[Shotimes] OT/waaaay OT anyone here an insurance adjuster? or have this problem?

[Ron Nottingham]

John, what the ins co is doing is stalling.  They know that they have all
the time in the world (OK, 2 years max, at least in GA, may vary by state),
and your GF does not.  What they are trying to do is stall, and hope your GF
will just give up and settle for what little they want to give.  Hire a
lawyer, or at least consult one.  The ins co will try every way to get out
of paying!!  I got hit in the back end, not my fault, but the at fault's ins
co tried to make it look my fault.  All I wanted was everything to be
settled fair, my car replaced, and my doctor bills paid, I was not looking
for any more $$$$$.  I just wanted everything over quickly, so I could get
on with my life.  They told me to go to what ever doctors I needed to see
and have them send the bills directly to the ins co (I had this in writing).
They didn't want to give me anything for my car, and rejected ALL doctor's
bills.  I hired a lawyer, and it took almost 2 years (since the day of the
accident) before the ins co would come to any agreement.  I cleared a
sizeable chunk of change, MUCH more than I had wanted originally.

BTW, most "national" ins cos will try everything they can do to please you,
but the ones to watch out for are the smaller "regional" ins cos.  They have
nothing to lose by stalling the payment, whereas the injured party has the
most to lose in the deal if they do not settle quickly.  If your GF wouldn't
mind driving a cheap car (and can afford a few hundred $$$), get her
something to putter around in, get back and forth to work, etc.  That way
she will not be without transportation, and can hold out as long as the ins
co can.  Does she also have health ins from work?  If so, use the health ins
to go to the doctor, so medical bills will not back up and possibly be sent
to collection agencies.  Or at least, pay $5 a month on the bills, so they
will be kept "current".  Keep every receipt!!  From the $3 for Tylenol to
the $175 for the good pain killers.  If there is any money spent as a result
of this accident, keep the receipt, you may be able to recoup that money.
Tape everything the ins adjuster says (go buy a cheap tape recorder and some
tapes).  Do not talk on the phone about anything to the adjuster, ask to
talk in his office, or wherever, just talk face to face.  Ask for everything
in writing, if possible, if the ins adjuster cannot provide anything in
writing, take what the adjuster just said with a grain of salt.

It's not "fair", so the best thing you could try to do is find out and have
proof of the reason the car originally had a salvage title, and prove that
that could not have any bearing on the performance or safety of the vehicle
(they will use this to try to weasel out of paying any medical!!!).  There
sounds like allot of legwork involved in this one...  If the ins co doesn't
sound like they are trying to cooperate, consult/hire an attorney,
preferably one that is experienced in this type of accident.

Ron N. - Dalton, GA
90 SHO
89 325i
"It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile"


----- Original Message -----
From: "John Phillis" <jphillis68@hotmail.com>
To: <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2003 12:22 AM
Subject: [Shotimes] OT/waaaay OT anyone here an insurance adjuster? or have
this problem?


> I am looking for some opinions as to what to do. Actually, my girlfriend
is.
> She was crossing an intersection and someone blew the stoplight coming the
> other way and plowed her 1999 Ford Escort ZX2.
>
> she is in a lot of pain right now, and very miserable, but what is really
> making her miserable and even more upset is the fact that the insurance
> adjuster of the insurance co of the person who hit her, came to look at
her
> car, and found there was almost $6900 damage done to the car, and possibly
> more hidden damage. so he filed it as a total loss, and put the paperwork
> through CCC Pathways. which turned up her car as being a prior salvage
> titled car that was reconstructed and retitle. which was not a surprise to
> us, as we both knew about the car's history when it was bought.  Now, the
> insurance adjuster said, because the car was salvage titled at one time,
> it's value is gonna be less, and therefore she will not get the same
amount
> of money as she would have had it not been prior totalled.
> Now, the accident report on file does state clearly that the other driver
> was at fault and received traffic violations for the incident. So
therefore,
> this was not at all the fault of my girl friend, who is now out of a car,
> and too broke to afford to get a rental car right now, because the
insurance
> co wants her to pay for the rental car and they will reimburse her when
they
> settle the property claim. so, the amount of money they are giving her
> wouldnt' even buy her a 1993 escort with 150K miles on it, let alone the
> 1999 ZX2 with 44k on it that she had.
>
> so how is this fair?
>
> how can it be that they give you the value of a reconstructed title car,
and
> expect you to go out and find a reconstructed car in about that same
> condition which is comparable to the one lost in teh accident?
>
> how can it be that through no fault of her own, she is now having to
search
> through every publication in site to find a car that will last her the 5
or
> 6 years that her 99 woudl have, or at least the 60K miles that was left
> before it rolled 100K. for about $3500.
> now, how is this fair?
> how is it that she is staying calm?
> and finally, does anyone have any insight into this matter that might ease
> the pain, or at least explain this?
>
> it just doesn't seem fair.
>
>
> (ok my emotional rant is over, but seriously, we need some help)
>
>
>
>
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