by emcquoid » Thu Jan 05, 2012 10:38 am
I was sitting stopped in traffic and the other vehicle was driving about 50 miles oer hour in the carpool lane, hit my CTS cadillac from the rear drivers side to the middle of the passenger door.
I am trying to find out if I can get the car totaled by using the DV claim as the frame is bent and the value of the car even after beng repaired will be completely gone. Also trying to find out if I have the right to take the car from the auto body shop the insurance company recommended to oneof my choice to get another quote. I have been told that the suto body shop could charge me for them looking at it if I don't let them fix it.
I am lost at what to do
I am trying to find out if I can get the car totaled by using the DV claim as the frame is bent and the value of the car even after beng repaired will be completely gone. Also trying to find out if I have the right to take the car from the auto body shop the insurance company recommended to oneof my choice to get another quote. I have been told that the suto body shop could charge me for them looking at it if I don't let them fix it.
I am lost at what to do
Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:27 am Post Subject:
If you took it to their preferred shop it's usually part of the deal that you _won't_ be charged if they don't do the work. It's how they stay (more) clear of being in violation of the steering laws.
If the insurance adjuster told you this... speak to that person's supervisor.
Do you have collision coverage? If so, you can see if your carrier would consider it a total loss.
Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 03:34 pm Post Subject:
First of all, frame damage has nothing to do with whether your vehicle is a total loss or not. The insurance company will prefer to bear the cost of repairing the vehicle over paying you the ACV which is definitely a larger amount. If it was the other way around, the insurance company wouldn’t have blinked before declaring your car totaled.
What you can do is find out the salvage value of your car, an estimate of the cost of repair and the actual cash value of your car. You can take the car to any body shop you want to draw up repair estimates, you have the right to do so. If you find that the total of the salvage value and the repair cost is greater than the ACV, submit all the relevant documentation supporting this claim to your insurance company and see if they agree to total it.
Which state are you in? Some states have a percent law along with the usual Obvious Total Loss (OTL) and Economic Total Loss laws as far as totaling a vehicle is concerned. You might want to find out about those and see if it applies in your case.
As for collecting on the DV claim, you can file it against the at-fault party’s insurance company (unless you are in Michigan). If the other party has no insurance then DV will be covered under your own policy’s UM coverage. Collecting DV off your own policy’s collision coverage is only possible in Georgia, Kansas and Washington.
Add your comment