How to not get fucked by the insurance company
- Thread starter JustinCase
- Start date
I just called my insurance company again, I'm going to file through them if I haven't heard back from this other company by Monday
And also, find out where the other driver lives and smear feces on their door knob.
One more question, the other guy's insurance company has accepted responsibility and they're paying for my rental car as well as the adjuster who came out and looked at my car. If they get me in a body shop on Monday and I'm not happy with their adjuster's estimate or anything else, can I then decide I want to go through my own insurance?
and yes, I need someone to hold my hand through this
and yes, I need someone to hold my hand through this
That was my thought process at first....
Amazon Jim
Veteran X
Yup.....stop talking to the insurance company and go see your doctor. I bet you hurt your back that will mess with your job and money too....
Just mentioning this will make them think twice. or they could screw you.
I have an appointment for Monday
The insurance company of the at-fault person is going to pay for property damages either way.
the reason you try to go through the person at fault's insurance first is so that you can avoid paying your deductible.
however, if you do go through your insurance company and pay your deductible, you will get it reimbursed to you when the two insurance companies have finished settlement.
I had a dumb bitch run into me and total my car a few years back. she had Nationwide and they started to try funny business with fault. I was sure it wasn't my fault (and so was the cop) so I said screw it, let me have my insurance take care of it for me. I ended up making $4000 in the end because of what I owed vs. what they totaled it for. they provided payoff for the totaling of the car quite quickly - maybe a week if that. getting the deductible back took about 2 months.
however, if you do go through your insurance company and pay your deductible, you will get it reimbursed to you when the two insurance companies have finished settlement.
I had a dumb bitch run into me and total my car a few years back. she had Nationwide and they started to try funny business with fault. I was sure it wasn't my fault (and so was the cop) so I said screw it, let me have my insurance take care of it for me. I ended up making $4000 in the end because of what I owed vs. what they totaled it for. they provided payoff for the totaling of the car quite quickly - maybe a week if that. getting the deductible back took about 2 months.
AdreNaLiNe
Veteran XX
In NY, I was rear-ended pretty badly by some teenager who was texting on her phone. It was stop and go traffic.
The claims adjuster came to my house to look at the damage. As with you, he said he can't tell the damage because he can only see the visible damage. He then wrote me a check for what he saw. I'm driving a bmw and I said there's no way the damage is for $1,800 only. It's at least a $5,000 job. So, the next thing I had to do was find a shop. I went to my dealer's shop as I wanted a certified BMW specialist to work on it. The shop then worked with the claims adjuster to write an additional two checks, totally over $5,600 to complete all the work on my car.
Basically, the shop told them (at a reasonable labor rate) what else needed repairing and they kept coming out to view it and write more checks. I think you need to get it into a shop that is dilligent in making sure you have fine workmanship and willing to work with the claims adjuster. My car looked completely brand new after it. They replaced the trunk, a side fender, the bumper, rear license plate bracket even. The trunk locking mechanism was also replaced. Essentially, the most important part in the process was the shop that meticulously went over my vehicle to ensure nothing was missing.
edit: I should mention in the whole process, my OWN insurance did nothing for me, as they are not liable. Talking to them just allows them to record that an incident occured. Whether they charge you more premium next period, I am not sure. Mine didn't. I worked solely with the insurane company of the person who hit me from behind. They kept reassuring me everything will be covered and to just get my car into the shop.
Also, my accident was backed by a police report. The person admitted complete fault by the way, because that's what they were at. I am sure they are just glad I required no medical assistance.
The claims adjuster came to my house to look at the damage. As with you, he said he can't tell the damage because he can only see the visible damage. He then wrote me a check for what he saw. I'm driving a bmw and I said there's no way the damage is for $1,800 only. It's at least a $5,000 job. So, the next thing I had to do was find a shop. I went to my dealer's shop as I wanted a certified BMW specialist to work on it. The shop then worked with the claims adjuster to write an additional two checks, totally over $5,600 to complete all the work on my car.
Basically, the shop told them (at a reasonable labor rate) what else needed repairing and they kept coming out to view it and write more checks. I think you need to get it into a shop that is dilligent in making sure you have fine workmanship and willing to work with the claims adjuster. My car looked completely brand new after it. They replaced the trunk, a side fender, the bumper, rear license plate bracket even. The trunk locking mechanism was also replaced. Essentially, the most important part in the process was the shop that meticulously went over my vehicle to ensure nothing was missing.
edit: I should mention in the whole process, my OWN insurance did nothing for me, as they are not liable. Talking to them just allows them to record that an incident occured. Whether they charge you more premium next period, I am not sure. Mine didn't. I worked solely with the insurane company of the person who hit me from behind. They kept reassuring me everything will be covered and to just get my car into the shop.
Also, my accident was backed by a police report. The person admitted complete fault by the way, because that's what they were at. I am sure they are just glad I required no medical assistance.
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Adrenaline, thanks, your situation (and damage) sounds pretty much exactly like mine. I'm not taking any checks from them. I'm going to take it to a GM certified shop and make sure they do it right, no used parts or any of that shit.
AdreNaLiNe
Veteran XX
No dude. They gave me an INITIAL check right away. I brought the check to my shop. Then they wrote additional checks as the shop needed. The reason they wrote two more was because the shop found more damage after their own initial inspection. So the adjuster inspected it once, then the shop did. That's two checks. Then as they were repairing, they found more damage (trunk locking mechanism, so on and so forth) and the adjuster wrote a third check. What sucked was in the process, it took them over a month to finish everything as the adjuster had to travel back and forth and agree to this stuff.
Taking the initial check doesn't absolve their insurance company of liability. It just gets the ball rolling. The shop (a good one) then works with the claims adjuster for more money as needed.
Also, if their insurance company is being a complete dick about the situation, which they shouldn't be as
1. You were rear ended and at no-fault
2. You have possible medical needs
then you can have your insurance deal with theirs. If they're a mom and pop insurance, I'm sure Geico or some other huge company will beat the balls out of them. The bad part of this is you receive the money less the deductible, which means you have to shell out money yourself in the first place (which may be money you don't have).
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Justin:
go to doctor, get bills and get fixed
go to body shop, get estimate
call your insurance company and tell them whats up
call other guy's insurance and tell them you want pain and suffering damages
they will try and negotiate with you
fuck them
3x what your medical expenses are.
if they drag their feet on this, settle with your insurance and they will sue the other company and collect their money and send you your deductible
unsure if you can settle the car portion with your company and fight the other company on medical costs and pain and suffering
ask your claims person
go to doctor, get bills and get fixed
go to body shop, get estimate
call your insurance company and tell them whats up
call other guy's insurance and tell them you want pain and suffering damages
they will try and negotiate with you
fuck them
3x what your medical expenses are.
if they drag their feet on this, settle with your insurance and they will sue the other company and collect their money and send you your deductible
unsure if you can settle the car portion with your company and fight the other company on medical costs and pain and suffering
ask your claims person
I really have no clue why people are saying to talk to your own insurance company.
That is like a last resort if the dude was uninsured etc.
As long as you're in a rental on their dime, I see no reason to not be patient with the process. They write an initial estimate, then you take it to a shop that will work with insurance companies. Make sure they shop knows nothing is coming out of your pocket and they arrange things with the insurer.
Since it's a RWD car, there is probably a lot more damage than your typical FWD econo box.
That is like a last resort if the dude was uninsured etc.
As long as you're in a rental on their dime, I see no reason to not be patient with the process. They write an initial estimate, then you take it to a shop that will work with insurance companies. Make sure they shop knows nothing is coming out of your pocket and they arrange things with the insurer.
Since it's a RWD car, there is probably a lot more damage than your typical FWD econo box.
Document everything. The company will constantly attempt to get you to agree to low figures to close the case quickly as all the insurance people have 2 goals 1) save money 2) close case quickly.
If you are having pain, get a lawyer immediately just to avoid the hassle of having to go back and forth with them at the increased risk of being fucked over. You'll have to handle most of the property stuff yourself or get your insurance company to help you as any ambulance chaser is just going to be worried with the personal injury part.
Chances are if you go to the shop they want you to go to, the shop's going to try to fuck you too as they're loyal to the insurance company since it brings them a lot of business.
I would take it to a trusted mechanic/body shop first and get a free estimate of repairs.
This gives you a strong position when you deal with their adjuster. Chances are he'll just check over your estimate and agree with everything on it as long as it's within reason.
If you notice anything out of the ordinary, report it to the mechanic. Once you agree to anything it's a done deal and irreversible.
If it's more than a few years old, has any body damage, and a large amount of labor involved chances are they're going to total it out and give you the option to take a payout for the car or buy it from you with the option to keep it for a fraction of the worth - both have their advantages.
If you are having pain, get a lawyer immediately just to avoid the hassle of having to go back and forth with them at the increased risk of being fucked over. You'll have to handle most of the property stuff yourself or get your insurance company to help you as any ambulance chaser is just going to be worried with the personal injury part.
Chances are if you go to the shop they want you to go to, the shop's going to try to fuck you too as they're loyal to the insurance company since it brings them a lot of business.
I would take it to a trusted mechanic/body shop first and get a free estimate of repairs.
This gives you a strong position when you deal with their adjuster. Chances are he'll just check over your estimate and agree with everything on it as long as it's within reason.
If you notice anything out of the ordinary, report it to the mechanic. Once you agree to anything it's a done deal and irreversible.
If it's more than a few years old, has any body damage, and a large amount of labor involved chances are they're going to total it out and give you the option to take a payout for the car or buy it from you with the option to keep it for a fraction of the worth - both have their advantages.
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