what to do when insurance company is screwing you?

[Mackinblack007]

any suggestions are welcome, the car was recovered.

 

[JRNYMNDAVID]

Insurance

any suggestions are welcome, the car was recovered.

You should have purchased a agreed value policy.There are no problems then..
You should also have an appraisal in hand.It's hard to get more than book value
if you are skimping on insurance premiums to save money.
How is the insurance company trying to screw you?
After you settle,maybe you should look for a new carrier.

 

[MeanBuicks]

Having just gone through this, here's what you should do. See if your policy has an appraisal clause. If so, use it. That entails you hiring an independent appraiser to render an opinion as to the pre-loss value of the car. The insurance company does the same. Of course, they will hire someone who has the insurance company's best interest at hand.

Then, the two appraisers are to work together to come to a consensus as to the value of the car. If they cannot agree, then you and the insurance company need to agree to an umpire who'll have final say so and you'll have to share his fee as well.

Stick to your guns. The insurance company cares nothing about you or your car. They only give a crap about the settlement's effect to their bottom line. I spent right at $500 on appraiser/umpire fees & it took me six months to go through the above process but I came out better in the end compared to the previous low-ball offers they threw my way.

When it's all said and done, take JRNYMNDAVID's advice.

 

[gndoug]

I went through this not too long ago. Someone attempted to steal my car, couldnt, so they trashed it. I came out of it needing a drivers window, steering column, steering wheel, WHOLE paint job(i have no idea why these clowns scratched it), they also stole my stereo, and a few personal items. My insurance company told me it was probably going to be totaled (86 gn with 150k). I had just recently had motor work done, and a new transmission put it. I told them I would be more than happy to have the vehicle appraised for what its value WAS, they told me they would have someone do it, let me know what its appraised as, and then if I thought it was not fair, have my appraiser do it.

Basically it appraised at 11k. Everything got fixed. It really depends on the condition that your car was in before the incident, and if you have proof of it. The insurance company origionally offered me 3500 and to total it. I sure am glad I turned that more than generous offer down.

 

[ty1435_4.3]

Wow Im glad I got mine valued at $17,000 with state farm, with a few conditions. ie garage kept, driven to shows and events only. But CYA cause it took me a few times to convince the underwriters that it is a "Grand National" and not a plain Regal.