Insurance payout for a totaled car is ridiculously low

[Paul G]

My Son's car was totaled in an accident a few months ago. It happened in Indiana where he lives and goes to school. It was a 1999 Ford Explorer in average condition. The other drivers insurance company just sent a letter stating they take responsibility for the accident and will pay $500 for his car. This amount is ridiculously low. Is there anything we can do about this?

[twodko]

Appeal it with that company. Also ask your carrier if it's lowball. Beyond that a shyster may have to brought in but for any 1999 appeal might be the most prudent choice. 

[skip68]

Then you demand they repair it.  You tell them to put it back in the condition it was in when their client wrecked it or they find one for $500 and replace it.  Be tuff and firm.   

[moparguy01]

What skip said. I've had good luck before in similar situations playing hardball.

Here is one example just so you know what I did.
1977 dodge aspen 2 door. 34k miles original. i was the second owner. a lady slid into it and wiped out the drivers side. it was parked on the street. she then ran, but the neighbor saw her and followed. she was the secretary for the church up the road. real classy. anyways, they came back and said they would give me 300 bucks. I not so politely told them where to take their offer. then went online and found other examples of similar cars with low miles in as nice of shape. I ended up with 2200 and kept the car. it took me about 3 months, but i went back with 6 or 7 ads for cars in similar condition to mine before the wreck. then told them that is what it will take to replace it. so either fix it RIGHT or buy me one of those ones.

Do you have the same insurance as the person who hit t he car? Did you have full coverage on the vehicle? if you did, tell your insurance company to deal with it and let their lawyer deal. Otherwise you may want to hire one.

[myk]

I can only wonder how this would work if a "regular" car and driver caused damages to one of OUR cars?  Would the offender's insurance company try to low ball us as well?

[Chryco Psycho]

every ins company is going to low ball you they have no motivation to pay out ! If they think they can buy you out for $500 they will try .
Keep pushing back , for a better deal .

[Silver R/T]

You don't have to accept it. Insurance companies always lowball you, you have to fight them to get your car's worth.

[Old Moparz]

Until you straighten out the value of the damages, or the entire vehicle, don't cash or deposit any check they may send. If you do that, you've basically agreed to their terms & value & will never get another penny from them.

[Paul G]

I can only wonder how this would work if a "regular" car and driver caused damages to one of OUR cars?  Would the offender's insurance company try to low ball us as well?

Absolutely yes. When I was insurance shopping for my Charger I checked with my regular carrier. They said in the event of a total loss they would pay book value, but would not tell me what that value was. I would only assume it was peanuts. So I went with Grundy's agreed value policy.

Do you have the same insurance as the person who hit t he car? Did you have full coverage on the vehicle? if you did, tell your insurance company to deal with it and let their lawyer deal. Otherwise you may want to hire one.

The insurance companys are different. My son had liability coverage only. His insurance wont do anything for him. He called a local lawyer and they said the case was too small for them to deal with. The replacement cost of his totalled car is about $3000 maybe. Offering $500 for a $3000 car should be illegal.

[oldcarnut]

Whats the NADA and KBB value for it? Show them what it is to back up your values you want.  Maybe if they still balk then go against your own policy underinsured side of it if you have that coverage then your insurance company can fight to get it back from the other.  If all else fails that neck and shoulder twinge  should be addressed from some good Chiropractic care.  The lawyer most likely meant that there was not enough big money in it for him to mess with it but from my experiences it only took one 10min phone call from one to get it moving and he made 30% right then with no effort and the insurance co. paid out a bigger claim.   A lot of insurance companies want to scream about lawyers costing them unnecessarily but if they dealt fairly with folks to start with there wouldn't be a need for them most of the time.

[440]

I tend to agree with the lawyer thing. I had the hardest time dealing with Bank of America. They were as good as talking to a wall. I walked in with my lawyer, he put his card down and no sooner without question they were like "right this way sir"

[Ghoste]

A lot of insurance companies want to scream about lawyers costing them unnecessarily but if they dealt fairly with folks to start with there wouldn't be a need for them most of the time.

Ain't that the truth!!

[Mike DC]

         
I remember reading a study one time, comparing the money that insurance companies save by fighting claims versus what it theoretically cost them to just pay out every time.  It was like a 2% difference.  They try to deny a huge dollar amount every year but they spend so much on the process that the final savings is tiny. 

[Ghoste]

I think if it were even .2% they would fight for it.  Greed is powerful.

[Cooter]

Of course the insurance company is gonna low ball you. After all, how many of us have heard/seen someone take adavantage of Insurance by burning down a garage/home/office, then try and claim there was over $200K worth of sh*t inside?

This is why insurance companies have begun to try and offer low. If they offered someone Say $3000 for a 1999 Ford Exploder with over 250K miles on it, they'd be wanting $6000 for it. Simple as selling something, ALWAYS ask MORE than you want for it so the person buying it can feel like they got some kind of jolly from "Haggling" you down on price. it's a game, learn to play it.

[BrianShaughnessy]

Lisa got offered $500 on her 2000 exploder recently at some hunda dealer for a trade in towards her kid's new car.   She kept it.