by Guest » Sun Jan 24, 2010 09:14 pm
Hello,
I was in a car accident the other day, going through an intersection a drive in oncoming traffic made a left hand turn in front of me. They were sighted for failure to yield at a left hand turn (and carrying more passengers than the vehicle accommodates.)
The accident is clearly the fault of the other driver (according to Arizona State Law). I filled a claim through my insurance company and they are providing me a rental car. The front drivers side and mid section of my vehicle are completely damaged and the car is not drive-able. The insurance company appraiser stated that the vehicle is repairable. Due to the amount of damage I believe it should be totaled.
According to KBB.com the car is worth approx 9k, prior to the accident. I am trying to figure out (but I can't find it anywhere online, or at the Department of Insurance for Arizona) what the legal OTL is. I'm assuming it is around 80%. Does anyone know, or can help me find what the percentage of Obvious Total Loss is in Arizona?
No, I'm not here to commit insurance fraud (I read some of the other posts on this forum and some people like to do silly things apparently). I just want to make sure my insurance company doesn't try to repair the car if it should be totaled.
Thanks,
Weylin.
I was in a car accident the other day, going through an intersection a drive in oncoming traffic made a left hand turn in front of me. They were sighted for failure to yield at a left hand turn (and carrying more passengers than the vehicle accommodates.)
The accident is clearly the fault of the other driver (according to Arizona State Law). I filled a claim through my insurance company and they are providing me a rental car. The front drivers side and mid section of my vehicle are completely damaged and the car is not drive-able. The insurance company appraiser stated that the vehicle is repairable. Due to the amount of damage I believe it should be totaled.
According to KBB.com the car is worth approx 9k, prior to the accident. I am trying to figure out (but I can't find it anywhere online, or at the Department of Insurance for Arizona) what the legal OTL is. I'm assuming it is around 80%. Does anyone know, or can help me find what the percentage of Obvious Total Loss is in Arizona?
No, I'm not here to commit insurance fraud (I read some of the other posts on this forum and some people like to do silly things apparently). I just want to make sure my insurance company doesn't try to repair the car if it should be totaled.
Thanks,
Weylin.
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 09:51 pm Post Subject:
It may be repairable today but totaled tomorrow.
Sometime when you write an estimate you cannot see all the damages. Once the vehicle taken to the shop and torn down they may find additional damages that could total the vehicle.
I don't known of any insurance company that wants to repair a total loss that would cost them more to repair than to replace.
Once the vehicle is taken to the shop have the shop call you after they tear down the vehicle and go over the repairs and the amount it will cost to repair your vehicle.
I like NADA for values so go to their web site, look up the value and see what the Actual cash value is. If it 70 to 80% speak with your claim rep and find out why they will not total your vehicle.
If you live in a state that allows DV this should be considered in the amount. Also make sure the shop has found all the damage. Some insurance companies will even consider rental & salvage value.
The important thing here is once you know the cost of repairs is to contact the claim rep and discuss the value of your vehicle and the cost of repairs (Be Nice catch more flies with honey) this way they will have to look at your repairs more closely.
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 10:00 pm Post Subject:
Insurance companies will usually total out a vehicle when the cost to repair is 80% of it's value. You can also ask the adjuster for this info, I'm sure they will let you know their percentage.
Wanting a vehicle to be considered a total loss is no where near committing insurance fraud. it's completely understandable.
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:33 am Post Subject:
An obvious total loss, in most cases and in my own experiance, is a vehicle that is beyond repair upon first inspection. A vehicle that doesn't need to be torn down, inspected to verify it's repairability. Often there is visible evidence on first inspection that verifies this without a doubt. Most insurance adjusters and or repair professionals in most cases can make that determination. However, like Jake stated, this evidence may not be verifiable upon first inspection and the vehicle will need to be examined further. Until that time, it's difficult to speculate (which is what you are doing from your description) that the vehicle is without a doubt, a total loss. In many cases that I have delt with, the vehicle owner jumps to this conclusion, when in reality the vehicle is not as damaged as it may seem.
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 08:45 pm Post Subject:
They came back with an estimate to repair for the total cost of $4,168. Nada shows the car value is approx $7,150. This being said I am at 58% of the repair cost vs the cars value.
I am having it sent to a shop today and asking they do a full tear down and estimate on the repairs. There would have to be ~$1,600 in repair that the appraiser did not see to meet 80% repair cost/ACV ratio.
Most likely this won't occur and I'll be getting my car back. I'm thinking about trading it in as soon as I get it back, I read and hear of people having plenty of problems post-repair, but I'm a little up-side-down and don't really want to carry over any negative equity.
Not sure what I'm going to do yet. I'll sleep on it a night or to, I got the rental for a few more weeks if need be. Thanks for your help and advice.
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 09:55 pm Post Subject:
When you say, .
The front drivers side and mid section of my vehicle are completely damaged
Are you talking about the doors? If so was the adjuster able to get those doors opened? If not you could very likely have some post, rocker and/or floor and interior damage. Doesn't take that long to add 1600.00 to an estimate.Couple of things, I'd like to add..
All carriers have their own guide lines for OTL's...ie, total burn, flood into the dash, creamed fire wall, 80% of the sheet metal being replaced on 'x' age vehicles. Some states also have OTL guidelines, and most have percentage guidelines as well.
I don't know any carrier that uses KBB, I know many that use NADA.
You say this is the other guys fault...have you filed it with his carrier as well? You can you know...
If you live in a state that allows DV this should be considered in the amount.
It's my understanding that most if not all states allow this on third party claims (you cannot get this from your carrier! Another reason to think about filing your claim with the other carrier)..Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:32 pm Post Subject:
Maybe you also could call your local insurance agent and ask him to explain in detail the options you have with your policy.
Make him to give you an official confirmation of his statement also.
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:44 pm Post Subject:
Maybe you also could call your local insurance agent and ask him to explain in detail the options you have with your policy.
Not real sure what the agent can do for the OP tamaralubenski, (welcome to the community by the way! :D ) Other than to tell him this is the deductible under your collision coverage. And this is what you purchased regarding rental. I'm sure the adjuster has already explained that...unless you can think of something else...that the agent could assist with..Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 09:46 pm Post Subject:
I actually meant that all the damage was in the front of the wheel well on the drives side. So nothing close to my doors, firewall or floorboard.
I only filed the claim with my insurance, as I figured they would pursue the other parties for compensation.
I don't quite understand why I would file the claim with their insurer? Nor do I know what DV stands for?
Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:11 pm Post Subject:
I actually meant that all the damage was in the front of the wheel well on the drives side. So nothing close to my doors, firewall or floorboard.
This description does not sound close to a total loss.
I don't quite understand why I would file the claim with their insurer?
You said in your opening, that they were sighted for failing to yeild and that they were cearly at fault.
Nor do I know what DV stands for
Diminished value is the automatic loss in value from a collision.
Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 06:36 pm Post Subject:
Well I have a bigger issue now. The car was taken to a shop after the accident and the shop owner had me sign a form to work with me/my insurance company to repair the car.
A few days later I called to check on the status of the car and went down and took some pictures of it. I told the shop owner verbally not to repair the vehicle as I did not receive the insurance check. (I still don't have it because my post office messed up my mail delivery).
Today I called them stating that I wanted to pick up the car, and would pay the balance that I owe for any prior work and holding of the vehicle. At this point I had assumed they did not do any work on the car other than what I had seen the day I took the photos. They told me that the car had been completely repaired and would not release it without payment.
I don't have the check to pay them, as it has been re-issued and sent to the correct address. Nor do I want to pay them as I decided not to repair the vehicle and I made a verbal agreement with the owner not to repair the vehicle without further notice.
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