioned to the agent how it amazes me companies spend so much money trying to entice folks to purchase their products while at the same time they seem to have no problem trying to gouge their existing customers. Needless to say, the agent did not say much.
I had a similar issue with COMCAST. My monthly bill rose from $225 to nearly $350. I have everything including the fastest internet. A simple call got the bill reduced to $210 with more included.
Geico could be another $50 cheaper if they'd lay off the zillions of lizard ads that inundate the airways 24/7. But they got to keep up with Flo.
@rwolfe546, my guess is that because your Jeep is just a year old, the insurance company will try to fix it. Sounds like a $10k to $15k repair bill from my couch.
Comparing prices in my area for my vehicles, Geico is a cheap insurer, and you get what you pay for with them. They will not hesitate to change one tire on an AWD car where the manual says to NEVER change less than 2 tires at a time, and they won't hesitate to verbally state an unloaded car seat (no baby was in it at the time) is OK to use after an accident. Only when you ask them to simply put it in writing their policy is to not replace car seats or bases when they are unloaded in an accident, do they then fork over the $60 or so bucks for a new base. Shady.
Don't expect the insurance company to pay you very much for the aftermarket additions. Most policies restrict the amount paid for customization.
Good luck with it!
I'm not an attorney and state laws differ so be advised. I always tell people to accept any reasonably fair offer or arbitration. You'll get back sales tax and registration fees, too, over and above the settlement so that's another ten percent. It's hard to disputed 2015 values because there is so much data out there.
It is when an Insurance company throws a bogus value at something (such as $1K diminished value on a 4-month old 4K mile 55,000 dollar S4); that you should dig in your heels and go straight to court. IMO Don't waste time with arbitration or mediation; it'll only wear you down; which is what they want. They will think you are bluffing about suing them until you serve them their papers. Unfortunately small claims court is the only way to do this inexpensively, and your claim is limited to $10K in CA for Small Claims.
Be prepared; they will send a very practiced non-attorney that works directly with their legal department. They are not allowed to send a full-fledged attorney, but they have highly trained advocates working for them.
The other learning lessons from my one lifetime experiencing in Small Claims court:
1) Don't assume anything.
2) Breaking rule 1, assume they (Insurance) will argue/protest/contest every single thing and element of your case; including previously un-argued points regarding fault.
3) Make sure you state your demands for payment, and what those amounts are currently for the judge (basically assume they know nothing about your case and haven't read a word of your application).
4) IF it is a case of your hired appraiser vs. the Insurance companies hired appraiser (such as in a DV claim); it might be worth it to hire 2 independent appraisers to trump the one they hired. Most likely yours will be in the same ball park while theirs is dependent on being re-hired by the insurance company for hundreds of cases. Your appraisers have no such incentive as you are likely not to have many DV claims in your lifetime.
5) Don't withhold substantiating evidence even though it is for a lower amount than you would like (Example: I didn't point out or present an Audi Dealership's Sales Manager's letter about my DV being about $5K, I solely used the appraisers number at 8,500 or so, and I ended up only getting $3,500 in DV). If I had presented the letter maybe I'd of received $5K!.
The court awarded me court and service of papers fees on top of my awarded judgement. The judgement was less than I had hoped for, but more than I was offered by the Insurance company. If you get your fees awarded, that means you "won" your case. They did not award me appraiser fees.
(I have Michigan rims on my older minivan and if only there was a way to crack them all and get new ones....)
"Trailers that are 11 years or older are only entitled to actual cash value and we no longer pay replacement cost for them. To determine actual cash value, depreciation must be applied. Because your trailer is repairable, we are paying the actual cash value for the repairs.
Wawanesa has deemed 20% prior to GST a fair amount for depreciation and it as applied to any trailer that is 11 years or older."
I understand actual cost value and depreciation for a write off but can they claim depreciation on a repair if they are choosing not to write it off. Its very frustrating - this is our first claim in 20 years.
You're going to have to work this out with them, but, quite frankly, on such a new car I'd probably eat the tow charge myself to take it to a place I"m comfortable with.
You might review your policy and see if there's some kind of mileage limitation on towing.
They may balk if you really do live that far from a certified body shop, but I doubt it.
However, my 2 cents is that the certification is worth about 2 cents.
Find a recommended high quality body shop that gets referrals from people you know, that's worth more.
Just another reason I hate insurance companies. This is par for the course of how insurance companies let greed govern their policy making.
It's best to do this in writing. That way you have everything you said in writing.
Keep in mind that the record of the accident doesn't go away even though you withdraw the claim.