Insurance Question?

Granite · 10-28-2009, 08:10 PM

So today my wife totaled our 2008 BMW 335 XI.

She got slammed into by a big rig on her way to work. We got a lot of snow on the ground in the Front Range of Colorado. My wife is fine , she was just shaken up a bit. So I am not totally sure what to expect with regards to the insurance and how much they will give us for the car. I assume it will be market price but not sure. Any ideas? How does this process work?

While this is going to be a hassle. I am digging the idea of researching and buying a new car.

Steve

fingpilot · 10-28-2009, 09:50 PM

See how your wife feels tomorrow. The backache or the neck pain might take a day or two to surface. Your 2008 had a data recorder in it. You might want to 'retain possession' of the car until you are happy with the settlement both for the car and for her. Make sure you are not charged with anything legally, civil, or criminally. Remember there is sometimes as much as 30 minutes of driving data on the recorder (the insurance companies will always say they only look at the last 5 minutes of data), but remember, they will be trying to find any reason to not pay the claim.

Make sure you get a copy of the police report the moment it becomes available. It will tell you if she is culpable in any way. Your future premiums and insurability/credit record are at stake.

stomachmonkey · 10-29-2009, 05:27 AM

What fing said.

Once got hit by an oncoming while I was stopped.

She crossed 3 lanes of traffic and hit me.

The next 3-4 renewals my carier tried to charge me a premium for it.

Burnin' oil · 10-29-2009, 06:50 AM

Insurance will pay fair market value.

cashflyer · 10-29-2009, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burnin' oil

Insurance will pay fair market value.

In my experience with insurance companies, "fair" has nothing to do with anything. They will pay as little as possible, even to the extent of delaying and denying whenever possible.

PorscheGAL · PorscheGAL's Garage

We had a woman run a stop sign and my husband side swiped her. Totaled our car. Her insurance gave us $2000 more than it was worth KBB. I think they were worried we would want more. She did say she had been reading when she ran the stop sign.

For us: And adjuster or appraiser went out to see the car and he was the one who decided how much it was worth. Nice guy. Went smoothly. Took less than 2 weeks to get a check and they paid for the rental in the meantime. I hope it goes as well for you as it did for us.

I'm glad your wife is okay.

trekkor · 10-29-2009, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burnin' oil

Insurance will pay fair market value.

Unless you're me...

KT

drcoastline · 12:37 PM

Let me throw out the disclaimer first so I dont get sued by some bottom feeding scum sucking lawyer. I am not an attorney so you should seek competent legal advice.

I am an insurance agent in NJ so some of this may not apply and doesn't mean that an insurance company wont try and play games.

You state your wife totalled your 335 that she got hit by a big rig. That could mean a few things.

1. She did something that caused the rig to hit her so she could be partly culpable. That could cause your rate to go up.

2. The rig hit her. The police report and witnesses clearly indicate that so your rate should be un-effected as the rig is fully culpable.

As for the car. If the car is totalled you will get fair market value (which may not be far to you). It is what the car is worth at time of accident mileage, condition, etc taken into account. Since it is a 2008 you may be upside down on the car. That means you will owe more then it is worth so you will have to pay difference between value and your loan, unless you purchase gap insurance which will cover the difference. Or they may opt to repair if they feel it is cheaper to repair. Thus you will get to keep the car and get to continue to make your payments even if you don't want to.

Lastly, if your wife is not culpable and the police report states that. Retain the police report with your insurance records. In NJ it can take up to 5 years to clear the driving record. Your wife's driving record will indicate she was involved in an accident. The insurance company will pull her record annually (what we call a clue report) to determine the rate. The report will only show she was involved in the accident not if she was at fault. If you can not prove she was not at fault they have the right to charge a surcharge for the accident (anything over $500.00 in damage). This is especially important if you change carriers as they will not have record on file of the claim.

Also, since it is a 2008 I assume you have full coverage and rental. Full coverage will allow you to move faster. Your carrier will pay under the collision portion of your policy and then subrogate against the other driver if they were at fault. You will also be entitled to rent a car for a specified period of time. You pay for the rental and they will reimburse.

TSNAPCRACKLEPOP · TSNAPCRACKLEPOP's Garage

sometimes you can get them to go pay for your next car, they have arrangements with dealers.

Rikao4 · 10-29-2009, 12:50 PM

big rig hit her..
& major carrier
many catfish view this as $$$$$$$$..

Rika

legion · 10-29-2009, 01:01 PM

A lot of this comes down to the coverage you have.

If you just have liability on your car (and I doubt it on a newish BMW), you will need to work through the truck's carrier.

If you have full coverage (liability + collision + comp) and your wife was not at fault, then I would file a claim with your insurance and let them handle it for you. It will reduce your headaches significantly and it is what that "other" coverage is for. Your insurer will cut you a check (minus your deductible) and go after the other carrier. When they recoup the money, they will reimburse you for the deductible.

Within your coverage, some carriers offer "gap" coverage. This has been covered above. Some also offer replacement of your vehicle with a brand-spanking new one if it is relatively new (like within 1 or 2 years old). Find out if you have these coverages, as they can make this experience much easier for you. Technically, you are supposed to request these coverages, but many agents will include them in all of their policies.

Granite · 10-29-2009, 05:27 PM

The car appears to be totaled. The whole drivers side was smashed in including the front hood, trunk , both bumpers etc. The fault is with the big rig. Our insurance is USAA and they seem to be very on top of the situation. I told them to deal with everything and that appears to be what is happening. We have full coverage on the car and only owed 18k so we are not upside down in the car. Tomorrow the car gets picked up by a collision company for evaluation and they have 48 hrs to make an estimate of repairs. If they don't total the car I will force them to get another opinion.

Steve

Dueller · 10-29-2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Granite

The car appears to be totaled. The whole drivers side was smashed in including the front hood, trunk , both bumpers etc. The fault is with the big rig. Our insurance is USAA and they seem to be very on top of the situation. I told them to deal with everything and that appears to be what is happening. We have full coverage on the car and only owed 18k so we are not upside down in the car. Tomorrow the car gets picked up by a collision company for evaluation and they have 48 hrs to make an estimate of repairs. If they don't total the car I will force them to get another opinion.

Steve

If they don't total but repair it and return it to you, ask that you be reimbursed for "dimished value", i.e., a 2006 BMW X5330iTouring with the same mileage,options yadadadadada that has never been wrecked is worth more than the same car that has been wrecked even though it has been properly repaired.

I had a client whose Jetta was in a major accident but repairable. He was satisfied with the repair but about 5K miles later it began eating tires and rear bushings. Put it on a frame machine and it was still tweaked. Ins co had option to have it re-repaired or pay him for the diminished values...he took $5K and got rid of it in a hurry to a used car dealer.....

However some states do not allow recovery for this.

Another bargaining tool is possible future medicals. If wife is OK now, tell insurance company that but request medicals be left ioen for 6 months just in case. The might agree to this or they may balk and just make you a nuisance offer to settle unanticipated future med expenses just to close the case.

Dueller · 10-29-2009, 06:10 PM

I just looked up KBB for your car and retail is somewhere around 38-40K...you might be suprised that they might want to try to fix it. But if repairs go into the 60-75% rangethey'll probably total it, payoff the note, sell the salvage and give you 20-22K. Got pics of the carnage?

My mom was in a brand new 3 week old E Benz...1100 miles. Was her 50th wedding anniversary present from dad. Hit by a tractor trailer. Dad had paid c. $58K cash for the car. Insurance adjuster called and said FMV was $49K and $29K to repair. Mom said "call my son the lawyer." I explained to agent that mom's only injury was a bruised thumb, that they were not willing to take the car repaired due to level of damage, and if they didn't have a check for $58K to my parents by the following monday I was going to be sending mom to every chiropractor and orthopaedist in 3 states. Next morning at 8 a.m. a special courier showed up at parents house with a certified check annd a release keeping meds open for the next 6 months. Fortunately mom did not have any residual injuries.

Ins company sold the car to a used car dealership for $22K. They patched it together and put it on their used lot selling it for $47K. Out of curiosity I checked the VIN on carfax and nothing has ever showed up. We have seen it going down the road crab walking.

Dad went down and bought mom another Benz. Mercedes dealer loves my parents....dropped c. $120K in less than 4 weeks at their place.

Granite · 11-09-2009, 06:45 AM

Follow up to the story. Friday I get a notice via email from USAA they are totaling the car and have a settlement number for me. The amount is for $39K and includes tax etc. Problem is I can't find a similar vehicle for that price anywhere close by. I am going to see if they will haggle with me today.
I am hoping to get another 3k. We will see.

Steve