Florida-Total-Loss-Value Negotiation

by Jeybird » Fri Feb 17, 2012 02:35 pm

I was rear ended in FL. The at-fault party's insurance accepted full responsibility. An adjuster came and the car was totaled.

The insurer (third-party claim) is insistent upon using CCC. Long story short I think it is $2k shy of the actual cash value.

I have tried to apply rational negotiation to countering their offer but essentially their response every time is that they think the original price offered is fair and are unwilling to discuss anything further such as how they arrived at their baseline calc. Also, when going through my CCC report I noticed that they didn't consider certain extra options such as LoJack. When I brought this to their attention they simply stated that there is no value added so it doesn't affect the price. I'm sure its not worth much but it still seems odd that it would be zero.

I'm not sure what my rights are as it seems like unless we settle on a minimum value (would they do this?) it would be too big to take to small claims court as the value is over $5k. I was not injured so I don't think I could get an attorney interested in helping in negotiating a higher car value.

There is a loan on the vehicle but I have the cash to pay it off now, is there any benefit to me doing this aside from interest savings? I am still holding the car at my house and I politely declined their offer to store it for "free" for me.

I have thought about filing a complaint but I'm not sure what to reasonably expect. Most of the state statutes seem to apply more to first-party claims as opposed to my third-party claim FS626.9743.


Any assistance is appreciated. :twisted: :twisted:

Total Comments: 2

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 03:31 pm Post Subject:

For additions and upgrades to a vehicle which "adds value" you stand to be compensated by the insurance company. Navigation and security systems do add value to your car so if you have the receipts, you should file it with the insurance company. It will add a few extra dollars to the compensation check. Other than that, you can draw a comparison chart yourself. You can use services like NADA to evaluate how much your car would be worth approximately.

Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 07:16 am Post Subject:

This link might help you out:

https://apps.fldfs.com/ESERVICE/MediationInfo.aspx

Add your comment

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.