Insurance Strategy ???

NYCEGUY01

NYCEGUY01

Well-Known Member
Location
Willard, UT
So I have some questions for those that have dealt with this in the past. This morning around 5AM some guy fell asleep at the wheel and hit my truck and house. He swerved off the road and killed my mailbox then hit my truck at 60MPH or so. He pushed my truck 40' and then his Explored went through my garage door. He actually missed the garage and just killed the door. So, When I start calling his Insurance tomorrow morning what do I need to do ? I want as much value for my truck as possible as well as getting my garage door replaced etc..... Will they low ball me on the truck ? How does it work when you buy the totaled truck back ? Im pretty sure its totaled as the rear axle was pushed out and the rear frame is noticeably bent. The flatbed also killed the back of the cab. Any advice for a 1st timer on dealing with someone elses insurance etc.....
 
If you have home insurance, you should be dealing with your own company - even if you don't carry full coverage on the truck, I believe it'll be covered by your home insurance because it was parked on your property. Ask your agent. If you don't have home or auto insurance of your own to talk to, you should probably consider consulting a lawyer before you accept any offers from the other guy's insurance company.

Everybody is ok? Didja punch the dude? I would have. :D
 
I do have home owners and Full coverage on the truck. He was in no shape to take a punch. Bleeding everywhere and at least a broken Femur and Knee. My flatbed pushed his steering wheel and dash right into his seat. The brake booster was on the floor next to the pedals. He went straight to the hospital lights and siren blazing...
 
Wow, that really sucks! Glad he didn't come into the house and injure anyone. Who is his insurance company? Seems like often people in your position get screwed by the insurance companies.
 
Pretty lucky overall. My RZR is normally in the garage right up against the door he went through. I loaded it into the enclosed yesterday getting ready for my 4th of July trip. Not sure who his insurance is yet. The officer told me he talked to the guys wife and they do have insurance but the guy was clearly in no shape to give it to me etc... The officer told me to come to the office tomorrow morning 1st thing and he would provide me with everything I needed etc....
 
I rarely hear of people getting screwed by insurance companies. They will give you FMV (not blue book) for your truck and your house will be fixed to as good or better than it was before the crash. You're not going to come out with wads of cash like most people seem to think they should. If you owe a bunch or your truck, unless you have gap insurance, you'll still owe on it. All of this goes back to the risk you played by not having gap insurance on something you were upside down on. If you own the truck, or owe only a little, then you'll get FMV and what FMV is can be negotiated. You have to be able to prove what your truck is worth with actual data, not what you think it's worth if you disagree with what they come up with as a value.
 
My sister in law got t boned a month ago. She had just bought an '11 Mazda 3 a few days before. It was totaled. Book on her car was about 13500. The insurance came up with a number around 11k. Which would put her 2500 in the hole. She argued with them about value and they did nothing. She looked up book on the car and what they are selling for locally and printed it up and sent it to them. They did nothing. When she said she wouldn't take 11k and that she was going to get a lawyer, they agreed on 13,800 within minutes and she had a check the same day. Hopefully that doesn't happen.
 
That sounds encouraging. FMV is all I would expect. I own the truck outright so no loans or banks to deal with. I really want to try and keep whats left of the truck, I recently put a $5000 ATS transmission in it and a low mile 12 Valve motor would be great for the next project etc... We will see what happens in the next few days I guess...lol
 
When my Harley was hit I tried dealing with the other persons insurance company directly and they where doing everything they could to pay out less. They even told me the Harley Davidson dealer is not authorized to do my repair and I had to use one of their preferred shops. So I called my insurance company and they told me to take my bike into the dealer have it fixed and they would take care of it. And they did the other persons insurance ended up paying 100% for everything and I didnt have to deal with a thing other then my agent following up with me a few times.

So like others have said I would call your insurance company and file a claim and give them a copy of the police report and his insurance and they will deal with it for you.
 
I called my insurance ( State Farm ) a few minutes ago. They told me the same thing, they want the police report then they will start the process of getting me paid...lol She said one way or another his insurance company will pay 100% and it is going to be State Farms problem to make that happen.. My agent told me to not even bother contacting his company, So far at least my agents rock....
 
I deal a lot with State Farm on roofing damages, and IMO, they are the best company to deal with on my end, and also the way that they treat their customers is top notch. I don't know why I haven't switched over to them. I never hear homeowners griping about getting screwed by them. Different story with other Ins. companies.
 
Hopefully all this works out for you, I'll be interested to hear what happens in the end... if you get FMV, can buy the truck back and make it all good in the end. I think that would be wise to buy it back... part out the remaining stuff, transmission, engine, flatbed, axles, etc, etc. You should make money in the end, but not without a lot of work. Good luck!

We also have State Farm and they've been nothing but great. Like Tyler mentioned, we had a claim for our roof from storm damage and our insurance company was easy.... the contractor, on the other hand... :rolleyes:
 
Ill see what it costs to buy it back. Not sure Ill part it though. Im thinking I have always wanted a stc cab shortbed diesel...lol Maybe a 3rd gen as I have no emissions up here...After a little closer look the entire frame is shifted. The front axle is hanging out 1-2" further on the drivers side and there is paint missing in several places on the frame like it flexed. The Passenger side Quad door is jammed shut and the Pass door is not opening and closing well. The truck doesn't really look too bad but up close its a mess.
 
A couple years ago we bought a van for $1300. It got hit (very slight damage, but on 3 separate panels) and they totaled it. I think we were paid about $3500 from their insurance. I bought it back for $500. We drive it until we found our next vehicle, then sold it to Carmax for $1000. I'd say we came out pretty good on that one.
 
In my experience, I have found that it is best to leave my insurance out of it. Filing a claim no matter what the situation has increased my rates. And when dealing with the other guys insurance companies, I have found that every time I mentioned the word "lawyer" the deal got better and better for me.

Good luck with yours.
 
UNSTUCK said:
In my experience, I have found that it is best to leave my insurance out of it. Filing a claim no matter what the situation has increased my rates. And when dealing with the other guys insurance companies, I have found that every time I mentioned the word "lawyer" the deal got better and better for me.

Good luck with yours.
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That's not true. It's illegal for them to raise your rates over something you're not responsible for. IMO, it's best to use your insurance because they are yours, not someone else's. Plus, threatening legal action is stupid as all insurance companies have teams dedicated to exactly that. If they truly feel they are in the right, you will be going to court, that doesn't bother them one bit.
 
Well, legal or illegal, it happened, so it is true. My wife was not at fault, but we filed a claim, and then our rates increased. In that same incident, talking with the other guys agent on the phone, we were getting no where. They kept low balling their offer to fix the car. Once I said forget it and said the next call would be from a lawyer, they gave in and gave me the money was asking for. I'm sure only because they new I was right. Had I been at fault I'm sure they would have had no problem fighting it.

Point is, just because there are laws regarding insurance companies doesn't mean they will follow them if they know they can get away with it. Have you ever heard of an insurance company filing bankruptcy?
 
Well...My Insurance is already involved. They told me that they would be paying and then going after his insurance to get their money back. The negotiations start tomorrow when I get with the adjuster...
 
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