property damage

What is the name of your state? tennessee

at fault drivers ins co. wont take care of property damage b/c we called our ins co. to notify them of accident. my atty secretary is saying claims usually start when you notify them and since my ins. made an offer the other ins co won't touch the pd claim. im so irritated. my ins (usaa) is offering $1300 less than kbb. is there no way around this? (havent signed anything)

duckyp0o77 said:

What is the name of your state? tennessee

at fault drivers ins co. wont take care of property damage b/c we called our ins co. to notify them of accident. my atty secretary is saying claims usually start when you notify them and since my ins. made an offer the other ins co won't touch the pd claim. im so irritated. my ins (usaa) is offering $1300 less than kbb. is there no way around this? (havent signed anything)

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Insurance companies don't look at Kbb, since no one pays retail for vehicles. USAA has always been known as an extremely generous insurance company for claims, and most people are of the opinion that they get more generous offers from their insurance company vs. the other insurance company.

Having said that, I have no idea what calling your insurance company has to do with the claim.

Your insurance company started the process, so the other carrier isn't going to want to interrupt at this point. Especially if USAA already has posession of your car. When I totalled my last car, USAA offered me actually a little over KBB value (and a lot more than I was expecting since my car wasn't in great shape to start with!)...but it was an old car so still only about $3k. Ask to see the report they got the value from...it should show records of sales of similar vehicles in your area and show where the number came from.

ecmst12 said:

Ask to see the report they got the value from...it should show records of sales of similar vehicles in your area and show where the number came from.

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thanks. didnt think of that..
i think the offer was somewhere close to being in the middle.. more than nada, but less than kbb.

I went through a couple of losses with USAA (my carrier). You can negotiate with them on things like upgrades (I got some money for having new tires on my truck, etc...)

You always have the option of suing the other party. Then their insurance company has to get involved. You are not required to file a claim with your insurance company. Usually not a good idea unless you can file yourself in small claims court.

Check the local newspapers and auto traders to see what a comparable vehicle is selling for in your area. You can use that info to negotiate.

He already FILED with his insurance and they already (I think) have posession of his car. That's why the other carrier doesn't want to take over. But it's highly likely that the other carrier would offer even less, anyway.