Help, My car got KEYED

[Gr82baGN]

When it rains it pours. Last night on RT 80 I hit a huge pot hole or crater, I heard a little metal grind right after I hit and slowed down to 30 mph, the grind faded but came back strong 10 minutes later as I was making a right at a red the front passenger wheel collapsed. Looks like the axel broke. Towed home via AAA and forced to park the car on the street in front of my house. I could not angel it into my driveway. Reported it to my insurance. Today I go out to check on it and it was keyed along sides, trunk and hood. Fu@#ing kids I'm always telling to stay away from my car got pay back. As this is my first insurance claim what can I expect. I have full coverage with Liberty Mutual. I know what to do about the wheel; I'm worried about the paint. Will they make me go to one of their shops, get shabby work done? Anyone have experience with this situation?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[1ARUNEM]

The insurance company cannot make you go to one of "their" shops.. However, they will likely recommend one and their shops are usually reputable local shops and they (the insurance co.) usually stands behind the work the shop does.

For instance, if you go to one of "their" shops and are not happy with the work, the insurance company has leeway with the shop because they send them so much business. However, if you go to a shop that is not on the insurance recommended list and are not happy with the work, you're on your own.

As far as the damage, it should fall under you "Comprehensive" coverage.. Since so many panels were damaged, you may just get a whole new paint job out of it.. (silver lining)..

Good luck..

 

[Gr82baGN]

1ARUNEM,

Thanks, I guess I'll look at who "they" recommend and do research on "that" shop and hopefully this will not turn into a bigger nightmare.

 

[zam70]

We're a Liberty Mutual TLC shop (direct). They're actually really good to work with. LM can require you to get an estimate from a "TLC" shop but, they can't make you get it repaired there.
If the scratches are deep, the only option is a repaint. If they repaint The entire car, they might hit you with a "betterment" (you have to pay a percentage of the complete repair), let's hope not...

 

[Gr82baGN]

Zam70,

A "betterment" does not sound good. What factors are used to determine if a "betterment" is applied. The original paint was in very good condition and the overall condition of my car is mint. When I bought the car I requested the car to be insured for the purchased price ($13,500), they required me to take it to their apprasier for a "letter of appraisal", physical inspection and photos. The appraised value and applied endorsement towards my insurance policy for the car was set at $21,000. This was three years ago. Would this have any bearing on determining if a "betterment" should be applied?

 

[Rogue Leader]

If the car was an appraised value vehicle and they knew its collectable ts unlikely you will be charged a betterment fee... Reason being is the car was already insured for having good paint (whereas a regular car is known that there could be problems with its paint based on its age).

As for their approved shops, most insurance companies (I know the one I work for GEICO deas) warranty the shops work for the life of your ownership... Plus they bill the shop directly so you dont have to deal with that and if somehting goes wrong and it costs a bit more they can just bill again. However its your right to choose wherever youwant... who knows maybe your guy is a certified shop.

 

[1badTTA]

"betterment"

If they try the "betterment" BS and your car had really good original paint, explain that on collectable cars the original paint is worth more for the value of the car therefore there is no "betterment" and it will actually diminish the value instead of inproving it.

Warning, if you have any small dings on the car the insurance company isn't required to pay for the bodywork to fix them even if they are paying for the repaint. Just make sure you talk to the shop about it to see if you need to pay anything out of pocket to get the car the way you want it.

 

[Gr82baGN]

I have 4 typical door dings on both sides. People in parking lots Hopefully it won't be that bad.
Thanks for the advise

 

[turbojimmy]

I'd go punk huntin'. I'm a pretty mild mannered guy so very few things set me off. But just reading your story makes me want to put a fist through the wall.

Hopefully Liberty Mutual won't be too hard on you and you can get the car repaired satisfactorily. They are in the business of not paying people (otherwise they wouldn't be making any money), so expect at least a little hassle.

Jim

 

[zam70]

Originally posted by turbojimmy
They are in the business of not paying people (otherwise they wouldn't be making any money), so expect at least a little hassle.

Jim

This is a false belief of the insurance industry. If the claim is valid and honest, they will pay what ever it takes to repair the car properly according to your insurance contract.

Insurance companys make money by investments, not premiums (although, that is where they get the money for the investments)

Just a little fyi

 

[T- Type Tim]

Insurance companies make money off of investments and not premiunms? Ha...... thats real humor there!!

 

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by zam70
This is a false belief of the insurance industry. If the claim is valid and honest, they will pay what ever it takes to repair the car properly according to your insurance contract.

Insurance companys make money by investments, not premiums (although, that is where they get the money for the investments)

Just a little fyi

Okay, my statement was a wee bit cynical. But I'm not talking about premiums. I'm talking about having to pay out. An insurance company is a business. Any good business will look to maximize revenues and returns on investments while minimizing costs and expenses. The result is higher profits and fatter bonuses for the executives. The insurance companies are not driven by benevolence or an overwhelming desire to help people. They need to make money, and they're not making money in NJ so many are pulling out. It's not because they have all invested poorly.

On the flip side, a few bad apples (policy holders) have spoiled the whole bunch, really. Insurance companies wouldn't be so reluctant to pay - and would be able to make more money - if it wasn't for fraud. As always a few scumbags are making life difficult for all of us.

Jim

 

[Gr82baGN]

Turbojimmy,

You not kidding when you say difficult for all of us. This year I had a 20% increase in my premiums for no reason. I looked into insuring with another company and the price quotes I got were unbelievable. LM even with their 20% increase is giving me the best price. I hope my history with them comes into play when it comes to paying for damages. I have had a multi car policy with LM for over 10 years with NO claims and I would hate to think they will give me a hard time now.

 

[zam70]

In the last 2 years, the insurance companys have FREAKED. Is it because of the lack of policy holders? No - the stock market tanked. They have to cut their losses/risk and improve income to make up for loss of Investment income. I'm not saying they make zero dollars from premiums, it's just not their main source of profit.

As far as a few bad apples spoiling it for everybody, try 70%+ of all insured fraud the system in some way. You'd be guarding your dollars too.

I work with adjusters/insurance companys everyday and have handled the repairs on thousands of auto claims (body shop). If the damage is legit and the claim is legit, the insurance company will pay it. In my work, it's me VS the insurance co. They are legally obligated to pay and they know this.
NOW, there are certain insurance companys that are no pay or slow pay...most INS co. do not fall into that category.

 

[azgn]

insurance is a necessary evil and most companies are reputable and eager to take care of their policyholders (customers) .......if that isn't the case with yours, find another

in the insurance business there are two sources of profit....underwriting income and investment income.....when investment income is good, many companies sacrifice underwriting income (premiums minus claims) to gain cash flow for investments...although the real investment profits are due to the industry being able to "reserve" $$ to pay claims and write it off against current income, when many of those claims won't be paid for some time for various reasons (it takes a long time to build a house, recover from a serious injury, litigate a claim)

decent investment returns haven't been available the last few years and many companies had to raise their rates and/or underwriting standards to remain in business

as for NJ...it is a nortoriously bad place to write casualty insurance because of their no-fault laws and lack of underwriting freedom.....nobody makes money in NJ on auto ins, so why be there?

good luck with your claim! hope you wind up satisfied

 

[Gr82baGN]

Woody,

Thanks, my biggest concern right now is WHO to send it to for paint and body work. I've never had a car painted before and I have heard some nightmare stories so I will be doing my research. What ever the shop decides needs to be done is fine by me as long as the car looks the way it did before the keying. I now have a jeep as a DD but when the snow season passes it's back in the GN saddle for me. The jeep will be good for off roading like at the A&P or Pathmark parking lots, where it could get dangerous. On a serious note, I'll probably be paranoid now about parking it on the street even for a few minutes although the GN has never been parked on the street overnight but for this one time.

 

[azgn]

I betcha you'll wind up with some recommendations from the local folk as to a paint shop......as mentioned, most of the "preferred" shops that Ins cos use do excellent work and stand behind it

 

[Rogue Leader]

Originally posted by azgn

as for NJ...it is a nortoriously bad place to write casualty insurance because of their no-fault laws and lack of underwriting freedom.....nobody makes money in NJ on auto ins, so why be there?

My company (GEICO) is STILL paying no fault claims from 30 years ago (which was the last time we sold insurance in NJ) thats how bad it is.. And you can collect double on the same injury if it was aggrivated in a second accident!

 

[T- Type Tim]

Damn insurance people are vampires, seated next to the lawyers in the 7th ring of hell.

 

[Gr82baGN]

Xmas comes a little early (update)

I get a highly recommend body shop to do the work on the car. The adjuster shows up and only allows for $2,300 to refinish all the panels. Claims it is an1987 Buick and if they go higher they might as well TOTAL it. The body shop advises me it will look ok but not great. To do it right requires a strip and repaint. To do it really well would cost between 6&7k. Claims dept for the insurance company can't find my paperwork on the stated value endorsement ($21,000) and what ever the adjuster determines is final. This is not acceptable to me. I keep meticulous files and I pull the digital scans of all my paperwork for the stated value endorsement, I get a hold of a supervisors name at sales and I email the information to them. They find my file and apologize for the delay. Finally some good news. I get a supervisor from the claims dept to speak to a supervisor from the sales dept and they decide to send the head supervisor from the adjuster’s dept over to reexamine my car. Mind you he now has my stated value endorsement in hand. The body shop calls me Thursday and lets me know the insurance company Ok’d all the work that needs to be done to get the car painted the RIGHT WAY, strip the entire car to metal, new molding, emblems, the works. No betterment charge as the car's original paint was in great condition to begin with or at least as good as it gets from GM in 1987. I advised them that original paint on a car like this holds the value of the car better than a repaint. They understood. My car should be ready in about 2 to 3 months. Sorry about the long post I'm still suffering from Mall Mania, xmas shopping with the wife is killing me.
,,,,,And to all a Good Night!
MERRY CHRISTMAS