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Do you have to accept the first amount an Insurance company offers you concerning a totalled Vehical? thank you ahead,,let me know if your in the Insurance Industry,,,I heard you can refuse their offers until you settle with them?!?
I'm no expert, but I have heard that it is negotiable. You need to do your research. Look up the resale value on Kelly Blue Book or Edmonds. They can both be found online easily. The insurance company's first offer may be lower. I would come back with a counter offer based on what you found from the research, if it is in fact higher. Good luck!
Do you have to accept the first amount an Insurance company offers you concerning a totalled Vehical? thank you ahead,,let me know if your in the Insurance Industry,,,I heard you can refuse their offers until you settle with them?!?
Ask the insurance company where they get their figures from (KBB, Edmunds, Galves), then look up the car yourself. Remember to add in every option you have (CD player, sunroof, aftermarket custom rims, etc). Start from there. If you have the original window sticker from your car it helps.
They might be pricing your car based on standard features.
NYS Insurance Law requires that the insurance company give you current market value - not Kelly Blue Book, NADA, Red Book or anything else. Don't even waste your time.
You can negotiate if you can find your exact car at a local dealer or for sale in the paper ( a legit publication) for more than they are offering you, with the understanding that if they are offering you - say $3000 and the car is being sold for $3500 the person/dealer selling is not going to get asking price.
Insurance companies have to make you an offer in good faith based on NY State Law - once they've done that, they are not under any obligation to offer you more money. Often I would offer something if there was some proof, but not more than $100 or so - just to close the claim. Mybe you just put new tires on last month - that's not really worth anything since a car is suppoed to have all its usable parts, but sometimes I'd throw a bone, maybe offer 25% of that total just to make the person happy. If you are completely unreasonable, there is only so far they will go - their files can be audited by the NYS Insurance Dept and there has to be a reason behind their offer.
. If you have the original window sticker from your car it helps.
They might be pricing your car based on standard features.
THis is good advice. I always told people to look over the paperwork and make sure all options were included. Make sure the VIN is correct too.
By law, in NY they have to send you the offer and printout showing the cars they are comparing yours to and where they found those comparable cars.
Every insurance company uses a company called CCC to do their values, so it doesn't matter which company you are dealing with...whether it's Allstate, GEICO or Progressive they will come up with the same values as long as the features are correct. Mileage counts too - make sure they got it right.
NYS Insurance Law requires that the insurance company give you current market value - not Kelly Blue Book, NADA, Red Book or anything else. Don't even waste your time.
You can negotiate if you can find your exact car at a local dealer or for sale in the paper ( a legit publication) for more than they are offering you, with the understanding that if they are offering you - say $3000 and the car is being sold for $3500 the person/dealer selling is not going to get asking price.
Insurance companies have to make you an offer in good faith based on NY State Law - once they've done that, they are not under any obligation to offer you more money. Often I would offer something if there was some proof, but not more than $100 or so - just to close the claim. Mybe you just put new tires on last month - that's not really worth anything since a car is suppoed to have all its usable parts, but sometimes I'd throw a bone, maybe offer 25% of that total just to make the person happy. If you are completely unreasonable, there is only so far they will go - their files can be audited by the NYS Insurance Dept and there has to be a reason behind their offer.
HTH, you can DM me with any more questions.
This is a pretty accurate description of the process. I used to handle auto claims in NY too and I used to negotiate total loss vehicles, although the amount that is negotiable is rather small.
Thank you everyone!! Esp X Insurance Folk,,this has been a complete nightmare,,just put $5,500 into the vehical to keep it tip top,,then some guy decided to pul a U off of SS,,Destroyed our vehical, our livelyhood and a memeber of the familys health will never be the same,,Becareful out there,,you really do not want to have these Problems,,,oh PS,,this was @ 40mph,,other driver made the the mistake of his life,,which it cost him~his Life. Our Prayers to the Family.
Yeah, I always felt bad when someone had just done a ton of maintenance on their car and then it was totalled...that really stinks. Are you going thru your insurance or the other person's?
DOn't forget you have the right to keep the car if you know someone who can fix it for the amount that you are getting...they will deduct the salvage bid from your settlement though.
Good luck.
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Do you have to accept the first amount an Insurance company offers you concerning a totalled Vehical? thank you ahead,,let me know if your in the Insurance Industry,,,I heard you can refuse their offers until you settle with them?!?
