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Even better still, would be a copy of Old Cars price guide.
This gives values based on the condition of the vehicle.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, May 13, 2002 9:49 AM
Subject: Re: IML: Advice Needed on
Insurance Claim
Is there anything
> that I should do/know
> about
when the Cox Company's insurance people contact me.
Go get yourself a
Hemmings Motor News at the newsstand. If
there are other 1956's for
sale there, they will probably
be top-dollar. This is a great
resource to take (assuming
that there are cars listed there) to the claims
adjuster to
help establish legitimate value. Start looking for
other
cars that sellers are asking top dollar for and take
those
too.
Take your photo album and be ready to turn on
the
waterworks, so to speak, about the importance that this car
has for
you and how they need to put it right. If you
inherited it from
special relatives or there is special
historical info, this makes a binding
argument against
replacement. A buddy had a truck that his deceased
father
had willed him. It was all that he had to remember dad
by.
The adjuster didn't even try to argue about Scott's
motives
for asking for extensive repairs.
The adjuster is used to dealing with
new cars, not old.
They may throw out a low dollar figure due to
ignorance,
but most are just doing their job. Give them the tools
to
justify thier payout to you and to raise the amount of
money it will
take to make your car a total loss. A low
value car will get totalled
sooner and be less likely to be
worth an investment of additional repair
dollars.
Also, remember that the claims adjuster is there
to
negotiate on behalf of the insured, and they will attempt
to
simultaneously try to keep their payout in the best
interests of the
insurance company while protecting
themselves from being defraded
individually as an adjuster
by claimants.
You can always consider
court. Suing the insured is the
last thing that the insurance company
wants, as it is what
they are paid to protect their insured from.
I
had a neighbor back into a vehicle of mine and refuse to
give insurance co.
info to me. I took them to small claims
court, won a judgement that I
was in the right but not a
dollar figure, and the judge forced the guy to
give me his
info. When I went into the Ins agency, I told them what
I
wanted, why it would cost so much (rare parts = $$) and he
offered 50%
of what I claimed. I told him that I'd just
have to go back to court
to have my judgement enforced, and
they paid me what I asked.
Remember that you own half of
the agreement about what is fair, and a
denial of your
claim is not the final step, even if they say it is.
This
is negotiation, and no does not always mean that. It
is
important to know when NO really is that, though!
Insurance people have time on their side and act as if
their answer is the
only one. Act like yours is the only
one and you'll come out ahead,
as long as you're civil and
leave emotion out. They do this every
day. Give them
reason to concede. Don't give them reason to
hold out by
being a jerk, ever.
One more thing: go have your
claim processed at 4pm or the
last possible appt on a Friday (due to your
"work
schedule"). Tyr to get a walk-in instead of an appt
where
they are organized ahead of time. Take your time and
stretch
out the interview. Having the agent wanting to go
home for a weekend
can lubricate your claims process in
your favor, and they might just force
it through to get rid
of you. Politely demand settlement that day, if
possible.
You have more power than they'll let onto. Go get
em!
=====
Kenyon Wills
6o LeBaron - America's
Most Carefully Built Car
73 LeBaron - Long Low &
Luxurious
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