Insurance madness

[sctdev]

I didn't know where else to ask this, and I'm sure it's happened to some of you. My snake has been totalled. Another driver is at fault, but she only has $50k of coverage. I'm in Florida so there is no "No Fault" on property damage. Of course my insurance policy has higher limits, but I am being told that does not matter. The max I can recover is $50k without suing the responsible party directly, who most likely won't have any money anyway. To make it even worse there is a third car involved so $50k could be even less.

What options do I have now? Do I need to talk to a lawyer now?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

David

 

[01GTS]

Do you have uninsured drivers coverage?

 

[JohnnyViper]

i would talk with a lawyer, sue if you have to and put a lien on her property if she has one if she can not come up with the money

 

[JoelW]

When I lived in Georgia and had no fault, it covered your car exactly for the reasons you cite. Maybe Florida is different but I think your insurance company must pay you for your car - that is the basis of no fault insurance.

 

[sctdev]

Florida is different and you can't even buy underinsured motorist coverage to help pay for property damage. Personal Injury is No Fault, so your policy always pays that. So far I've been told that even though my own policy has 150K limit for property damage it doesn't apply since I'm not at fault for the accident. How's that for really jacked up? It's time for a lawyer I guess. There is a very slim chance that I can ask for my policy to pay for damages, and they have to collect from the at fault persons policy, so the insurance company gets screwed instead of me. Since there is a third vehicle involved, so we get to split the 50K max.

At this time having a full coverage policy sounds pointless to me. I'm a careful driver with no accidents in like 30 years. It's much more likely someone will hit me (probably a dead beat in 1976 Datsun) and I'm screwed again.

Unless there is something the insurance adjuster hasn't told me owning a Viper in Florida isn't a very good idea ......

 

[fqberful]

Florida is different and you can't even buy underinsured motorist coverage to help pay for property damage. Personal Injury is No Fault, so your policy always pays that. So far I've been told that even though my own policy has 150K limit for property damage it doesn't apply since I'm not at fault for the accident. How's that for really jacked up? It's time for a lawyer I guess. There is a very slim chance that I can ask for my policy to pay for damages, and they have to collect from the at fault persons policy, so the insurance company gets screwed instead of me. Since there is a third vehicle involved, so we get to split the 50K max.

At this time having a full coverage policy sounds pointless to me. I'm a careful driver with no accidents in like 30 years. It's much more likely someone will hit me (probably a dead beat in 1976 Datsun) and I'm screwed again.

Unless there is something the insurance adjuster hasn't told me owning a Viper in Florida isn't a very good idea ......

In Florida if the person is uninsured / under-insured you will have to sue to get your money. There's a plus here though, you can get a judgement and the court will allow you to have the persons license revoked [simple process the court gives you a paper to take to the nice ladies at the DMV] and not returned until they pay the damages. That's usually a fair incentive to come up with the $$$, or maybe they'll leave the state In any case you hold the cards because you have to sign the release.

In my case it was so egregious the judge also issued a sheriffs writ that allowed me to seize property if I could find it. Took a few months but the chump came up with the $$$. This was some time ago and it was the "deadbeat in a datsun" scenario.

For this to work the way you want you'd need agreed value coverage like from Grundy and others.

Good luck!

--FQB

 

[JohnnyViper]

that is horrible, not many normal people have 20-30-40-50k in liquid assets laying around whats the point of insurance in FL

 

[costanZo]

I was thinking of getting Hagerty Insurrance. Before I call them though, does anyone know anything about them or any other good insurrance company? I'd really like to be able to cover my car at a certain amount that I want, so I know if anything ever happens I can buy another one and do everything that I already have done to mine mods wise/interior etc.,. Can you choose how much you want to cover your car for? Or are there set rates??

 

[NI-KA]

Wow ! In this scenario what if you are from out of state and this happens?

 

[sctdev]

I've been searching the web for hours getting info. I think that I can file a claim under my collision policy to have my care fixed. That's a first party claim. My insurance company would need to "subrogate" the other guys insurance to cover what they had to pay. It's looking like having full collision coverage will cover my loss. I think they may have been trying to trick me into only making a claim against the person who hit me (third party claim). It's State Farm for both policies, too, hers and mine so no one will really trying to protect me, just to pay as little as possible...

 

[JohnnyViper]

Hagerty Insurance along with the others that are like and kind will not insure our cars because we live in MA. I tried very hard to find an alternative to my insurance. Just one was able to insure in MA and it needed to be stated insurance and the vehicle had to be something like 17 years old or older. MA also ***** for insurance but seems to be far better than FL

I was thinking of getting Hagerty Insurrance. Before I call them though, does anyone know anything about them or any other good insurrance company? I'd really like to be able to cover my car at a certain amount that I want, so I know if anything ever happens I can buy another one and do everything that I already have done to mine mods wise/interior etc.,. Can you choose how much you want to cover your car for? Or are there set rates??

 

[JonB]

I've been searching the web for hours getting info. I think that I can file a claim under my collision policy to have my care fixed. That's a first party claim. My insurance company would need to "subrogate" the other guys insurance to cover what they had to pay. It's looking like having full collision coverage will cover my loss. I think they may have been trying to trick me into only making a claim against the person who hit me (third party claim). It's State Farm for both policies, too, hers and mine so no one will really trying to protect me, just to pay as little as possible...

Bingo.

If you only rely on the OP's insurance as Primary, their limits become your limits. You can likely verify this with 1 call to your State Insurance Commissioner. And, On your 3-party deal, dont wait.

 

[costanZo]

Hagerty Insurance along with the others that are like and kind will not insure our cars because we live in MA. I tried very hard to find an alternative to my insurance. Just one was able to insure in MA and it needed to be stated insurance and the vehicle had to be something like 17 years old or older. MA also ***** for insurance but seems to be far better than FL

So......does this mean we are screwed if something happens then? There's gotta be a way to insure our cars for more.... kelly blue book is way off...

 

[dave6666]

You must be registered for see images

 

[93VIPERBOY]

I have Hagerty on my Viper. Top flow off on Highway and they paid with no problems.
I have all other cars ,houses ect insured with Chubb. They are also GREAT. Son totaled WRX 2 weeks ago going back to University. Thanks NYS DPW for plowing snow off overpass on him while traveling on I90. They paid in 3 days from adjuster saying car was total lost even overnighted check to me.

 

[dave6666]

^^^ Your avatar needs a pause button

 

[Matt M PA]

Good luck with this.

In PA, our state minimum is $5000. My wife (then girlfriend) Grand Prix was rear ended hard by a guy with minimum coverage. Her insurance took care of it all and went after the guy. We found out he lived in a not so nice apartment complex,etc...so I'm sure there wasn't much to get. I can't see how $5000 is enough for minimum coverage.

 

[JohnnyViper]

When I talked it over with my insurance agent they said I could go and get it appraised and that information could help in a future claim especially with all the extras on it. They also stressed to keep all the parts and labor receipts on it. You will get what your car is worth but you will just have to fight tooth and nail for it and you may have to go to arbitration if you do not agree with the pay-out amount and you do have a final option to go to court after arbitration if you do not come to an agreement (pretty rare that it comes to that)

So......does this mean we are screwed if something happens then? There's gotta be a way to insure our cars for more.... kelly blue book is way off...

 

[costanZo]

When I talked it over with my insurance agent they said I could go and get it appraised and that information could help in a future claim especially with all the extras on it. They also stressed to keep all the parts and labor receipts on it. You will get what your car is worth but you will just have to fight tooth and nail for it and you may have to go to arbitration if you do not agree with the pay-out amount and you do have a final option to go to court after arbitration if you do not come to an agreement (pretty rare that it comes to that)

That blows, I'm not sure if I kept all my receipts, but I do have every mod saved in a text file with prices that I've done to my car, but guess that won't help. I'm doing a lot to my car this summer tho, so I'll make sure to save any and all receipts from here on out. I believe I still have the Invoices for all the stuff I bought the past few years since 2008 tho... does that count?

 

[eucharistos]

stinks, hope it works out without too much aggravation - though it should be no aggravation

please keep us posted

 

[sctdev]

Thankx for all the responses. At this point I'm pretty sure that they wanted me to accept a payment offer against her policy instead of using my collison coverage because it's cheaper for State Farm. Some other wierd things have happened too. The first day I reported the accident to my agent I got all kinds of calls. Within two days I got a call from the "total loss" department and she said my car was only worth 49.5K. I faxed in a few adds showing current prices for a VOI9 Viper. It's been three days now with no call backs, then today an agent representing the at fault party called me. He said he had no knowlegde of another State Farm claim. He said he would find out what was going on but never called back either. My own agent told me I had to accept the at fault persons claim caps and never mentioned I could file a claim against my own policy even though I asked about it explicity. I have six cars and two houses insured by State Farm with no claims in like 15 years and these ass clowns are trying to run a game on me .....

 

[EllowViper]

I'm in Tampa Florida and had a simple fender-bender when the neighbor backed out right into my parked sedan on the curb. I had USAA, she had ALLSTATE. ALLSTATE paid 100% but USAA also stated that I could have filed a claim against my collision policy (for instance if it would have been a hit and run). The fact that you actually have an "At Fault" driver identified IMO should not allieviate the ability for you to invoke the coverage you have "purchased" from your agent for this very reason. I do think I have uninsured & underinsured coverage on my USAA Florida policy. Makes me want to check...

 

[Mutts02GTS]

Allstate tried the same thing with me years back on my wrecked corvette, wasn't my fault. I had been with them almost twenty years! I took all my toys and house and switched my insurance to USAA and have been happier ever since! The "Good Hands People"... MY A**! Hope it works out for you. Jeff

 

[fqberful]

Thankx for all the responses. At this point I'm pretty sure that they wanted me to accept a payment offer against her policy instead of using my collison coverage because it's cheaper for State Farm. Some other wierd things have happened too. The first day I reported the accident to my agent I got all kinds of calls. Within two days I got a call from the "total loss" department and she said my car was only worth 49.5K. I faxed in a few adds showing current prices for a VOI9 Viper. It's been three days now with no call backs, then today an agent representing the at fault party called me. He said he had no knowlegde of another State Farm claim. He said he would find out what was going on but never called back either. My own agent told me I had to accept the at fault persons claim caps and never mentioned I could file a claim against my own policy even though I asked about it explicity. I have six cars and two houses insured by State Farm with no claims in like 15 years and these ass clowns are trying to run a game on me .....

Since both of you are covered by the same company [ State Farm ] I suspect that once you lawyer up their tune will change. It's a sad sad state of affairs when you have to sue the %%^&* insurance company to get the coverage you paid for but that's what it seems to have come to these days.

--FQB

 

[sctdev]

I have confirmation now that I can make a claim against my policy. I explicity had asked my agent about covering the accident under my policy since I had higher limits and she said I could not do that. Oh yes I can, and have now done so. The next hurdle is going to be the pay off value since the car is totalled.

If you don't carry collision coverage you will be at the mercy of whoever hits you. Please note that all of this is about property damage. Personal injury is different.

I'm really wishing I had gone with a "Stated Value" policy where your premiums are based on a predetermined value. That is the only way you can get a new car if your is totalled. I don't know how expensive this is yet, though.

 

[JohnnyViper]

I would think it would count, anything you have is better than nothing, detailed pictures of all the parts on your car will help as well. Also inform your agent of all the stuff you have into your car and have them document it in your file. So you dont get this response from your insurance "you never told us you had extras so it was not considered into your policy" I was hit about 10 years ago by a drunk driver and my truck was a total loss. It was back in my stereo/slammed truck days and I had about 10 thousand dollars in damaged equipment on a 7 thousand dollar truck. I had everything documented with my agent and had no problem getting a fair value for my truck and my equipment

That blows, I'm not sure if I kept all my receipts, but I do have every mod saved in a text file with prices that I've done to my car, but guess that won't help. I'm doing a lot to my car this summer tho, so I'll make sure to save any and all receipts from here on out. I believe I still have the Invoices for all the stuff I bought the past few years since 2008 tho... does that count?

 

[costanZo]

I would think it would count, anything you have is better than nothing, detailed pictures of all the parts on your car will help as well. Also inform your agent of all the stuff you have into your car and have them document it in your file. So you dont get this response from your insurance "you never told us you had extras so it was not considered into your policy" I was hit about 10 years ago by a drunk driver and my truck was a total loss. It was back in my stereo/slammed truck days and I had about 10 thousand dollars in damaged equipment on a 7 thousand dollar truck. I had everything documented with my agent and had no problem getting a fair value for my truck and my equipment

Alright, good to know. I'll probably call up my insurance company today or tomorrow and see how this can be done. Thanks for the tip.

 

[JohnnyViper]

you're welcome

 

[JonB]

I have confirmation now that I can make a claim against my policy. I explicity had asked my agent about covering the accident under my policy since I had higher limits and she said I could not do that. Oh yes I can, and have now done so. The next hurdle is going to be the pay off value since the car is totalled.

If you don't carry collision coverage you will be at the mercy of whoever hits you. Please note that all of this is about property damage. Personal injury is different.

I'm really wishing I had gone with a "Stated Value" policy where your premiums are based on a predetermined value. That is the only way you can get a new car if your is totalled. I don't know how expensive this is yet, though.

I MISSED THAT ! Are you saying that you DONT have collision coverage on your Viper ?

If you search this site, you will find a bunchload of suggestions to 'call JonB' for insurance-valuation help.

 

[JohnnyViper]

i missed that also, i'm shocked if this is correct