Car insurance problems

[dave1949]

Our county re-appraises property annually. Each of the last 2 years, they raised my appraisal, and each time, I went to the Central Appraisal District office and they promptly lowered the appraisal to what I considered fair with no argument at all. but I guess the homeowners who didn't take the time to go down there, and sit and wait an hour or so to talk to an appraisor, just paid higher taxes.

Hi Bird,
I went through that once at our old house. They never did lower the book appraisal, they gave me an 'abatement'. I thought that was cheesy and not really the same thing. The town was very aggressive on taxing homes at or above the true market value. You're right, anyone who didn't take, or have the time, paid too much.
Dave.

 

[ToadHill]

Local government recently appraised my home. They compared it to other houses in a much newer part of town, not a single home in my area even though 4 housed in a row were built at the same time by the same builder. I appealed, I might have just as well spit into the wind.

I offered to sell the house to the city for their appraisal but they weren't interested. Problem is the only one you acn appeal

 

[hitekcountry]

The Godfather I is a prime example of that.

That's going back a LOT of years, and I agree that's an excellent example. I read the book before the movie come out. After reading the book the movie was a huge disappointment

 

[dave1949]

That's going back a LOT of years, and I agree that's an excellent example. I read the book before the movie come out. After reading the book the movie was a huge disappointment

1972? Gosh, it didn't seem that long ago. But on the other hand, my wife and I married in 1971

I liked the movie well enough, but reading the book first really helped to know the characters and the Godfather's 'early' days and philosophy of crime, none of which were in the movie. Perhaps the popularity of the movie series took them by surprise, or they would have done things differently.
Dave.

 

[Bird]

Local government recently appraised my home. They compared it to other houses in a much newer part of town, not a single home in my area even though 4 housed in a row were built at the same time by the same builder. I appealed, I might have just as well spit into the wind.

I offered to sell the house to the city for their appraisal but they weren't interested. Problem is the only one you acn appeal

I had the same thing happen in Dallas in 1988. In fact, we had the house on the market trying to sell it, and in spite of going to the appeals board, their appraisal was more than 25% higher than the price we eventually got for the house. But, in spite of initially inflated appraisals, here in Denton County the appraisal folks were quite fair when I went to see them.

 

[dmccarty]

Kyle does your brother have car insurance with medical coverage? If he does then his insurance should be paying for the med bills as well as the other at fault insurance company. Given what the other insurance company is doing I would first call the insurance commission since it cost him nothing. They might help. He has nothing to loose be a phone call. Then its lawyer time but the lawyer is not going to be a perfect solution either.

In NC the at fault insurance does NOT pay until ALL treatment is complete. Up to that point its the victim who has to pay the bills until treatment is finished which could be many months.

I USED to carry a very small coverage for medical coverage on our car insurance since we have good but expensive health care insurance. I think this is a good way to do things. On the other hand if one cannot afford health care insurance carrying decent medical coverage on your auto insurance would be a good thing. Kinda cheap and lets face it, for most of us the biggest risk we have is getting in the car and driving.

After our accident I increased our medical coverage on the auto insurance. My wife quickly went through our coverage on the auto insurance so we have to pay a bit out of pocked until she is healthy. And my neck/back is still messed up so we don't know when the at fault insurance will be paying up.

Later,
Dan

 

[MikeD74T]

Here in KY, you need proof of insurance before you can register a vehicle. A minor inconvieniance sometimes but I think that it is a good idea.
QUOTE]

Same here in Maine. I think it is a good idea too, but there will always be yahoos out there with no insurance, suspended driver's license, etc. I don't know if those people ought to spend time in jail when they are caught. They seem to be involved in an awful lot of accidents. That makes sense, as you usually lose your license and insurance because you were a bad or DUI driver.
Dave.

A coworker has a towing business with his son in NH. He always has several Maine registered cars in his impound lot with expired or cancelled insurance that he can't get rid of because the deadbeat owners won't pay the tow, release the title, or even just haul the cars away. They're usually low end junks with too much damage to fix, either accident or breakdown related. He's required by NH law to keep the cars in a secure facility until he goes thru the abandoned vehicle process which consumes more time & money than junk value of the vehicles.
Not picking on Mainiacs, just saying mandatory insurance is a joke as far as enforcement is concerned. MikeD74T

 

[dave1949]

A coworker has a towing business with his son in NH. He always has several Maine registered cars in his impound lot with expired or cancelled insurance that he can't get rid of because the deadbeat owners won't pay the tow, release the title, or even just haul the cars away. They're usually low end junks with too much damage to fix, either accident or breakdown related. He's required by NH law to keep the cars in a secure facility until he goes thru the abandoned vehicle process which consumes more time & money than junk value of the vehicles.
Not picking on Mainiacs, just saying mandatory insurance is a joke as far as enforcement is concerned. MikeD74T

Yep, that's my take on it too. I know it sounds like a police state to do it, but I'll bet if they started roadblock checks for expired insurance they would nail more people. Hard to verify the insurance is actually in effect. The law in Maine requires the insurance company to inform the state any time a policy is cancelled, then the state sends you a letter which you must respond to with proof of insurance. Happened to us when we changed carriers. So, like always, it's just added paperwork for honest people and the others probably ignore it all.

They don't mind pulling over 100 cars leaving the annual pot - er, 'hemp', festival over in Starks, ME - for 'suspected vehicle defects' - of course. And somehow, they always find probable cause to search the vehicle They also stop every car going down Route 1 for OUI checks around New Years.

The point is, like you say, enforcement of insurance is a joke.
Dave.

 

[2manyrocks]

What is even more offensive is the way enforcement is handled. A friend of mind who is a responsible young man ended up paying about $150 over a burned out tailight. I was in court when the judge let a woman who was driving on a revoked license (why revoked--think DUI) and couldn't pay her court costs, keep rolling the costs till the next session of court. The judge is now retired with his state pension. I'd bet you she didn't have any car insurance, either. --except I don't bet.

 

[Jstpssng]

A coworker has a towing business with his son in NH. He always has several Maine registered cars in his impound lot with expired or cancelled insurance that he can't get rid of because the deadbeat owners won't pay the tow, release the title, or even just haul the cars away. They're usually low end junks with too much damage to fix, either accident or breakdown related. He's required by NH law to keep the cars in a secure facility until he goes thru the abandoned vehicle process which consumes more time & money than junk value of the vehicles.
Not picking on Mainiacs, just saying mandatory insurance is a joke as far as enforcement is concerned. MikeD74T

I'm not big on government intervention; but when the law first went into effect there were many complaining it would "discriminate against poor people who can't afford insurance."
In that case they also can't afford the repair bills on my auto after they run into me.

Given the difficulty this state has keeping unlicensed drivers off the road, enforcing insurance laws really is a joke.

 

[Jstpssng]

She has received a check for almost $6000 and since she owed $2800 on the car that means they paid $8800 for the car. This is about right for the car, and would mean actually they valued the car at $9050 because she had a $250 deductible for uninsured motorist.

I don't know whether it was confusion or a deliberate attempt to get out of paying the claim, but it is resolved, so all parties are happy. Fat chance anyone I know, that knows of this incident will be using this particular insurance company however.

The "I don't rent pigs" quote actually comes from Larry McMurtry's book, but the movie was great too - have seen all 8 hours at least 4 times.

Did they also pay off the vehicle? The only time I was in a wreck was in my 1 year-old 1983 Ranger. I received a check for the full amount then was responsible for paying the truck off.

Anyways, glad to hear things worked out OK.

 

[LBrown59]

A coworker has a towing business with his son in NH. He always has several Maine registered cars in his impound lot with expired or cancelled insurance that he can't get rid of because the deadbeat owners won't pay the tow, release the title, or even just haul the cars away. They're usually low end junks with too much damage to fix, either accident or breakdown related. He's required by NH law to keep the cars in a secure facility until he goes thru the abandoned vehicle process which consumes more time & money than junk value of the vehicles.
Not picking on Mainiacs,
just saying mandatory insurance is a joke as far as enforcement is concerned. MikeD74T

Within a week of mandatory insurance going into effect somebody sideswiped my Datsun pick up.
They did not have insurance so much for mandatory insurance doing me any good.
Forced insurance works just like gun control.

 

[LBrown59]

I'm not big on government intervention; but when the law first went into effect there were many complaining
1*it would "discriminate against poor people who can't afford insurance."
2*In that case they also can't afford the repair bills on my auto after they run into me.

Given the difficulty this state has keeping unlicensed drivers off the road, enforcing insurance laws really is a joke.

1*it discriminates against people owning mutiple vehicles .
2*Has nothing to do with repair bills on your auto or running into you.

 

[Phils]

I'll never claim to be happy with the state of affairs here in California BUT...

... now when the state is notified that insurance has lapsed, they rescind the registration.

Upon notice that the registration is being pulled, many get the insurance reinstated.

There's still plenty of uninsured drivers on our roads, but less than there used to be IMO.

Phil

 

[two_bit_score]

How would the insurance company know what work Bird had done on his car that would make said car worth more than that particular vehicle in average condition?

Yes insurance does work with large numbers and averages. Should they use a low or a high number for the valuation? In one case you will not get enough value for the car. In the other we would be paying more for our premiums since the insurance company would be paying off more than the car was worth.

Later,
Dan

Well, first they could start by asking him. They make their low ball offers then try to pressure people into taking it by claiming tha they know so much more about it than the owner. Most of the time their 'appraiser' has missed equipment or optionsthat add additional value. Then there is the way the vehicle as maintained. Are maintaince records available? Was the vehicle driven by a smoker? That makes a lot of diffenence in the value but is almost never recognized up front by the insurance company.

If the insurance company was interested in being fair with Bird ( they never are) they would have asked about those items before making their offer and made a reasonable evaluation of the value before Bird had to bring it up.

What if Bird would have just thought that since he was a good, long term customer the insurance company would naturally treat him fairly and accepted their low ball offer, like many people do? Then he would have been cheated.

Basically, my point was that the insurance companies, for the most part, make a quick appraisal of the vheicle and offer the owner an 'average' value which, in Bird's case and many others, is a low ball offer. Most people will take it and some will be glad to get it because their vehicles are 'below average' anyway and they know it. The insurance companies don't care about the accuracy of their initial offer because they have no penalty for making low ball offers. And if people take them then they are probably being cheated.

 

[two_bit_score]

The dealers Black Book did not match the prices in the NADA guide I checked at Credit Union. Or so HE said. The "discussion" I was having with the Sales Manager over the difference in values between NADA, Blue Book and what the dealer was offering was when he brought up the Black Book as to what they used.

Sounds like the Sales Manager may have been trying to mislead me. I know its shocking!

Later,
Dan

The Black Book is dealers wholesale price guide based on weekly reports from wholesale dealer auto auctions around the country.

The Black Book is what dealers usually consult when they are making you an offer on your car. The NADA book is what they show you to try to convince you that they are giving you a good deal.

 

[two_bit_score]

1*it discriminates against people owning mutiple vehicles .
2*Has nothing to do with repair bills on your auto or running into you.

You have a point L.B.

Mandatory insurance is something that hits poor people harder than those of us fortunate enough to have the ability to pay. But it's a fact of life.

Many people think insurance companies are in favor of mandatory insurance but they aren't. From an insurance company perspective it's not really good to insure people who are not responsible enough to want to protect themselves. They aen't likely to become responsible just because they are forced to buy something they didn't want anyway.

People should protect themselves by buying sufficent limits of uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage. Stop relying on the 'other guy' to have sufficent limits or even to be insured enough to pay for your losses that are caused by his negligence.

My main objection to mandatory insurance is that it's like seat belts. I wouldn't drive without seat belts. But, if I happen to pull out onto a street for a few feet before getting them buckled I don't think the government should profit by that if a cop happens to see my 'violation'. We've written many millions of dollars in tickets in Texas to people who will never be able to pay them. They are subject to arrest at some time if located. Now, add up allthe time of law enforcement officers to give those tickets, courts time to process them and the fial to appear warrants, then the time involved if these people are arrested and for what - most of them never caused an accident any way. It's a huge waste. But it pays off because some of us will slip up and let coverage lapse and will pay a fine - which is all they are really after anyway. Public safety has nothing to do with it.

 

[2manyrocks]

People should protect themselves by buying sufficent limits of uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage. Stop relying on the 'other guy' to have sufficent limits or even to be insured enough to pay for your losses that are caused by his negligence.

New motto--drive defensively and insure defensively? I have friend who retired and then had to go back to work to help out his son who was disabled by a DUI driver with no insurance. So I see how what you say would be practical. You can't count on the other guy to have insurance.

 

[tallyho8]

It's just a shame that here we have to pay more for uninsured motorist insurance than the other driver would have to pay for liability insurance.

 

[dave1949]

It's just a shame that here we have to pay more for uninsured motorist insurance than the other driver would have to pay for liability insurance.

That just ain't right. I agree.
Dave.