What is the responsibility of an insurance company to provide a suitable replacement when you’re not at fault?
My truck was hit by a drunk driver while I was not in the car, and now her insurance company is offering me way less than it would take to get something comparable. They seem to be pretty firm on the amount, but I find it unacceptable. What are my options? Thanks in advance!
Tags: Company, fault, Insurance, Insurance Company, provide, Replacement., responsibility, suitable, you're
they are paying you ACV (actual cash value) of the auto. Insurance on auto policies does NOT pay on replacement value. Cars diminsh in value they do not go up in value, therefore they pay on ACV. Your options? contact your insurance company and see if an adjuster will look at it and see if he thinks the amount is too low. you can sue the person, although you may never see a dime from them.
They pay what they believe the vehicle is worth but you can dispute the value. Search out what other comparable trucks are selling for in your area. Look at the auto trader magazines and newspaper want ads. Also check Kelly Blue Book. If you can show that trucks are selling for more than they offer they’ll probably raise their offer. If you have collision on your policy you can file a claim through your insurance company to see if they’ll pay more. You’ll have to pay the deductible but your company will try to get it back from the at fault company.
Your options are to either accept it, or refuse and sue the driver in court. Or, of course, you go through YOUR insurance, the rental reimbursement part. That’s it. Most of the time, in most states, you don’t get “comparable”. You get “functional”. The ONLY time you might get comparable, is if, for instance, you’re handicapped, and you need a van with a wheelchair lift.
The other insurance, technically, has NO obligation to pay anything, untiil a judge tells them they have to.
Normally, you’d get about $25 a day towards a rental, and any “upgrades” are going to be out of YOUR pocket.
** Sorry, I thought we were talking about a rental car. For car insurance, they have NO OBLIGATION to get you “replacement”. They only have to pay the LESSER of, cost to repair, or actual cash value. You can find an approximate ACV by looking at the private party sale value on http://www.kbb.com . Again, though, if you have “agreed value” or “replacement value” (extremely rare) on your policy, file the claim on your policy, not theirs, and let your insurance company worry about collecting from their insurance company.
Otherwise, all ya get is private party resale value, or cost to repair, whichever is LESS.