Car insurance problems

[dave1949]

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.

 

[tallyho8]

In Louisiana you need insurance to register a car, get a car out of the pound, or get an inspection sticker. But people just go put a down payment on a policy when they need it and then drop it at the end of the month. Statistics show that 1/3 of the drivers are uninsured in Louisiana.

My uninsured motorist insurance that protects me, cost me more than my liability insurance that protects others and it is against the law for them to not have insurance.

 

[Bird]

I like to do a lot of my business person to person

Me, too. And I can do that with AAA, where I have the insurance on both vehicles and a homeowners policy, but it seems that every time I go in their office, it's different people there.

In Louisiana you need insurance to register a car, get a car out of the pound, or get an inspection sticker. But people just go put a down payment on a policy when they need it and then drop it at the end of the month. Statistics show that 1/3 of the drivers are uninsured in Louisiana.

My uninsured motorist insurance that protects me, cost me more than my liability insurance that protects others and it is against the law for them to not have insurance.

It's the same in Texas, although the last I heard it was 25% without insurance. The state is supposed to have a new computer system so officers can check that way instead of just being shown the card or letter from an insurance company. The companies are supposed to promptly enter the information when a policy is dropped. And some places have started towing vehicles instead of just writing a ticket if you get stopped and do not have liabiliy insurance. How well it's going to work remains to be seen.

 

[dmccarty]

Perhaps I am just old fashioned, well, make that definately old fashioned but I like to do a lot of my business person to person. That goes for my insurance. I have everything through Farm Bureau. I may pay a bit more for say my wife's car but they cover items that others will not. I can either stop by the local office or call and I know with whom I am conversing.

We have NC FB and I cannot say enough good things about them. They were far cheaper then the previous companies I have had over the years. They have a lady in the office who answers the phone. But she is NOT a receptionist. This lady knows what she is talking about. I think she handles not only the phones but claims. She is honest and competent. A treasure. She has told use what to do even though it costs FB money.

Our agent knows us and the kids. She knows were we live and I mean that in a good way. We have a question we know who to talk too and we know the answer will be RIGHT.

Later,
Dan

 

[two_bit_score]

But if you can show things such as recent new parts, tires, batteries, tune-ups, etc., sometimes you can negotiate more than the original offer. Way back in 1974, my wife was rear ended in our little Opel Cadet that we also towed behind the motorhome. Repairs just slighly exceeded book value of the car. The other driver's insurance wanted to total it. I wanted it fixed (a used car suitable for towing behind a motorhome isn't always easy to find), so when I told them about the low miles, new tires and battery, etc. they agreed to pay for the repairs. And when our teenaged daughter totalled a car in 1981, the insurance company agreed to pay more when I showed them the receipts for the parts for the recent brake job I'd done, new tires, etc. Now when my wife totalled one in 1999 with 121k miles on the odometer . . . well, I wouldn't have even considered selling that car for what the insurance company said they figured it was worth and what they wanted to pay. However, I didn't quarrel at all because I thought their initial offer was quite fair considering what the car was actually worth.

AS I see it, the problem is that YOU had to bring that up to prevent the insurance company from taking advantage of you by using 'average' values and 'general guidelines' to their advantage. Do some people actally make out on a claim because they know their car could not be sold for the 'average' value the insurance company is offering up front? Yes, of course. But even in those cases, the insurance company is 'holding back' some money to low ball the consumer.

Insurance companies don't do comprehensive and complete evaluations on individual items in most cases, no matter what reports they show you to support their value. Their system is designed to produce, essentially, an
average value for a vehicle based on large numbers of vehicles sold or advertised for sale. As long as your vehicle is average to below you will probably be happy with their offer and they will pay you quickly and without problems.

If your claim falls outside their guidelines or 'averages' then that's when you will have to fight for every stinking dime.

All insurance company claims departments track their average claim costs very, very closely and as long as everything fits within that range they pay off like slot machines. That is because it's easier for them in the majority of cases and most people accept it.

In many cases, it's easier for them to justify expenses fighting a legit claim when the value is outside their average range than it is to justify paying the actual value because of the mindset of the bean counters in company management. The problem for anyone who has a claim outside the accepted average range is that they usually lack the funds and ability to fight for what they should, rightly, get. They usually just get worn down by the insurance company insisting that their vehicle 'really is just worth the average value'.

Insurance is all about averages and the law of large numbers.

 

[dmccarty]

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

 

[Bird]

Of course, they have to work with large numbers and averages. What would the alternative be? Hire enough adjusters to research each individual claim? That would mean their costs (salaries) go up, which in turn would mean our premiums go up. They use their averages, and if you have a claim, it's up to you to show why you don't fit that category. I don't have a problem with that. I have a folder in a file cabinet for each vehicle. Every receipt is there, so I can prove what I've done, and I don't think the insurance company or I, either one, tried to cheat the other.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Driving with no insurance coverage for one reason or another is a huge problem. It might sound harsh but perhaps confiscation is the answer. You get caught without it, you loose your car. Plead your case in court then if you loose, the car gets auctioned with the lender if any being the first to benefit.

 

[2manyrocks]

The car insurance laws are definitely not perfect. They have month to month policies that would let a person register their car, and then they can stop paying for the insurance the next month. There's no centralized reporting in TN anyway-and so there's no way for the police to know unless they pull the car over for a traffic stop.

Generally, I'm not too comfortable with car book value valuations anyway. I don't think it is necessarily accurate, but many banks and businesses appear to heavily [over]rely on book valuations.

 

[Alan L.]

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.

 

[dmccarty]

Generally, I'm not too comfortable with car book value valuations anyway. I don't think it is necessarily accurate, but many banks and businesses appear to heavily [over]rely on book valuations.

When we researched the value of our car we looked at the book valuations AND we looked at the car dealers who had websites. On the car we eventually bought as a replacement we negotiated pretty hard but we only got a bit off the price. It was pretty close to book value and what other dealers where asking. I think we got a decent price because the car was in pretty good shape with low miles compared to what was on other lots.

I heard getting a used car now is hard because of the cash for clunkers nonsense. I wonder what the prices are for used cars now vs book values...

I do hate buying cars. New or used.

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

I wonder what the prices are for used cars now vs book values...

And which book do most people and/or companies use? I've found a considerable difference in Kelly Blue Book prices versus NADA Guides prices. I don't have any idea what the dealers in my area use now, but in the past I never knew one to use Kelly Blue Book; they all used the NADA Guide.

 

[dmccarty]

And which book do most people and/or companies use? I've found a considerable difference in Kelly Blue Book prices versus NADA Guides prices. I don't have any idea what the dealers in my area use now, but in the past I never knew one to use Kelly Blue Book; they all used the NADA Guide.

And one dealer years ago mentioned that they use the Black Book. What is the Black Book! Me thinks, and I could be wrong, but I bet the Black Book helped the dealer more than me.

Later,
Dan

 

[EarPlug]

And one dealer years ago mentioned that they use the Black Book. What is the Black Book! Me thinks, and I could be wrong, but I bet the Black Book helped the dealer more than me.

Later,
Dan

The "Black Book" is the NADA Guide

Jack

 

[Bird]

Yeah, I forgot about the Black Book but I think it is pretty popular with car dealers, or at least used to be.

 

[dmccarty]

The "Black Book" is the NADA Guide

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

 

[2manyrocks]

I usually have a huge difference of opinion with real estate appraisers--I was looking at an appraisal this week and wondering if the appraiser realized that anybody who knew the town he was working in could tell he was using comps from very different parts of town.

 

[dave1949]

I usually have a huge difference of opinion with real estate appraisers--I was looking at an appraisal this week and wondering if the appraiser realized that anybody who knew the town he was working in could tell he was using comps from very different parts of town.

Ditto. Back before the real estate bubble blew up, an appraiser actually asked one of my brothers what value he needed for an appraisal

I am sure there are good appraisers out there, but it's a closed brotherhood sort of thing here. To become a licensed appraiser here, you have to work under the supervision of an experienced appraiser for a year.

Dave.

 

[Bird]

I usually have a huge difference of opinion with real estate appraisers--I was looking at an appraisal this week and wondering if the appraiser realized that anybody who knew the town he was working in could tell he was using comps from very different parts of town.

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.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

My buddy's wife got hit by a person covered with A((snake insurance. It was their driver's fault and they have low balled my buddy badly on the value of their car. Less than blue book private sell. He has brought up recently done work on the car, (A/C, new front hubs/brakes, etc. totalling about $1000) and they told him "that's just normal maintenance" it doesn't add any value. To top it off, his wife was banged up pretty much. Air bags deployed and her knee swoll up like a watermelon. At the time they had just gotten married and she was not on his health insurance yet. So the ER doctor told her she needed an MRI but they wouldn't do it. My buddy calls A((snake and they told him tough but they wouldn't advance any health money. The MRI people said they wouldn't do it without insurance coverage or the cash payment so she was basically crap out of luck. This particular insurance company has hired a high dollar NY city consultant group to help reduce paying out claims. They play total hardball all the way. I would recommend you leave them if you are using them. They can be unethical. I think my buddy is going to have to hire a lawyer. He just wishes they'd up the car's value the $1000 he just put into it. The saga to be continued...