by jwu223 » Wed Oct 21, 2009 02:06 pm
Hi, I would like to seek second opinion regarding my total loss van. My van was 2004 silver Honda Odyssey EX with DVD system with 51K miles. It was totaled by Liberty Mutual two weeks ago. I was not at fault.
Liberty Mutual showed me the comparables they found. Only one is still on sale in the market, which is 98K miles. All the others were already historical data and the lowest miles on the comps was 68K. I faxed them the comps I found in the market and did my calculation including mileage adjustment (I used 10 cents per mile; they used 4.5 cents per mile.)
They did further research for 7 more business days and couldn't find any comparable sales in the market. They provided me an offer of $14600 based on NADA. But I have found a similar van on Carmax (2004 Honda Odyssey EX with 52K miles) priced at $15998. They told me 1) Carmax's price is high. Everybody haggles at buying cars. 2) Their vehicle replacement service will find me a similar one around $13000. But I have to settle for $14600 first and then I could talk to that service and get the van. I am uncomfortable with option 2 and unwilling to take the offer. I want to buy the van from Carmax since it is the most comparable. I am not a haggling person and the loss of my van shouldn't be determined by my haggling ability. The rental will be due this Friday. It's been almost a month after the accident.
Should I ask Liberty Mutual to hire an independent vehicle appraiser? How much will it cost? Should I seek legal action? Will it worth more than the $2000 we are short-changed? Any insights will be appreciated.
Liberty Mutual showed me the comparables they found. Only one is still on sale in the market, which is 98K miles. All the others were already historical data and the lowest miles on the comps was 68K. I faxed them the comps I found in the market and did my calculation including mileage adjustment (I used 10 cents per mile; they used 4.5 cents per mile.)
They did further research for 7 more business days and couldn't find any comparable sales in the market. They provided me an offer of $14600 based on NADA. But I have found a similar van on Carmax (2004 Honda Odyssey EX with 52K miles) priced at $15998. They told me 1) Carmax's price is high. Everybody haggles at buying cars. 2) Their vehicle replacement service will find me a similar one around $13000. But I have to settle for $14600 first and then I could talk to that service and get the van. I am uncomfortable with option 2 and unwilling to take the offer. I want to buy the van from Carmax since it is the most comparable. I am not a haggling person and the loss of my van shouldn't be determined by my haggling ability. The rental will be due this Friday. It's been almost a month after the accident.
Should I ask Liberty Mutual to hire an independent vehicle appraiser? How much will it cost? Should I seek legal action? Will it worth more than the $2000 we are short-changed? Any insights will be appreciated.
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 04:44 pm Post Subject:
That some insurers browbeat insureds into accepting less than they may be entitled is not in dispute, either. That falls into the realm of unfair claims practices, and the regulators do a fair job of enforcement through market conduct examinations as well as consumer complaint follow up. But far too many insureds fail to understand what their contract with the insurer entitles them to collect and they act unreasonably.
It's no secret that insureds are clueless when it comes to policy language and their consumer rights. With more and more insurers going to online marketing and leaving it up to cavemen, lizards, and talking cartoon characters to sell policies, it not a far stretch to conclude that if you have to market to the public that way, the basic policyholder is not capable of understanding contractual obligations and language. Hence, it is obvious based on most of the posts on this forum. Most do no read the educational aspects of these forums by topic before they post their issues where they could find most solutions to their issues.
While I agree also that it is the duty of the various departments of insurance to enforce the unfair claims practices statutes, codes, or acts, most policy holders would not have a clue when a violation occurs. Most violations occur as underpayment to the provider of services who has no contract with the insurer. Providers are not legally liable nor able to represent and negotiate a claim on behalf of the insured. While service providers feel the violations are promulgated against them, they have no recourse to file complaints on behalf of policy holders or themselves. So we have the proverbial fox guarding the hen house.
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