jstthatguy
Junior Member
I live in California and need any help i can get to settle a claim without getting screwed. The problem im having, besides Safeco being a morally corrupt and beyond disgusting company is ive exhausted most options i could find to get my claim handled properly. So heres the story. About 2 1/2 months ago my neighbor across the street came home and was parking in her driveway when somehow she hit the gas and flew across the street tearing a trash can in half, barely missing a telephone pole and jumped a curb straight into my truck nearly knocking it on its side and sending through my garage door. A great way to start my friday morning. The only thing stopping it from ending up on its side was my girlfriends jeep which was also damaged. So she has AAA and had her jeep in the shop that day while i was trying to figure out how to secure my house, assess my damages and try to get things moving with the claim with my neighbors insurance company. I unlike my gf only have liability and my insurance company had no desire to get involved. Anyway, I caught the entire incident on security video and took a ton of photos. The cops filed a report and gave me her information. The facts of who was at fault is as clear as you can get and my neighbor has taken complete resposibility. I sent this to safeco along with my request for help getting my garage door handled asap. This accident happened at 7:30 am and a safeco adjuster kindly waited until 4:30pm to finally call me and remember its friday. All she said was she would set up a rental if i wanted and she would set up someone to come out to look at my totaled truck. What about my garage door hanging dangerously and exposing thousands of dollars of tools to the world you ask. Not a thing. So i put up a temporary wall and waited until monday. Sorry i will get to the point.
Anyway i end up waiting 2 weeks until someone came to look at my truck and another several days to get their "valuation" What a joke that nonsense was. I send back a 4 page statement of damages that included a bill for the wall, estimates for the garage door, list of damaged tools and explanation of damages, and my valuation of my truck along with comparable trucks available. I got an email back ignoring all of the property damage and dismissing my comparable trucks. To add another insult, was sent another "valuation" with their comparables which lowered their price. So im furious and start studying the laws and regulations and looking for options. The email conversation between the adjuster and myself continues and i feel she has broken numerous laws and after a month had only recieved a check for about half the value of my truck and still no mention of any of my destroyed tools or door. Let me add, my truck is actually my most important tool and it was effecting my ability to make a living with out it.
I start realizing that no lawyer is going to help me because i wasnt injured and there was no real money to be made. Public adjusters in my area only care about property insurance claims because they are worth more and they can make more money. All the information that i find also cements the reality that im trying to handle a third party claim alone against a multi billion dollar corperation with unlimited resources and they are laughing in my face. So i file a complaint against safeco with the insurance commisioner. After several weeks of waiting on that process i end up getting 2 more checks but they are superficial and only to get the insurance board off their back. I was basicly told since i was a third party that they didnt have any real options to hold them accountable for how the were acting. It didnt matter that they delayed as much as possible or that i had numerous emails showing that they would ask for information and i would give it just to get asked for more info and never actually get anywhere with the claim. It doesnt matter that i have a tow company call me every day for a month and a half looking to pick up my totaled truck. So that brings me to my questions and request for any info or advise i can get.
So im left with my only option i know which is take it to court and get a judgement. I talked to my neighbor and appologized for having to sue her and she is on my side. Luckily the checks that i have recieved brings the total down enough to take it to small claims. What i need to know is first, are there any options that im missing? Next, what is the best way to prove the value of my truck? the blue book values are low also and my truck is not one that is able to be replaced, It is a 2001 nissan frontier, automatic regular cab. It is one of the best trucks made and wasnt made after 2001. Over the last 3 years i have replaced nearly every worn part. Rebuilt the suspension, replaced the timing chain, water pump, fan clutch, belts, ujoints, center bearing, brake system, hoses, etc. Like i said, its my most important tool and it has another 15 years or used to. its practically new. I figured im saving $700 a year on gas compared to other trucks. If i have to make payments on a new one then im going to end up spending over $1000 more on insurance and registration costs. Even the comparables cost at the cheapest over $2000 more then they are trying to make me accept. So any info as far as getting proof of value would be great. Next how do i show lost income? I work for myself and i know for sure that I have lost at least $2000-3000 if work due to not being able to do it. Ive been getting by because a friend is driving me around and hes helping me but that has slowed down. Next question is, i never took a rental. What is the amount i can try to claim for reimbursement for that. The last question i have may be kind of dumb, not sure. Since im going to file it in small claims and my neighbor is on my side especially since safeco isnt doing their job to protect their policy holder. Can she just not show up to the hearing and force an automatic win to my case? Is it legal or are their any issues stating that its not ok? I know safeco is obligated to defend her but they dont have any say in small claims.
Anyway, thanks for reading my sob story and i thank everyone in advance for any advise of help they can offer
Thank You
Anyway i end up waiting 2 weeks until someone came to look at my truck and another several days to get their "valuation" What a joke that nonsense was. I send back a 4 page statement of damages that included a bill for the wall, estimates for the garage door, list of damaged tools and explanation of damages, and my valuation of my truck along with comparable trucks available. I got an email back ignoring all of the property damage and dismissing my comparable trucks. To add another insult, was sent another "valuation" with their comparables which lowered their price. So im furious and start studying the laws and regulations and looking for options. The email conversation between the adjuster and myself continues and i feel she has broken numerous laws and after a month had only recieved a check for about half the value of my truck and still no mention of any of my destroyed tools or door. Let me add, my truck is actually my most important tool and it was effecting my ability to make a living with out it.
I start realizing that no lawyer is going to help me because i wasnt injured and there was no real money to be made. Public adjusters in my area only care about property insurance claims because they are worth more and they can make more money. All the information that i find also cements the reality that im trying to handle a third party claim alone against a multi billion dollar corperation with unlimited resources and they are laughing in my face. So i file a complaint against safeco with the insurance commisioner. After several weeks of waiting on that process i end up getting 2 more checks but they are superficial and only to get the insurance board off their back. I was basicly told since i was a third party that they didnt have any real options to hold them accountable for how the were acting. It didnt matter that they delayed as much as possible or that i had numerous emails showing that they would ask for information and i would give it just to get asked for more info and never actually get anywhere with the claim. It doesnt matter that i have a tow company call me every day for a month and a half looking to pick up my totaled truck. So that brings me to my questions and request for any info or advise i can get.
So im left with my only option i know which is take it to court and get a judgement. I talked to my neighbor and appologized for having to sue her and she is on my side. Luckily the checks that i have recieved brings the total down enough to take it to small claims. What i need to know is first, are there any options that im missing? Next, what is the best way to prove the value of my truck? the blue book values are low also and my truck is not one that is able to be replaced, It is a 2001 nissan frontier, automatic regular cab. It is one of the best trucks made and wasnt made after 2001. Over the last 3 years i have replaced nearly every worn part. Rebuilt the suspension, replaced the timing chain, water pump, fan clutch, belts, ujoints, center bearing, brake system, hoses, etc. Like i said, its my most important tool and it has another 15 years or used to. its practically new. I figured im saving $700 a year on gas compared to other trucks. If i have to make payments on a new one then im going to end up spending over $1000 more on insurance and registration costs. Even the comparables cost at the cheapest over $2000 more then they are trying to make me accept. So any info as far as getting proof of value would be great. Next how do i show lost income? I work for myself and i know for sure that I have lost at least $2000-3000 if work due to not being able to do it. Ive been getting by because a friend is driving me around and hes helping me but that has slowed down. Next question is, i never took a rental. What is the amount i can try to claim for reimbursement for that. The last question i have may be kind of dumb, not sure. Since im going to file it in small claims and my neighbor is on my side especially since safeco isnt doing their job to protect their policy holder. Can she just not show up to the hearing and force an automatic win to my case? Is it legal or are their any issues stating that its not ok? I know safeco is obligated to defend her but they dont have any say in small claims.
Anyway, thanks for reading my sob story and i thank everyone in advance for any advise of help they can offer
Thank You
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