Dan70

So, long story short the one and only time I had to park my truck on the street for the night and it gets hit ... I was sleeping and thankfully the guy stopped and called the cops. My issue is the insurance company said its a total loss (easier to pay out than fix) but the issue i'm having is they told me my truck is worth $4300 and I know that can't be true, so per the adjusters request I did my own research and sent them similar trucks that I could find for sale..

Anyway, my question is if anyone has ever used a lawyer for an accident where no injuries occured? All I want is my poor girl fixed... This is the first time i've had to use insurance so i'm kind of blind

Justwannabeme

so you basically are asking for more money? did you want your truck fixed?

your own insurance company should be the first stop or call.

there is a time schedule so do not delay.

show them the adjuster's report, what specifics you disagree with and why, and the completed SALES to show a common value in your area. ads are just that, not sales which is what the Court determines as a value.

able to fax the pics to a dealer? have them come up with a working repair cost. your vin can be valued by them as well in your area, state and compared to other states.

gather your data, paperwork- then get to the insurance co attorney for a reference. if you have three forms of the basic evidence, the insurance co may just make a phone call and agree between agencies, never going to Court. This is what happens in 70 percent of the claims.

kill them with data basically. and it is free! just have to do the legwork for them...tough break, hope all goes well.

Dan70

I got their break down of the estimate. And the vehicle they have listed as "comparable" say private party listings. So I went with other private party listings. I called my insurance company yesterday afternoon after getting the estimate. They didnt seem to want to help too much. And told me to find dealerships selling these(yea right)

Basically, I just want to prove my truck is worthy of repairing and have them fix it.

Justwannabeme

okay, first contact a ins. rep for the region and explain that you want your truck repaired (lowest estimate) and dealer estimate. state your frustration at the lack of effort by (local ins. rep)

after that, you will be contacting a business attorney (contracts) who will prepare a petition seeking the Court's instruction to the insurance company to fix the damage.

this is a 6-8 week process, mostly gathering the data. you may find the cost prohibitive as an average litigation runs about $200 per hour. Since it does not involve refusal to cover costs or any administrative wrongdoing, you cannot ask for the recovery of the attorney's fees. well, you can ask but you won't get it.

my humble suggestion is fight for yourself as far as gathering the information by using sold figures for the value. a dealer search will tell you who has similar trucks and what a dealer is selling them $$$
that's where the fast talker with the polyester striped suit 2nd hand dealer comes in......can we say inflated prices? Good luck and stay the course!

macattack_ga

My father just went thought the same situation. A big limb fell on his 95 Toyota Land Cruiser (tough truck FYI). Insurance company wanted to "total it".

Long story short: Insurance company paid him what they thought the truck was worth minus the scrap value because he kept it and (big point here) DID NOT "total" the title. Now he has the cash and the option of repairing or not.

Dan70

I'll call around after work. If I call a dealer say autonation they can search all of there used vehicles for sold figures on trucks like mine right? And then just email me those vehicles? Since I have liability insurance will my local agent be able to assist in any searching? I would like to keep an attorney out of the equation. I dont have anyway of faxing pictures to anyone so email is the best bet.

They also told me if I buy it back mine will have to be a salvage title..
I appreciate the help

macattack_ga

We thought so too. But he kept calling until someone agreed not to do the "salvage title" thing.