by Guest » Mon Feb 04, 2008 09:45 pm
I had my 2006 chevy colorado stolen on dec. 23, 2007 from the backyard of my in-laws house. It was found 11 hours later in the marshes and it had water all in the cab and a water line that reached the top of the bed. The police said they had a string of thefts lately and it was possible that could be what happened. I had left it unlocked since it was a safe place(so i thought) and i always had my spare in the glove box since i had a history of locking my keys in. nobody knew this but me and my wife. i was told i would be contacted by an adjuster by jan 1. well i didnt hear from him till the 4th, then i was told i would be contacted by an investigator by the 4th. that didnt happen untill the 12th. on the 25th, they told me that they chose to do an EUO and i would be given a phone number for the attorney to set up my appt by the 28th. today is the 4th of february and i have not heard from the since. I had looked at getting a replacement vehicle the whole time and was told i couldnt get a letter stating they were taking over it untill after the investigation. well, on the 9th of jan i found a vehicle and the dealer called and they sent the letter. so on the 25th they said they wanted to go thru an attorney, even after i got a letter saying i had no interest in the vehicle anymore. I spoke to a military attorney today and they said i may want to look into suing the company. any suggestions or advice. Im also getting ready to go on deployment to afghanistan and when i leave i cant do anything.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:26 am Post Subject:
Wow, what a shame this has happened to you, you are really getting the run around on this, do they know that the spare key was in the vehicle? Do they know that the vehicle was left unlocked?
What is there reasoning that they wait fort the adjuster contact you, have they given you a reason?
Do you have the number for your states insurance commission or other reporting agency? I would be looking that number up and give them a call, probably any other insurance company that you call will give you the number for the reporting agency.
Can you sign power of attorney over to your wife while you are deployed? She would be able to act on your behalf and the military should be able to put this in place for you free of charge, just a thought.
I wish you luck in your situation and in your deployment, come home safe.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 03:01 am Post Subject:
yes they knew the key was in there and it was unlocked, its even in the police report. i looked at my policy and there are no exclusions about keys in it. they have not told me much exept "maybe they were gone those days". i talked to a military lwayer today and they said i should look into suing the company, i would give my wife POA for this but she dont know whats going on because she doesnt want to get too involved. She isnt that well inclined to know what she would need to do. I wouldnt want to stick her with this either.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 05:51 am Post Subject: wait & keep us fed
What is there reasoning that they wait fort the adjuster contact you, have they given you a reason?
This wait , I believe is not for the adjuster, rather he needs to wait for the investigator. That is the reason he says like this-
well i didnt hear from him till the 4th, then i was told i would be contacted by an investigator by the 4th. that didnt happen untill the 12th.
This investigation on his case might be already on, & it may take an indefinite time span to get the thing sorted out before they would finally ring his bell.
Regards,
ToryCalp
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 01:06 pm Post Subject:
Good morning Seabee and welcome to the community, and so sorry for your theft...that stinks...literally in a swamp? yuck!
ok...first off...are you kidding me?
stolen on dec. 23, 2007
i was told i would be contacted by an adjuster by jan 1.
THAT'S OVER A WEEK! Who told you this?till the 4th, then i was told i would be contacted by an investigator by the 4th. that didnt happen untill the 12th
:evil: and this who is giving you this information?on the 25th, they told me that they chose to do an EUO
What happened between the 12th and 25th? these thirteen days?i would be given a phone number for the attorney
Did they give you this phone number? Again who? (not their name, their title)What is the basis of the EOU? This in and of it's self is not unheard of and happens a lot on thefts...Have they requested information from you? Like phone records, credit etc? Have they taken recorded statements from everyone at the house? What EXACTLY have they done to move this claim forward?
Clearly they have reason to believe that this is some sort of fraud...Hopefully you are not late on any payments period, but especially on the truck (prior to the theft) this is a big red flag...What EXACTLY did this letter they sent you say?
It sounds to me like you 'may' have a bad faith claim (which can get huge)....please please please, talk with an attorney about this...of course you will be excused from any of this if deployed....I would caution you though to get on this immediately...get an attorney yesterday....fyi, you need to check this thread that has been on going for A LONG time and similar circumstances as your....
http://www.ampminsure.org/fraud/about3230.html
This investigation on his case might be already on, & it may take an indefinite time span to get the thing sorted out before they would finally ring his bell.
NO, I disagree there has been too much time, without ANY movement toward resolution....time to see an attorney, re: bad faith or vicacious (spell check not working sorry if wrong) refusal to pay...you might first contact (on the web if you'd like) your states Dept of Ins. file a complaint...you need to make sure you are clearly documenting any and all contact with this carrier...Please keep us updated....and ask any questions you'd like...
ps...thank you for your service, and if you are deployed, God be with you, and your family while you are away.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:13 pm Post Subject:
all information told to me was by the insurance company, USAA.
the 13 day lapse, nothing happened in between. no phone calls from them, none answered when i called.
i have called 6 times a day to find out the phone number for the EOU and have heard nothing. they have not given me a base for it or anything, they are keeping me in the dark. they have taken recorded statements, checked credit, viewed police reports but not asked for phone records yet, im waiting though. i havent even recieved an affedevit to sign, i was told i wouldnt have to.
i have never been late on truck payments or insurance, never filed a claim and the letter says something like i have no interest in the vehicle and the insurance has taken complete control as of dec 24.
what is a bad faith claim?
im working on finding an attorney or will take this kind of case, today is fat tuesday so they are off to get drunk..lol
i will be deployed in august, what will happen if this aint settled.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:26 pm Post Subject:
i also want to point out before someone says it, i do not have a problem with my payments, i pay 436 a month but its not a big problem to me. i have no late bills, i have held off 2 weeks to pay my truck for jan. because i was told by the company it would be done before my payment, well obviously not so i guess now i need to pay it because i will not let that go without payment. they also dropped my insurance coverage on it since obviously there is no need to cover the vehicle if it is totalled.
Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 05:51 am Post Subject:
...and i always had my spare in the glove box since i had a history of locking my keys in...
First things first... if I understand correctly, you keep an ignition key in the glove box... as you sometimes lock your keys in the vehicle. Is it me or does this make no sense. You'd have to be in the vehicle to get the spare key in which case... you'd have access to the key you locked in the vehicle.
Very unusual in that USAA is _extremely_ service oriented. But here is what you need to to in order to take care of this situation. Simply call the adjuster and get a supervisor on the phone. Have the supervisor explain _exactly_ what the situation is and the time frame for someone to take the next step. Let them know you are being deployed soon and you need to have this matter settled well before then. Also let them know that you will be calling back _their_ supervisor if things are not done as you are told they will be. USAA operates the same as the military... you move up the chain of command and sh*t rolls down hill.
No one answered the phone? I wonder about this as it's very difficult _not_ to speak to someone else at a company such as USAA. Most adjusters even have their supervisors information right in their message. If you could not reach anyone at USAA when you called, perhaps you were really not trying.
Despite what you were told, _very_ few states allow 1st party bad faith claims. Most states require an insurance company to settle a claim within 30 days or show some good reason why this is not possible. If your simply waiting on an attorney for the carrier to obtain an EUO, the delay should not be acceptable. as mentioned, contact your states Insurance Commissioners office and file a complaint. I can tell you that this will start moving your claim forward _very_ quickly.
I think you understand that the EUO is being requested because of a suspicious claim. Most people would not leave their vehicle unlocked... with a key in the glove box (no one knew it was there...? Um, is this not the _first_ place someone would look for something of value? You might as well have put a sign on the vehicle, "Steal Me"). As there was no signs of forced entry and no signs that the ignition was damaged in order to steal the vehicle, this would automatically be "suspicious". Again, if nothing else, you made it _extremely_ easy for _anyone_ to steal your vehicle. I think you can see the point in the carrier looking into this matter.
I just read a little further and see that you won't be deployed until August. This will be settled well before then so that is not an issue whatsoever.
Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 07:30 am Post Subject:
I've handled claims for USAA (homeowners) in the past and have seen them bend over backwards for insureds in cases where the cause of loss and damages were questionable at best. I would agree they are very service oriented.
I too questioned the key in the glove box in case you locked your other key in the car? I could see under the fender or under a rock in your front yard....but in the glove box? This statement has to be why they are going with the additional investigation.
As far as time frame, if they are taking the EUO, I would say it will all be over shortly..... not so much in your favor.....you may want to discuss with an attorney if you get no answers from USAA.
Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:13 am Post Subject:
A ''Bad Faith'' claim is when an insurance company does not operate according to the fair claims practices for your state....or not in ''good faith'' to handle your claim...I don't know what is going on in your claim, but can only take your word for what has transpired....If you have had all these no contacts and can prove it this is bad faith...(I don't care who you are..haha)..All states have rules re: how long it takes to pay, deny, or request additional time to investigate a claim...you are saying none of these things have happened and we are nearly at the 60 day mark!
Despite what you were told, _very_ few states allow 1st party bad faith claims.
Sorry tcope I disagree....I don't know any states that don't allow bad faith claims...I know your state OP does because I just checked...and I could be wrong but I've always understood that bad faith can ONLY be first party tcope, please explain what you meant by this...I'm confused... :? (no great shock granted :roll: )However, I'm confused by a couple of things...first I agree, your explaination for the key in the glove box really makes no sense, and this letter you have saying the insurance company has 'taken complete control of it'' do you mean that they now own it? Sounds like maybe they have already settled the claim (?)...you need to check and see if a payment has been issued to your lein holder...check USAA's website, many larger carriers (even the one I work for) give insureds/clmt access to certain claims information....please let us know...this just isn't adding up.
Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:01 pm Post Subject:
tcope--i have called several times and everytime i get voice mail i leave one then call back, i get voice mail again and they have told me to press zero and it will connect me to someone else, well i have done that as well and have recieved just someone elses voice mails. i have tried more then once, to contact these people.
lori-i have had no requests for them to take extra time or anything. which i would have no problem with as long as they would keep me in the loop as to what was going on. I just wish that if they gave me a date by which something was to be done by, they would stick with it.
i understand that the glove box thing is confusing, and i really have no other explanation for it. i used to keep a magnetic box under my fender untill it fell off one day then i would use the box. i have misplaced keys before which this came in handy for and i have locked my keys in, which, i needed help "breaking in" to my own truck.
according to the letter, even a jag lawyer said it states that they pretty much own it. but everytime i call the claims department, when i do get ahold of them, i am told they can not settle untill the investigation it complete.
i really wish i could get this over. i can see how this whole scenario can be suspicious and i understand that people do stage thefts all the time, but i dont see why this should be a reason to take their time. Like i stated previouisly, i have learned i am not the only one with trouble from them, as i have a buddy who is doing a complaint because hes been waiting for 5 months from a break in and stolen vehicle.
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