Car Insurance Payout

[Ref]

Recently had an older car involved in an accident (not at fault) that was deemed a write off.

The insurance company has offered a settlement approximately $1,000 less than the Kelly blue book value. Their calculations were based on a market valuation performed by a third party vendor (Audatex).

I have never gone through this before and was curious if this is a final offer or if there can be some room for negotiation.


TIA

 

[xix]

You can negotiate but they will make your life hard down the road. All insurances are in the same bed when they are not supposed to be is the theory.
But when you go purchase new insurance for a car.. be sure they will make it difficult.

 

[james t kirk]

You can negotiate but they will make your life hard down the road. All insurances are in the same bed when they are not supposed to be is the theory.
But when you go purchase new insurance for a car.. be sure they will make it difficult.

Why would they make it "difficult". The crack up wasn't Ref's fault. The money will be coming from the other guy's insurance company. (I agree that they all work together, they have some sort of shared data base to see who makes a claim, but if you're deemed to be not at fault, I don't see how they can fuck him down the road.)

If it were me, I'd be looking at what the cars are selling for on auto Trader, Kiji, etc. Then try negotiating for a reasonable settlement.

 

[Sunnyd]

Show them 2-3 ads for same make and model with similar mileage...they will give you more money

 

[TheDr]

Yes, show them ads and see what they can do.

Not at fault accidents should not affect your insurance rates, well unless you start having too many of them. If there is a claim for injury you may find that other insurers are reluctant to take you on as a customer.

All insurers and brokers in Ontario use a report called Autoplus to see your insurance history for underwriting purposes. They also pull your drivers abstract. You can also get a copy of your Autoplus as a consumer, Google Autoplus Report, CGI is the company that runs the system.

 

[xix]

Let us know what happens.

 

[downbound123]

This thread reminds me of my older car claim, but because I read the policy I came out ahead.
In July of 2011 my 1997 Ford escort wagon was destroyed when a limb from a huge maple tree in our yard that came down in a wind storm overnight and totalled the car.
The car was on it's last legs, 187,000 kms, shot exhaust and the value of the car varied depending on how much gas was in the tank. I figured I might get $500 for it.
Called Intact Insurance and reported it. They called me in a couple of days and offered me $1700 for the car. I almost fell out of my chair. She then said minus your $300 deductible for comprehensive so we will send you a cheque for $1400.
I also had the house insurance bundled with the auto and remembered reading if you bundled then they would waive the deductible if you had a comprehensive claim. I mentioned this to the representative , she put me on hold and when she came back said in a very cold voice "you are right we will send a cheque for $1700.
When it came time to renew I got a letter saying they were not renewing. I called around and ended up with a cheaper bundled policy.
Probably the only time I came out ahead vs, insurance but it felt so good.

As you can see in the pics the "limb" from the maple would probably qualify as a tree on it's own.

 

[Mr Deeds]

Never except the first offer from an insurance company they will always lowball you. That is literally the job description of the person your dealing with

 

[Ref]

Let us know what happens.

Ended up contacting the insurance company. When I mentioned that the Kelly Blue Book value was higher than their replacement quote, they instructed me to send in recent on line ads in my area and they would look into it.

Challenge is the vehicle I had was over 15 years (Nissan) and a manual transmission. Hence I could only find about 5 models and the price was consistent with their pricing or the mileage was much different. I ended up accepting their offer.

When I first purchased the vehicle I was able to get a good deal and it did not require much to safety. I did add some aftermarket things, but you never get that type of investment back.

Overall I broke even however I am not happy because it was a fun car to drive and I will never find another in that color or condition.

 

[Ceiling Cat]

I can only tell you of one case and its conclusion. I know a woman in Montreal that had a car accident with her car where she was at fault. The 10 year old Toyota Yaris she was driving was totalled. The Insurance company gave her without argument full red book price $8500. If she was buying a new car she would have probably gotten second or third category black book price in a trade in at the dealer. $2000 - 3000.

 

[xix]

Ended up contacting the insurance company. When I mentioned that the Kelly Blue Book value was higher than their replacement quote, they instructed me to send in recent on line ads in my area and they would look into it.

When I first purchased the vehicle I was able to get a good deal and it did not require much to safety. I did add some aftermarket things, but you never get that type of investment back.

Overall I broke even however I am not happy because it was a fun car to drive and I will never find another in that color or condition.

Thank you, yes the extras are yours to enjoy, as I have in the past. That is why now I will only install tinted windows and a hitch for the bicycle. Yes some times it's hard to let go of the fun cars.

" comprehensive " is the key and it pays to read you policy yearly. A friend did that and got more.

Also if you were inside the car during the accident, make sure you get massages at least 3 in 8 weeks, I did since I had 2 RMT's and felt better later. I know some people hurting now because they didn't believe in RMT. They are hurting.

 

[Ref]

Thank you, yes the extras are yours to enjoy, as I have in the past. That is why now I will only install tinted windows and a hitch for the bicycle. Yes some times it's hard to let go of the fun cars.

" comprehensive " is the key and it pays to read you policy yearly. A friend did that and got more.

Also if you were inside the car during the accident, make sure you get massages at least 3 in 8 weeks, I did since I had 2 RMT's and felt better later. I know some people hurting now because they didn't believe in RMT. They are hurting.

Good points. Fortunately I was not in the vehicle as it was parked and a drunk driver crashed into it (subsequently drove off and side swiped a couple of other cars).

 

[Jenesis]

Good points. Fortunately I was not in the vehicle as it was parked and a drunk driver crashed into it (subsequently drove off and side swiped a couple of other cars).

Hope they caught and charged the guy. Thankfully you were not in the car. I don’t know if TERB could handle you not being here.

 

[danmand]

Some people are not aware of this, but you can purchase "New Car Replacement" rider on your policy, that only cost a few bucks a year. If you have that and the car is totaled within a a year of purchase, the insurance pays the entire purchase price of the car.

A big truck totaled my car, which was only 9 months old, I got a check for the purchase price.

 

[massman]

Recently had an older car involved in an accident (not at fault) that was deemed a write off.

The insurance company has offered a settlement approximately $1,000 less than the Kelly blue book value. Their calculations were based on a market valuation performed by a third party vendor (Audatex).

I have never gone through this before and was curious if this is a final offer or if there can be some room for negotiation.


TIA

As the others have said, there is room to negotiate. Don’t accept the first offer. They will lowball your from the start. By providing evidence of the car’s value, I got a few grand more out of them.