A
Andyds84
Guest
What is the name of your state? Ohio
I was involved in an auto accident where another driver went left-of-center. I swirved to the right to avoid a head-on-collision and struck a telephone pole going about 45 miles per hour. The air bag depolyed and the telephone pole fell on my truck. The other driver was cited for the accident, and I was not. However, I did have full collision insurance on this vehicle anyway.
It is a 96 Ford Ranger XLT with 93,860 miles on it. I have owned it for almost one year, and I bought it from a private seller. One reason I bought the truck in the first place was because I was able to talk to the former owner, so I know the entire history of the vehicle and I know that it has never been wrecked. Since purchasing the vehicle, I have made several improvements to it, including new brakes, tires, power steering pump, etc.
The kelly Blue Book retail price for this truck is $4,720. I believe that this is a fair price. The insurance adjuster (from Progressive insurance) has only offered me $2600 for the truck. After looking at the vehicle, the insurance adjuster announced that it was a total loss. I find this strange, because how could he know that the damages amounted to more than the value of the vehicle, when he did not know the value of the vehicle yet (until 2 days later when the "independent appraiser" had reported the value to him)? If their company hires an independent appraiser to find the value of the truck, why did he make an "offer," as if this is negotiable, when obviously the appraiser reported a value to him. $2600 is way too low, I cannot find anything close to my vehicle for anywhere near that price. I asked a local car dealer and they said that the price offered was way too low. I want to get at least $4720 for this vehicle, and nothing less. I paid for this vehicle in cash from money I had saved from working a minimum wage job part-time after school. I was planning on keeping it 10+ years, and I believe that it would have lasted that long.
Since I am only 19, I am not old enough to get a rental car. I really don't think this is fair, because the insurance company should have to provide me with a vehicle until this is settled. Instead, I am using a relative's car, and the insurance company is paying me $15 a day for it, which is only about half of what a real rental car would cost. Plus, they are stopping payment on that now, and they have only made their first offer yesterday, and we have not settled this, and have certainly not recieved any money from it yet.
Although I walked away from the crash, and did not seem to be injured at the time, I am experiencing some upper back pain that I assumed would have gone away by now. On the recorded statement I had to give to Progressive, when he asked if I was injured, I told him no, but that my back was somewhat sore. If I would like to see a doctor for this, or make a claim on this in the future, when is the latest I can do that? Is this something that the insurance company would like to settle right now (they have not mentioned anything about it yet)?
Currently, I still have the title for this vehicle, but Progressive has towed it out of the local impound lot, and I do not know where it is. After reading over my insurance policy (Erie insurance), I discovered that it says they are supposed to handle any 3rd party claims that you have (so basically it says that they will deal with the other insurance company if the other driver was at fault). I had called them a few hours after the wreck happened, and they did not mention this to me at all. After calling them today to ask them about it, they were playing stupid, and said that they were not aware of that part of the policy, but that they would look it over and get back to me.
What can I do (short of hiring a lawyer) to get a fair price for my vehicle, and possible medical claims?
Thanks for any advice!
I was involved in an auto accident where another driver went left-of-center. I swirved to the right to avoid a head-on-collision and struck a telephone pole going about 45 miles per hour. The air bag depolyed and the telephone pole fell on my truck. The other driver was cited for the accident, and I was not. However, I did have full collision insurance on this vehicle anyway.
It is a 96 Ford Ranger XLT with 93,860 miles on it. I have owned it for almost one year, and I bought it from a private seller. One reason I bought the truck in the first place was because I was able to talk to the former owner, so I know the entire history of the vehicle and I know that it has never been wrecked. Since purchasing the vehicle, I have made several improvements to it, including new brakes, tires, power steering pump, etc.
The kelly Blue Book retail price for this truck is $4,720. I believe that this is a fair price. The insurance adjuster (from Progressive insurance) has only offered me $2600 for the truck. After looking at the vehicle, the insurance adjuster announced that it was a total loss. I find this strange, because how could he know that the damages amounted to more than the value of the vehicle, when he did not know the value of the vehicle yet (until 2 days later when the "independent appraiser" had reported the value to him)? If their company hires an independent appraiser to find the value of the truck, why did he make an "offer," as if this is negotiable, when obviously the appraiser reported a value to him. $2600 is way too low, I cannot find anything close to my vehicle for anywhere near that price. I asked a local car dealer and they said that the price offered was way too low. I want to get at least $4720 for this vehicle, and nothing less. I paid for this vehicle in cash from money I had saved from working a minimum wage job part-time after school. I was planning on keeping it 10+ years, and I believe that it would have lasted that long.
Since I am only 19, I am not old enough to get a rental car. I really don't think this is fair, because the insurance company should have to provide me with a vehicle until this is settled. Instead, I am using a relative's car, and the insurance company is paying me $15 a day for it, which is only about half of what a real rental car would cost. Plus, they are stopping payment on that now, and they have only made their first offer yesterday, and we have not settled this, and have certainly not recieved any money from it yet.
Although I walked away from the crash, and did not seem to be injured at the time, I am experiencing some upper back pain that I assumed would have gone away by now. On the recorded statement I had to give to Progressive, when he asked if I was injured, I told him no, but that my back was somewhat sore. If I would like to see a doctor for this, or make a claim on this in the future, when is the latest I can do that? Is this something that the insurance company would like to settle right now (they have not mentioned anything about it yet)?
Currently, I still have the title for this vehicle, but Progressive has towed it out of the local impound lot, and I do not know where it is. After reading over my insurance policy (Erie insurance), I discovered that it says they are supposed to handle any 3rd party claims that you have (so basically it says that they will deal with the other insurance company if the other driver was at fault). I had called them a few hours after the wreck happened, and they did not mention this to me at all. After calling them today to ask them about it, they were playing stupid, and said that they were not aware of that part of the policy, but that they would look it over and get back to me.
What can I do (short of hiring a lawyer) to get a fair price for my vehicle, and possible medical claims?
Thanks for any advice!