Insurance settlement rant!

[trekkor]

So I got in that wreck last August, remember?
Head-on, totaled truck, haggling to get the truck repaired, etc..

They offered a settlement today.

Offer is to pay 65% of medical, no lost wage reimbursement and $1900 personal injury.

About $7000.

The number needs to be more like $40k.

I'm going to lawyer-up tomorrow. Farmer's adjusters have no conscience.
The 'pay as little as possible, as soon as possible' mentality really irks me.


KT

[carambola]

so settle at 20

[nostatic]

your insurance company or the other person's?

[trekkor]

Other person's. Farmer's.

My niece got in a wreck last year.
Lesser wreck, lesser damage and lesser medical.

Farmer's gave her the runaround. She hired a lawyer and settled out for $30k after lawyer fees.

Honestly, if they would have said 'How about $20k'?, I would have likely caved.
I told the adjuster her offer was a slap in the face, unreasonable and an insult.
I asked her she would react to such a ridiculous offer...Back pedaling ensued.

I'm a little bent, here.


KT

[cgarr]

Good Luck, they will try to win by running you out of money. Get ready to invest about 20K

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by trekkor

So I got in that wreck last August, remember?
Head-on, totaled truck, haggling to get the truck repaired, etc..

They offered a settlement today.

Offer is to pay 65% of medical, no lost wage reimbursement and $1900 personal injury.

About $7000.

The number needs to be more like $40k.

I'm going to lawyer-up tomorrow. Farmer's adjusters have no conscience.
The 'pay as little as possible, as soon as possible' mentality really irks me.


KT

You shoulda lawyered up to begin with. Let this be a lesson to you.

[trekkor]

Maybe, maybe not. See the above regarding my niece.

The lawyer works with a payoff in the end, so if he get "$20k", I'll have done very well.


KT

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by trekkor

...pay as little as possible, as soon as possible' mentality really irks me.

That's SOP for all ins, companies. They always offer a low figure and try to get you to settle on the spot; why wouldn't they? They couldn't care less if you're irked and mad; theirs is strictly an emotionless numbers game - it's gambling, plain and simple; call their bluff.

Years ago, had similar situation, ins. co. offered $1200, I wanted $3000 so I said gimme $5000 or I'd see them in court. After a short time they came back with $3500 so I took it. They don't like going to court.

Your claim is a lot higher than mine, but before you hire a lawyer, demand $60k and see what they come back with. You don't need to pay a lawyer to do this and if your $40k isn't off-the-wall, they just might come back from your $60k demand with an offer of $30k, which is more than you'll net if you hire a lawyer who gets $40k and keeps a third for himself.

You've got nothing to lose doing this (they're not gonna get really irked and mad at you and LOWER their offer original offer).

[trekkor]

Great idea! Thanks.


KT

[artplumber]

I don't get the super low ball offer though. KT wasn't at fault. One would think they would be paying the entire medical bill, and haggling about lost work pain and suffering etc.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by artplumber

I don't get the super low ball offer though. KT wasn't at fault. One would think they would be paying the entire medical bill, and haggling about lost work pain and suffering etc.

Again, they only care about forking out the least ammount of money they can get someone to accept and don't give a tinker's damn about Trek.

Here's a shocker - Google Kip Hayes (I knew his brotherinlaw and met Kip). Kip was injured playing h.s. football and ended up a quadraplegic on a breathing machine with 24hr nursing care in his home. The costs are so high in cases such as these that ins. co.s may have a consortium to share the burden placed on one co.

Well, EVERY SINGLE YEAR, for YEARS, the bastard's attorneys would drag Kip's attorney into court to try to have Kip removed from his home and put into a hospital.

Why? Because that would cost them less than paying for his home care? Oh how cruel and heartless, right?

No, that's NOT why. His hospital care would cost the insurance companies MUCH, MUCH, MORE per year than they were paying for his home care. Huh?

Why then? Here's (what to me was) the shocker; in the long run it would COST THEM LESS because if Kip was ripped out of his home (which he'd bought and paid cash for out of his settlement) and put into a hospital, HE WOULDN'T LIVE AS LONG.

The above is true. Ask me how I feel about insurance companies.

[HHI944]

Liberty Mutual started to play games when a commercial vehicle they insured pulled out crossways, failing to stop at a stop sign and I plowed his driver door halfway into the truck. It took all of about 20 seconds of a Lawyer family friend speaking with the agent handling my claim for them to be VERY accomodating. The words 'policy limits' are almost like kryptonite to claims handlers.

[trekkor]

'policy limits'

Check!


KT

[schamp]

Also, if they ask and they will or already have asked if they can record your conversations add the following to the tape. This conversation is only to be used for (name of insurance company) interoffice records and is not to be used in court. Then ask the agent if they understand and agree. Do this everytime you talk with them. They will do you like a dog if you let them.

[javadog]

Farmers blows. They once offered me $264.00 for a complete repaint on a Corvette.

All insurance companies try to minimize their claims but some are just cheap and nasty. Like Farmers.

Hope you bankrupt them,
JR

[trekkor]

I just got off the phone with the lawyers office.

I'll be setting up an appointment later today.

They did mention that, 'yes, Farmer's is not a reasonable insurance company'.


KT

[onewhippedpuppy]

There are few lower entities on earth than insurance companies and their adjusters. Immoral bastards, get all that you can!

[trekkor]

My appointment is for next Tuesday.


KT

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by trekkor

My appointment is for next Tuesday.


KT

Just curious - why did you hire a lawyer before you countered the ins. co. yourself?

[Laneco]

Farmers is absolutely awful....

Had a lady blow thru a stop sign and hit our 93 Mazda mx6. She was cited at the scene for failure to yield. Her insurance company was Farmers. My car was driveable but with a blown air bag, both headlamps broken, hood, core support, radiator and bumper skin needing replaced, I knew the car would be totalled due to its value.

Like a dumbass, I let them tow it from the scene and I walked home. Farmers decides they are going to give me $700 for the vehicle. They used four cylinder strippy cars as comparables and then knocked money off that. This was the fully loaded leather V6... I flat out told them NO. The fight was on. I went over to the wrecking yard to pick up my vehicle. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it had been picked up and sent to auction in a town 160 miles away. Without my knowledge, permission or a settlement.

I fought with them for six months. Turned them into the state insurance board, fought some more. They threatened to charge me storage for the auction yard (where they had towed my vehicle without my permission), threatened to make me pay for the return tow at $3 per mile (when it was taken without my permission), etc., etc.

After a most ugly six month battle, they returned the car at their cost and gave me $1700.

If they fight that hard for $1000, how hard do you think they will fight for 30K plus?

Lawyer up.

angela