[Shotimes] OT-insurance co saga part II

[John Phillis]

ok, here's more info, sorry about giving you the short on details, I 
auto-deleted everythign from my inbox by accident the other day...

anyhow, Nationwide is not her insurance Co, but the insurance Co of the girl 
who ran through a red light and hit her in the side.

yes, legally, we can't sue, or have her insurance Co touch this girl's 
insurance company, and after consulting a lawyer, I found out($275 poorer) 
that legally we don't have a leg to stand on, as R-titled cars are the kiss 
of death (I thikn as you stated before) and we will take it up the A$$ when 
everything is said and done.

but, here's the lowdown.
The car, if not a salvage title woudl have a book value of $6600 right now, 
considering options and mileage and all.

she got the car as a wrecked rebuildable for $2500.
another $3000  in parts and paint. (including a front clip for $2065)

and without labor, the total was around $5500.
at the time the book value on the car was $9500 without the salvage title.  
and so $5500 invested didn't look so bad.

the car only had 27,000 miles on it or so when she got it.

so now we have a stack of reciepts totalling $5500, and are waiting for 
Nationwide to make an offer on the car.

if there offer is less than $5500, then I can understand (I don't think 
anything that anyone tells me concerning the car's value will upset me, nor 
will I think anyone is trying to be a dick so please respond truthfully, 
regardless of how it may sound

in otherwords...  I won't hold it against anyone if they say, I think you 
are wrong)

but basically, if they try to give her less than $5500, then they better 
have a good reason. I mean, I can understand if they want to depreciate the 
value of her car, and take some value away from the $2500 that she paid for 
it, but a front clip hasn't come down in value, nor has any of the other 
parts that were on that car, so reimbursing her for all the parts on that 
car only seems fair, either that, or else I cut all those parts off of the 
car and keep them, when the insurance co's flatbed takes the car away.

it's only fair...

I know the outcome of this already. I may not like it, but I can predict it. 
there will be lots of bending over, and no lubricant.

it just really upsets me. because normally, I am the only one who screws my 
girlfriend. Having a whole insurance company screw her really makes her feel 
slutty.

but all that aside...

what I am looking for is a way to hurt the ins company. or a way to legally 
make this thing hard for them, and miserable.
I only think it is fair to make them miserable, as they have to us.

I am not looking to purposely slow down the process, but if slowing down the 
process is possible, and will cost them more money, then that's what I would 
rather do.

so, is it justifiable to ask for reimbursement for any and all parts that 
were bought for the car?

(clutching at straws over here)
thanks again,
John

PS, I am in Pennsylvania, if that makes a difference


From: "Ron Fleshman" <insman@direcway.com>
To: "'John Phillis'" <jphillis68@hotmail.com>,<shotimes@autox.team.net>
Subject: RE: [Shotimes] OT-insurance co saga part II
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 00:04:58 -0400

<<I didn't get a chance to answer anyone's questions. al fitz I think
asked if
about what insurance co and some other questions. basically, here's the
low
down.

the ins co is Nationwide (and they are not on my side)
she had no full tort insurance
no comprehensive or collision coverage

basically a stripped down insurance policy.

so, here's the question.

can we refuse their offer?  If they come up with a money figure, can we
refuse it, legally, in hopes of getting a higher offer?

or what?

getting ticked, need a hand.>>

Then, if your company (or hers)is Nationwide they have no contractual
obligation to do anything.  If you had collision, they could fix or
settle with you for the car.  I emailed you privately and asked if you
bought the car for a reduced price.  If you did, they only are obligated
by law to reimburse you for your loss.  No auto insurance policy that I
am aware of is a replacement cost contract.  All insurance policies are
ACV (Actual Cash Value) of the property you had insured.  If your car
was salvaged, then its value was less than a comparable car of the same
model, year, and trim level.  That is why they issue salvage titles--to
protect the consumer so that they know that the car has been severely
damaged.  You guys apparently knew this when buying the car.  I only
hope you got a bargain, because all any insurance company will do is put
you back in the shape you were in before the accident, less depreciation
considering the value of the car.  If you paid 60% of the book value for
the car, there is no reason why you should expect more than that.

I'm not trying to be a bad guy here, but I just want you to know that
you can hire a law firm to represent you on this, but you will probably
spend a lot of money and get nothing more on the car.  You can negotiate
the medical bills, including bodily injury compensation with the
offending company.  Do you have to accept their offer?  No.  You don't
have to accept anything, but be aware of the laws of your state.  You
may have only a certain amount of time to negotiate a settlement.  I
know a guy who bought a flood-damaged car which had a salvaged title.
It was a 2000 Mustang GT.  The book on the car at the time of sale was
$17K.  He bought the car for $6K and got it back in shape for about $3K
more, so he had $9K in it when he got drunk and totaled the thing.  The
insurance company offered him $9K for his car.  He went to several
sources and found a value of $16775 for the car.  The company wouldn't
budge due to the fact that he would make a $7700 profit if they were to
settle at that figure.  He sued.  He lost.  He got the $9K, but was out
$1200 in legal costs.

Ron
98 TR
92OW
Insurance sales/claims for nearly 20 years



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