Well I FINALLY got the settle ment check from the insurance company of the guy who rear-ended me. They sent a 3rd party appraiser to look at the damage...and he found about $1300 in damage done to it. Pretty much in line w/ the estimates I was getting on my own.

So I get a check in the mail today for $900!?! I'm like, WTF? So I look throught the paperwork, and they deducted $399 for "betterment" because my car had 90k miles on the original (soon to be replaced) muffler and center pipe, and they are letting me eat 50% of the cost.

Is this right??? I'm getting ****ed and thinking that I should have gone through my own insurance company and taken the $200 hit for my deductable...that would have been $1100 at least.

Oh, and BTW, the check they cut payable to me (no other party has to sign)...I'm almost to the point of just saying
"forget it" and just taking the money and running, but it upsets me that they would do that. It's not like the old muffler had a leak or anything.

 

An insurance company has a legal duty to "indemnify", or return to car to the condition it was before the accident...no better or worse.

Insurance companies will still normally try to pay you as little as possible. I would recommend you call the insurance company up and tell them that their settlement is unacceptable. Many times they will give you more money than their initial pay off. They are trying to save the company money, as most people will just cash the check and won't complain. A similar sitution happened to me once, and I ended up getting over $1,000 more than the company first offered me because of my persistence and phone calls. Good luck.

 

Hes right this has happen to a friend of mine.

 

They tried to do that to me when I totaled my 90 SE Max a few years back. What they did was run my vin # and it came back as a GXE. To make a long story short I fought what they gave me and ended up getting about $900 difference. I told them that my car had a better suspension, fog lights, spoiler,etc.... Don't give up! If the accident would'nt of happen, you would of been on your happy way. There was no need for you to replace your muffler and pipe before the accident. The only reason why you have to replace is because that s.o.b. rear ended you. F*** that, go back and get your $399 from those motha fudgers. They'll do anything to save a penny.

 

the accidents i've been in have all resulted in totalled cars. on the last one, my 95 civic was totalled. to make a long story short, they offered me an amount of money that was completely retarded, and i let them know. after some searching for similar 95 civics for sale on the internet and such, i was able to get $1,700 more than their original offer. dont accept their first offer, its just a lowballer figure that they give to uninformed people and hope they take it. you can get them to pay more i would think.

 

When I was in my accident a few weeks ago, my agent at Progressive told me that a lot of other insurance companies will try this.

He said that if the other company offers anything less than 100% of the repair costs, don't take it and place a claim with Progressive.

Then, Progressive would get the car fixed, minus the deductable, and sue the other insurance company, and return my deductable.

But, my case was pretty clear cut that the other guy was at fault.

 

I am going through the same situation, let progresssive do the work for you, it won't hurt your rates and they will get what you are owed through subrogation.
Jason

 

Call them back tell them no way. Were you in the car when it got hit? If so start to claim neck and back pains. Start going to doctor, physical therapy and build up a lot of medical bills, use a lawyer and you will get 3x the total amount. 1/3 rd goes to lawyer 1/3 goest to pay doc and car repair and u end up with cash and a fixed car....
By the way you will hurt way more 10 years from the accident then you will 10 days from the accident.
I got rear ended when i was 18... got a low settlement...
18 years later i spend 50,000.00 a year on docs for my back
out of my own pocket i can barley touch the ground now and i have degenerating vertibra and arthritus in my spine

 

Call them back inform them you are going to get a lawyer.. Then Get a lawyer!!! Preferably one who gets paid only when you do..

 

This is why you should have let your insurance company deal with it. If you live in a "No Fault Insurance" state, your insurance will fix everything that was damaged by the accident.

 

When a truck hit me I handle it myself and got pay for days I took off, paid for prescription for neck pain, and full payment for my car repairs at the shop of my choice that they directly paid.

 

Whatever you do DON"T CASH THE CHECK cause if you do it's your way of saying you accept their offer....so just do what everyone was telling you and call back....and do not except........

 

I agree. Do not cash in the check. Call the other guy's insurance again and not just the 800 number--contact the actual guy in change of the incident. Imply that litigation or recourse via your insurance company will follow if they do not up the ante. If they balk, I'd mail the check back and discuss the case with your agent. If you would lose your deductible, consider seeking your own lawyer. Often, settlements can include the lawyers expenses.

You are not at fault and should not have to bend over. YOur car will never be the same as it once was. YOu may start developing creaks in the back and other little annoyances from the incident. You would not have to upgrade anything if this hadn't happened. I know others mention that this is standard practice, but you don't have to accept it.

I remember when my old Chevy Nova (toyota) was totalled. The other insurance co. deducted $400 from the fair market value because the hood had paint chips and basically deducted a hood paint job. I said this was not acceptable and argued that the vehicles that they used to price the value of my car (same year, apprx mileage in the local area) probably had the same... it is just another of their scams that on the surface sounds reasonable but in reality is merely shortchanging you.

 

The good news is that I haven't yet cashed the check they gave me...

The bad news is that I was involved in another accident this evening and now the front of my car is, well...Gone.
(I'm posting pics soon)...

I'm going to try to call them to up the amount, but wonder if this new accident will play a part despite the fact that the rear wasn't touched this time.

Ugh...this sucks.

 

Bottom line is that they can legally deduct for betterment. However the amount of betterment is usually negotiable. The claim is still open until you do one of two things: sign a release or cash the cash. Call the claim rep and explain you feel the betterment was unreasonable and that you will settle for $1050 bottom line. Depending on your state laws, you can also throw the depreciation in value to your car b/c of the accident. Oh and if you are asking where I get my info-I'm an attorney and used to be counsel for State Farm....

Good luck.

 

So he was driving his perfectly healthy Max down the street, got rear ended by some guy, and has to pay $400 out of his own pocket to get his car fixed for something that wasn't even his fault!! Something just doens't sound right about that.. Even if he gets $1050 from the insurance company, he is still out $250. Anyway, good luck getting the car fixed.