Farmers insurance blows

[purple97]

Well back in October of 2006 a guy fell asleep and hit me head on at a combined speed of 90 mph totalled my 04 GTO put me in 2 moths of rehab for my back which still hurts every now and then, scars on the top of my head,arm, and leg missed 2 months of work so lawyer said it should not take to long.

Well Farmers just sent in their offer of $9,416 and after the 33.3 for lthe law firm and assorted fees would leave me $5,500 shick sucks because i had always wanted a GN and had one in line to buy and now that is shot lawyer said litigation might take u to a year.

 

[Chris McDade]

I would laugh at that. Get more. Don't settle for that.

 

[purple97]

I would not exactly call it laughing when the attorney told me that, i just hate the fact that if it goes to litigation i will spending some time in court.

 

[87grandnat]

If you dont think the wait is worth it then be happy with what you got and forget about it, but if you arent satisfied (which you shouldnt be) then take it farther...get a different lawyer if you have to. I would atleast go talk to someone else if your lawyer is persuaing you to not push farther

Joshua

 

[purple97]

No i am not happy with what they are offering, and my lawyer is the one telling we need to go to litigation.

 

[garyk1970]

they usually settle.its cheaper to pay,than to go to court.they HAVE to bluff to try and save themselves $$

 

[purple97]

I hope that is the case Gary i am ready to sit behind the wheel of a GN and stop drooling over you alls cars, i already had the wheels and tires i was gonna get and everything, oh well good things come to those who wait i guess, i will join you guys sooner or later.

 

[SVORay]

they usually settle.its cheaper to pay,than to go to court.they HAVE to bluff to try and save themselves $$

Dude, forget about the car!

Just like above mentioned, almost ALL cases are settled out of court. The last thing in the world they want is your crippled ass in front of a jury!

 

[purple97]

here is a pic of my gto
http://img244.imageshack.us//img244/3871/tmp7907mh6.jpg

 

[garyk1970]

here is a pic of my gto
http://img244.imageshack.us//img244/3871/tmp7907mh6.jpg

youll have a turbo buick soon.meanwhile keep looking at cars,see what the market is in your area,etc.

 

[stack1]

Hello all, I'm an insurance adjuster and I'd like to give some advise to anyone following this thread. No attorney should ever take 1/3 of your vehicle settlement. It's the industry standard to take 1/3 of the injury setttlement, but not the vehicle settlement.

Since I'm an insurance adjuster, I know how the process works. A large insurer like Farmers will use a company to determine an actual cash value of your totaled vehicle. This company takes the info supplied by Farmers about your car and will compare it to similiar vehicles in your area while adjusting for mileage, options and condition. This process has been put through the test of the courts and Farmers is likely on solid ground to prove their value. If you feels it's too low, it's on you to do some research to prove to them why it should be higher.

There's normally no or little negotiation on this value. You might be able to get them to move 10% if you or your attorney is persistant.

But ask your attorney what he did to justify earning $3000 off of your vehicle? Probably nothing. Here's likely how the call went:

Insurance adjuster: Hello attorney paralegal (rarely is the actual attorney involved), we have a value of $9400 on your client's car.

Attorney paralegal: Okay, I'll have the client come in to sign the power of attorney and odom statement for the vehicle. Send the check to our office, goodbye.

No attorney will file suit over a vehicle claim. It costs too much for them also. They could be turning injury claims while they're in court fighting for what? An extra $2000? It's not worth their time. He's already getting $3000 for doing nothing. I hope he can make it up to you on the injury settlement.

 

[purple97]

no no no they paid off the car what we are going through now is the personnal injury which include over 6,000 in lost wages, because of 2 months missed plus bill not payed by my health insurance and all the p/t which was a month and a half plus the scars and how much it would cost to fix them.

 

[broke1]

I broke my femur 3 months ago and was taken to hospital against my will who butchered me(put a rod in that was 1.5" to long and I couldnt bend my knee more than 100*,I almost got into a fight with the EMT's cause I knew I didnt want to go to that hospital)No doctor in my state would even admit there was a problem with the orig surgery and I had to fly to to Houston to get another opinion.

Long story short,I had another painful operation to fix what no one would admit was messed up.

No lawyer will touch the EMT case as its not profitable enough I guess.I blame the EMT's more than the doctor who wouldnt let me leave the hospital without operating.Hell,I layed in the ER for 2 hours with no pain meds thanks to them.

And for the malpractice,I will only receive about $100k.To me,they ouldnt give me $5 million to make it worth the pain and suffering.And ive got over $100k in medical bills.

Consider yourself very lucky.

And in my state,the attorney's get 50% of your claim,not 1/3.

 

[SouthernCal GN]

I would laugh at that. Get more. Don't settle for that.

Exactly. Listen to your lawyer- go to court on this. You accept their settlement, and you're screwed.

What potential future problems await you as a result of the accident? Is 9k really just compensation for your combined losses (physical/ time/wages/mental?)- I don't think so!

Think long and hard before you accept......

 

[purple97]

thank you southerncal and wow broke are you ok now and did everything come out allright, i think i would have been yelling at the top of my lungs for some pain meds

 

[broke1]

Im ok,just in alot of pain.My leg was weak from the orig accident and surgery(about 30%) and I had to start over again.My leg is very weak.I will be better again,itll just be a while.Ive now got a good doctor but I have to fly 1/2 way across the country to see him(im in Alabama)

When im in pain,I just whimper,not scream in agony.It wouldnt of done any good anyways unless I had a gun I couldve threatened em with.

The laws are set up to protect the doctors and insurance companies,**** the little guy.Anyone that thinks they did the right thing by putting caps on malpractice suits should be drug out in the street,shot and tortured.

 

[purple97]

i know what you mean i just got out of a cast i had on for almost 2 months for a broken heel bone i broke while playing softball, and my leg was pale and skinny compared to the other.

 

[garyk1970]

Hello all, I'm an insurance adjuster and I'd like to give some advise to anyone following this thread. No attorney should ever take 1/3 of your vehicle settlement. It's the industry standard to take 1/3 of the injury setttlement, but not the vehicle settlement.

Since I'm an insurance adjuster, I know how the process works. A large insurer like Farmers will use a company to determine an actual cash value of your totaled vehicle. This company takes the info supplied by Farmers about your car and will compare it to similar vehicles in your area while adjusting for mileage, options and condition. This process has been put through the test of the courts and Farmers is likely on solid ground to prove their value. If you feels it's too low, it's on you to do some research to prove to them why it should be higher.

There's normally no or little negotiation on this value. You might be able to get them to move 10% if you or your attorney is persistant.

But ask your attorney what he did to justify earning $3000 off of your vehicle? Probably nothing. Here's likely how the call went:

Insurance adjuster: Hello attorney paralegal (rarely is the actual attorney involved), we have a value of $9400 on your client's car.

Attorney paralegal: Okay, I'll have the client come in to sign the power of attorney and odom statement for the vehicle. Send the check to our office, goodbye.

No attorney will file suit over a vehicle claim. It costs too much for them also. They could be turning injury claims while they're in court fighting for what? An extra $2000? It's not worth their time. He's already getting $3000 for doing nothing. I hope he can make it up to you on the injury settlement.

you missed the entire subject as noted already,his problems are physical now.
help you Buick brothers out and tell us how your insurance policy is on your turbo Buick ,give us some pointers,tips,etc on getting enough insurance so some dimwit wont try and give me $500 for my 87 Buick "regal " in the event of a total loss.
how can i get a agreed value with my company (Nationwide)? I really want to stay with them, so please don't tell me to go ask hagerdy or some other company for a quote unless I'm painting myself in a corner by sticking with Nationwide.
thanks for any pointers/help Gary.

 

[stack1]

You're right Gary, I was way off!! I exchanged PMs with Purple. I got thrown off when he mentioned buying a GN, I thought he'd be buying it with his GTO settlement money. The offer seems low, but I'm sure his attorney will handle it. It might be a policy limits issue with the other driver, in which case I hope he has some assets that can be gone after.

People worry about their policy too much. Just make sure you have comprehensive and collision coverage. Nearly every policy carries the "3rd party appraisal clause". This means that if you and your insurer cannot agree on a value if it's totaled or stolen, you each hire your own appraiser and what they come up with is binding.

But before it gets to that point, all you have to do is prove why you feel the vehicle is worth more than what they're offering. It's not hard to go to autotrader.com and find a few pricey GNs or T-Types to prove it's high value. I know someone on this board that had a somewhat rare Turbo T stolen. He was insured by one of the big 3 insurers. He showed them how valuable it was and received a more than fair settlement.

Keep your insurance with Nationwide and hope that you don't have a claim. If you do, show them why they should pay what you want. I hope this helps, feel free to contact me with any questions. I'll be more than happy to offer my personal opinion.