Didn't we have some claims adjusters here

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Battle Pope

Battle Pope

Well-Known Member
If any of you are versed in the processes of insurance companies, please PM me or contact me on AIM. It can be discussed here if you can't get ahold of me.

Mods: This is okay, right? I'd PM directly, but I don't know who does what.
 
I'm not sure. Here's what happened.

Some of you might remember the whole thing with the hood and the breaking of the windshield. That's not the problem. The problem is the towing company.

The driver that towed my car fucked up the front bumper and one fender of my kit. He was a real douche. Anyway, the manager of the towing company was there while it was being unloaded, watched it happen, accepts the liability. He gives me his card and tells me to call him with an estimate. The problem is, this is all one-off custom shit. The only person who can repair/reproduce it correctly is the original installer.

So I talk to my installer, he puts together an estimate of $2500. I call up Jeff (the manager) and give him the numbers. He balks. "Well it IS a lowered vehicle..." "So? It's no lower than your average corvette. If your driver can brag about towing a VIPER then I would think he could manage a lowered Honda." So the conversation ends, he says he's gonna get back to me.

He calls me yesterday and wants me to try to "cut down the estimate". He says he can't afford to give me 2500, and his insurance has a 1500 deductible. Basically he's up shit creek. At this point he has 4 options. He can cut me a check. He can claim it to his insurance. I can claim it to his insurance. Or, I can go to my insurance company and say he's defaulting.

What I need to know is:
A: He doesn't want to make the claim on his policy because he doesn't have the 1500 for the deductible. If I make the claim, will he still have to pay the deductible?

B: How does "defaulting" work? I report him to my insurance (state farm), they pay for the repairs, and then go after him for the money? Will I have to pay a deductible, or will my rates go up?

This is probably long and filled with retarded questions, but I don't know jack shit about the way insurance claims work.
 
his deductible is not your problem....i believe if you default it will afect your rates any claims you make go against you....goodluck
 
There is no such thing as a deductible for property damage. $1500 is for damge to HIS property, NOT that of someone else damaged in the scope of his business. He's either ignorant (my bet) or an asshat.

CALL HIS INSURANCE COMPANY & FILE A CLAIM.

if there is any confusion, PM me.

and, yes. If you file it through State Farm you are subject to your deductible until they recover from his insurance. However, State Farm will likely NOT cover the damage to your customizations. Especially, not $2500 for a bumper unless they were aware of modifications before hand and you were paying an additional premium for them.

We have had MANY discussions on this subject, I can assure you if you called me wanting $2500 for a ground effects kit for a Honda & hadn't bothered to report the mods and pay the premium, I'd deny your claim above the cost to replace an OEM bumper.
 
Originally posted by formby+Dec 29 2004, 11:49 AM-->
formby @ Dec 29 2004 said:
...any claims you make go against you
[post=438625]Quoted post[/post]​
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absolutely WRONG.

Only crashes that are YOUR fault and exceed your companies damage threshold are "counted against" you.

However, if you file 5 claims for getting rear ended within a short period of time, maybe you're the ass that can't drive, not the poor fools that hit you. While these claims wouldn't result in an increased premium, you would be subject to cancellation for "claims frenquency"

formby@Dec 29 2004, 11:49 AM
...i believe if you default it will afect your rates
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what the hell does that mean?!
 
Thanks ahedau, I'll get you on AIM later. There's still some things I'm a little confused about.

EDIT: And yes, I reported the mods as soon as they were done.
 
Only crashes that are YOUR fault and exceed your companies damage threshold are "counted against" you.
Click to expand...


hmm, i dunno about where you live, but the insurance companies around here try to tack on any incident to raise your insurance...

a few of my friends have been in accidents that were not their fault, their insurance got increased, they found out it was from the accident, called and bitched and the insurance company took it off their record and corrected the premium...

watch out for those insurance bastards...
 
Originally posted by reckedracing@Dec 30 2004, 11:50 AM
Only crashes that are YOUR fault and exceed your companies damage threshold are "counted against" you.
Click to expand...


hmm, i dunno about where you live, but the insurance companies around here try to tack on any incident to raise your insurance...

a few of my friends have been in accidents that were not their fault, their insurance got increased, they found out it was from the accident, called and bitched and the insurance company took it off their record and corrected the premium...

watch out for those insurance bastards...
[post=439150]Quoted post[/post]​
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hmm, I dunno what facts you have but 1) that's illegal 2) I'm an insurance bastard

There are no reputable insurance companies doing business in the United States that will raise a person's rates SOLELY due to a not at-fault crash or comprehensive claim. What your friends didn't tell you is the circumstances about their losses that caused a rate increase.

Rarely, we do made mistakes and code non-negligent crashes as at-fault losses but act swiftly to correct it when known. However, we also make mistakes in our insured's favor from time to time. Funny that no one calls to complain when we make THAT mistake. We do not charge for the earned premium we are entitled to in these cases but have/will return the premium when the mistake is increased rates.

So, we're not ALL bastards.
 
2500 for a bumper is

re-goddam-diculous

you could buy a whole kit and paint your entire car for that price, either the original installer is your buddy and your trying to get hooked up or he just fed you a line of shit.

how much was the cost of the original install? if it was 2500 for the bumper you must be riding on a 10k body kit :p

i dont blame the guy for denying that estimate lol

and any body shop should be able to give an estimate wether its custom work or not.
if you file a claim with his insurance company they will prolly want to get pics and they will get a claim from a body shop they work with more then likely.
 
Originally posted by micah+Dec 30 2004, 08:15 PM-->
micah @ Dec 30 2004 said:
2500 for a bumper is

re-goddam-diculous

you could buy a whole kit and paint your entire car for that price, either the original installer is your buddy and your trying to get hooked up or he just fed you a line of shit.
[post=439326]Quoted post[/post]​
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that's what I was thinking!

micah@Dec 30 2004, 08:15 PM
if you file a claim with his insurance company they will prolly want to get pics and they will get a claim from a body shop they work with more then likely.
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very true.

While the insurance company can't mandate that you use "their" shop, they do not have to pay any higher than the estimate their adjuster writes or "their" body shops writes. However, its illegal for them to undercut your estimate w/ labor rates or part prices that are not in line with the average for your location.
 
For your information, I am riding on a 6500 dollar bodykit thank you very much. And it's not just the bumper. The entire bumper and fender need to be replaced. The fender alone has at least 9 hours in it, not including paint. The bumper has maybe 8 hours in it. The paint is a silver to gunmetal colorfade.

IMO, 2500 is a very fair price. Especially when I didn't ASK to have it broken by the driver.
 
i meant no insult lol no reason to take offense :p

and again no offense, but i think you got ripped if you paid 6500 for your kit /shrug
 
gallery_34693_58_1099788903.jpg


before pic?
 
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