by wilson.ohyeah » Thu Sep 09, 2010 06:51 pm
Hi! I'm hoping to find some good answers here, it looks like there's lots of knowledgeable people.
My car was totaled this past April when it was parked outside the building I work in. I'm having trouble getting what I think is a reasonable amount for reimbursement of the rental car I had before I obtained a new vehicle.
I rented the car for the entire period from when my car was totaled to the time I got a new one. I had it for 34 days and the total bill was a little over $1200. Allstate, the insurance company of the person who was at fault, is saying that they're only willing to pay for 14 days at their rate, which comes to about $527.
They said that they're only willing to cover the period of time from when the offer was presented (May 10th) to the time the payment was issued (May 25th). This doesn't seem fair to me because the reimbursement period doesn't cover the time from the date of the accident (April 29th) to the date that the settlement was presented.
So, what should I do? I don't have rental coverage through my carrier (Geico) and they said I would have to go about getting reimbursed from Allstate on my own. This was fine, but no one at Allstate said anything about how long I would be covered for in my rental car.
I suppose I should have expected this and it would have been smart to ask about it. However, the accident wasn't my fault at all and my car was totaled. Am I not entitled to reimbursement for the entire period from the date of the accident to the time that the payment was issued?
Thanks in advance for any advice on this matter!
My car was totaled this past April when it was parked outside the building I work in. I'm having trouble getting what I think is a reasonable amount for reimbursement of the rental car I had before I obtained a new vehicle.
I rented the car for the entire period from when my car was totaled to the time I got a new one. I had it for 34 days and the total bill was a little over $1200. Allstate, the insurance company of the person who was at fault, is saying that they're only willing to pay for 14 days at their rate, which comes to about $527.
They said that they're only willing to cover the period of time from when the offer was presented (May 10th) to the time the payment was issued (May 25th). This doesn't seem fair to me because the reimbursement period doesn't cover the time from the date of the accident (April 29th) to the date that the settlement was presented.
So, what should I do? I don't have rental coverage through my carrier (Geico) and they said I would have to go about getting reimbursed from Allstate on my own. This was fine, but no one at Allstate said anything about how long I would be covered for in my rental car.
I suppose I should have expected this and it would have been smart to ask about it. However, the accident wasn't my fault at all and my car was totaled. Am I not entitled to reimbursement for the entire period from the date of the accident to the time that the payment was issued?
Thanks in advance for any advice on this matter!
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 08:32 pm Post Subject:
They said that they're only willing to cover the period of time from when the offer was presented (May 10th) to the time the payment was issued (May 25th). This doesn't seem fair to me because the reimbursement period doesn't cover the time from the date of the accident (April 29th) to the date that the settlement was presented.
You'd be correct... they owe from the date that the vehicle was not drivable until they made an offer. I'm really thinking there might be some confusion here as this is pretty standard. Also, April 29th to May 10th seems to equal those 14 days they are offering (plus a few days extra which is standard).Question... do you expect them to pay for more then a few days past their offer? If I understand it correctly, it took you about another 2 weeks to replace the vehicle. Do you expect for them to pay for those two weeks?
This was fine, but no one at Allstate said anything about how long I would be covered for in my rental car.
Someone should have mentioned this when they made the offer. Again, it's pretty standard for any adjuster handling a total loss to be about the the first they mention. Many times they will even follow up with a letter.Did they not have a direct billing set up with the rental company? If not then it would also seem that they did not make any promises on how long they would pay for the rental.
Am I not entitled to reimbursement for the entire period from the date of the accident to the time that the payment was issued?
Well... from the date of loss until an offer was made. That is what is owed. But most carriers will extend it a few days past when the offer was made. Unless I missed something it seems like 14 days covers this time frame... no?Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 09:42 pm Post Subject:
You'd be correct... they owe from the date that the vehicle was not drivable until they made an offer. I'm really thinking there might be some confusion here as this is pretty standard. Also, April 29th to May 10th seems to equal those 14 days they are offering (plus a few days extra which is standard).
They told me that they would cover the rental from May 10th to May 25th, from the day that the settlement was offered to the time they sent out the payment for my loss to Geico, my insurance company. *Not* from the day of the accident to the date the settlement was offered.
I read some of your posts and this does seem to conflict from what I've read in your other comments. However, that's what they told me they would cover. I will check with the adjuster again but I'm pretty sure that's what she said.
However, if I'm wrong and what you say is correct, why won't they cover the period of time from when the settlement is offered to the date that they issued payment to Geico?
I guess I feel like I'm getting a bad deal because all the paperwork and bureaucratic crap on their end took so long. From the day of the accident, April 29th, I had to wait until May 27th to receive the compensation for the total loss. I would like to be reimbursed for the period form the date of the accident to the time that Allstate issued payment to Geico, which would be about 25 days or so.
The period from May 10th to the 25th seems like a really, really long time for them to get the payment out. I deposited the check into my account on the 28th of May and got a car early the very next week.
Someone should have mentioned this when they made the offer. Again, it's pretty standard for any adjuster handling a total loss to be about the the first they mention. Many times they will even follow up with a letter.
Did they not have a direct billing set up with the rental company? If not then it would also seem that they did not make any promises on how long they would pay for the rental.
Geico handled my claim for the entire ordeal, minus the rental car stuff. I only talked to Allstate into the second week or so about getting reimbursed. Since I had already obtained a rental car on my own, they said it would be fine to fax in my receipt once I turned in the car, which is what I did.
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 10:50 pm Post Subject:
They told me that they would cover the rental from May 10th to May 25th, from the day that the settlement was offered to the time they sent out the payment for my loss to Geico, my insurance company.
Oh... you claimed under your own collision coverage. This makes it a little more difficult for Allstate. The usually time frame that rental is paid is from the date of loss until the settlement offer is made (plus a few days). Since Allstate can't know how long this would have taken them, they need to come up with a reasonable amount of time. While 14 days is reasonable, the two dates they are giving you should not have been used. That time frame makes no sense.I would like to be reimbursed for the period form the date of the accident to the time that Allstate issued payment to Geico, which would be about 25 days or so.
This should not be considered as Allstate does not owe for a rental while GEICO shifts around their paperwork from one dept to another, for the mailing time to Allstate and for Allstate to review the documents. This is in no way related to your loss.Here is what should have happened... you file the claim with GEICO and they settle within 12 days. At the same time you are looking for a replacement vehicle so once you receive the payment from GEICO you can replace your vehicle right away. Once the vehicle is replaced, a few days later, you turn in the rental. All of this takes about 14 days. Was there a delay for some reason?
Now, I'd agree that 14 days is about the minimum it would take. I'd be willing to bet if you pressed the issue with GEICO that they would probably be willing to extend it an additional 3 or perhaps 4 days. But I don't see them going far beyond this. They will claim that _they_ could have (and would have) settled your loss within that time frame so they are not obligated to pay more.
Again, GEICO can't know for a fact that they would have gotten all of this done within 11 or 12 days so I think in order to close the claim that they would probably be willing to consider a few more days. I just don't see them going 25 days.
My main question is why it took 34 days to obtain a replacement vehicle? I can't imagine that it would take Allstate a month to settle a total loss claim.
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:23 pm Post Subject:
Thanks so much for all of the information so far, it's very helpful!
To be correct though, I've been talking to Allstate on the matter this whole time. I asked Geico about it first and they said that since I didn't have rental coverage on my policy, I would have to go about getting reimbursed from Allstate directly, the carrier for the person who at fault for the accident.
As for the 34 days that it took, Geico told me that they (either them or Allstate, I can't remember) had trouble getting the car from the towing company to the lot it eventually went to.
Anyways, from what you've told me, 14 days or so sounds pretty standard. However, I in the mail today I found a check from Allstate for $327, a few hundred less than what they would have paid for the 14 days they said they would cover! Something new to deal with now...
Anyways, again, thanks for all of the great information.
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 12:18 am Post Subject:
That comes out to about $23.36 per day for the 14 day rental.
That is about right for a "standard" car rental from Hertz or Enterprise, both of which the insurance companies usually source rentals through.
They cannot/will not pay for any insurance you might have taken out on the rental from the agency, because your own insurance or your credit card would have insured you for the rental (only suckers buy the rental insurance through the rental company).
They will not pay your fuel (you would have burned it anyway).
If you helped yourself to a larger or more expensive rental, they probably don't owe for this, just for a 4-adult seater.
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 03:01 am Post Subject:
As for the 34 days that it took, Geico told me that they (either them or Allstate, I can't remember) had trouble getting the car from the towing company to the lot it eventually went to.
If GEICO handle the loss initially, they they would have moved the vehicle. If GEICO had problems, this would not obligate Allstate to pay more. I can't see this type of issue adding more then a couple of days, let alone two extra weeks.When you call Allstate about the 14 days, ask them if they will consider 21 days. They probably won't so then ask them for 18 days... something like that.
It's a pain for the adjuster to determine fair rental when they don't handle the total loss. Sometimes everything goes smoothly and it take 10 days to settle a total loss. Some times things go wrong and it takes 21 days. But without handling the claim personally how can Allstate know how long they would have taken. They can really just go by an average amount of time.
While I think 34 days is really too long for any rental on a total loss, I'd not have too much of an issue extending 14 days to something like 18. But each carrier is a bit different. Unfortunately they don't have any obligation to wheel and deal on your claim.
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 12:03 pm Post Subject:
tcope is spot-on
You cannot hold Allstate responsible for Geico's delays in your claim handling.
Your statement that Geico offered for the total loss on May 10 and payment was made on May 25 begs the issue of whether the delay in claim payment was due to your demands and not Geico's handling. If you were holding out for more cash, it is pretty standard to pull the rental a few (maybe 3) days after a "fair" ACV or market value is offered.
Your possible refusal of the amount would not obligate Allstate to extend a rental.
The insurance companies have to be alert for some folks (no one is saying you) who would rather stay in a nice comfy rental than face life and go car shopping.
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