by blackhound » Fri Jan 16, 2015 04:22 pm
This is my first time dealing with an auto insurance claim and it has been a nightmare. A continuing nightmare.
Location: Pennsylvania
The accident:
On Dec. 31, 2014, I was t-boned in the middle of a 4 way stop intersection by a driver (USAA insurance). Luckily there were no injuries but my car is a total. The claim was in limbo for a full week because USAA’s insured would not return their phone calls to make a statement. Finally the adjuster called and said USAA was taking full responsibility as their driver admitted fault and quite frankly, the damage to the cars told the story.
The claims process:
In the period between Dec. 31 and Jan. 12 I was receiving calls from the USAA call center every few days, each time from a different person with conflicting information about the settlement amount and threatening me that they were not going to pay the storage fees. I told them repeatedly that the storage fees were not my issue because their appraiser still hadn’t looked at the car so how could they even come up with a settlement amount.
Fast forward to January 12th when the USAA appraiser finally shows up at the body shop to inspect the vehicle. The next day I go down and pull the plates so it can be towed to their storage facility.
I am still holding the title to the car.
Jan 14th I had a call, again from a random call center rep, telling me that they were canceling the rental car and it had to be returned the next day. They also told me the proposed settlement amount which is a low-ball considering the low mileage and condition of the car when it was hit. Comparable cars sell for at least $2000.00 more in my area. I presented them with that information but they said they weren't interested in reviewing it. I told them I needed something in writing or an email because I haven't received anything to date except conflicting verbal info. The rep said she didn't have an answer.
Today I called their executive customer service office and was told that I would be called back on Monday after they look into it but don't expect there to be a change in the settlement. Again, I asked for paperwork to confirm the details of the settlement.
Today is the 16th of January and I still have no settlement paperwork. I called the lead adjuster again and was routed to a call center in Tampa, Florida. No one can account for the paperwork. They don't know if it was mailed or not.
I am really angry that I have all this hassle for an accident that was not my fault. I would have thought that USAA would quickly resolve the claim once they admitted their driver was 100% at fault. The lead adjuster never returns my phone calls and all the contact is through random call center reps from random cities.
It has been very difficult to navigate the process. I have never been involved in an auto accident so I am not well versed in process and procedure. Quite frankly, my insurance company (AAA) hasn’t been all that helpful either. Right out of the gate, before they even had statements or photos the adjuster was passing judgement that the accident would probably end up as a 50-50 split. I have also had to be the conduit to pass information to my insurance company because they are not speaking directly with USAA.
I do know that I have the option to just file a claim through AAA and move on but I will lose my $500.00 deductible. I can't get a clear answer from AAA about whether or not the deductible would be part of their subrogation. I also don't know if claiming through AAA would affect my rates in the future even though I was not at fault.
This can't be how it's supposed to work. I would love some suggestions.
BH
Location: Pennsylvania
The accident:
On Dec. 31, 2014, I was t-boned in the middle of a 4 way stop intersection by a driver (USAA insurance). Luckily there were no injuries but my car is a total. The claim was in limbo for a full week because USAA’s insured would not return their phone calls to make a statement. Finally the adjuster called and said USAA was taking full responsibility as their driver admitted fault and quite frankly, the damage to the cars told the story.
The claims process:
In the period between Dec. 31 and Jan. 12 I was receiving calls from the USAA call center every few days, each time from a different person with conflicting information about the settlement amount and threatening me that they were not going to pay the storage fees. I told them repeatedly that the storage fees were not my issue because their appraiser still hadn’t looked at the car so how could they even come up with a settlement amount.
Fast forward to January 12th when the USAA appraiser finally shows up at the body shop to inspect the vehicle. The next day I go down and pull the plates so it can be towed to their storage facility.
I am still holding the title to the car.
Jan 14th I had a call, again from a random call center rep, telling me that they were canceling the rental car and it had to be returned the next day. They also told me the proposed settlement amount which is a low-ball considering the low mileage and condition of the car when it was hit. Comparable cars sell for at least $2000.00 more in my area. I presented them with that information but they said they weren't interested in reviewing it. I told them I needed something in writing or an email because I haven't received anything to date except conflicting verbal info. The rep said she didn't have an answer.
Today I called their executive customer service office and was told that I would be called back on Monday after they look into it but don't expect there to be a change in the settlement. Again, I asked for paperwork to confirm the details of the settlement.
Today is the 16th of January and I still have no settlement paperwork. I called the lead adjuster again and was routed to a call center in Tampa, Florida. No one can account for the paperwork. They don't know if it was mailed or not.
I am really angry that I have all this hassle for an accident that was not my fault. I would have thought that USAA would quickly resolve the claim once they admitted their driver was 100% at fault. The lead adjuster never returns my phone calls and all the contact is through random call center reps from random cities.
It has been very difficult to navigate the process. I have never been involved in an auto accident so I am not well versed in process and procedure. Quite frankly, my insurance company (AAA) hasn’t been all that helpful either. Right out of the gate, before they even had statements or photos the adjuster was passing judgement that the accident would probably end up as a 50-50 split. I have also had to be the conduit to pass information to my insurance company because they are not speaking directly with USAA.
I do know that I have the option to just file a claim through AAA and move on but I will lose my $500.00 deductible. I can't get a clear answer from AAA about whether or not the deductible would be part of their subrogation. I also don't know if claiming through AAA would affect my rates in the future even though I was not at fault.
This can't be how it's supposed to work. I would love some suggestions.
BH
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 05:42 am Post Subject:
I told them repeatedly that the storage fees were not my issue because their appraiser still hadn’t looked at the car so how could they even come up with a settlement amount.
Here is what _really_ happened. Your vehicle was incurring daily storage charges that _YOU_ were responsible for. USAA offered to move it to a storage free location where they could inspect it. This means _you_ would not incurring further charges... which would be an issue down the road when USAA refused to pay for those excessive charges.
I am really angry that I have all this hassle for an accident that was not my fault. I would have thought that USAA would quickly resolve the claim once they admitted their driver was 100% at fault.
Well they did. Once they confirmed liability they were every quick in making an offer. Yes, they should have immediately sent you the offer. I'd call a supervisor and go up the chain to get this documentation.I do know that I have the option to just file a claim through AAA and move on but I will lose my $500.00 deductible
No you won't. It will be deducted from your total loss offer but USAA will settle with your carrier and your $500 will be paid back to you at a later date. But that raises the question... will your carrier pay more then USAA is offering.USAA still uses a report from CCC. It's crap. If you look over it you will find that the vehicle's used in comparison are probably not correct. You will also find those vehicle's values are changed to meet your type of vehicle but then condition deductions are also taken on top of that.
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 02:29 pm Post Subject:
Here is what _really_ happened. Your vehicle was incurring daily storage charges that _YOU_ were responsible for. USAA offered to move it to a storage free location where they could inspect it. This means _you_ would not incurring further charges... which would be an issue down the road when USAA refused to pay for those excessive charges.
thanks for the response. it's appreciated.
We had no issue with the car being taken wherever it needed to go to expedite the settlement. They never asked to move it to their facility until after their appraiser looked at it which was weeks after the accident further complicated by this whole call center model where you get calls from random people with random information. Bottom line is they are paying all the storage charges.
Well they did. Once they confirmed liability they were every quick in making an offer. Yes, they should have immediately sent you the offer. I'd call a supervisor and go up the chain to get this documentation.
They confirmed liability 7 days after the accident. The appraiser didn't show up until much later and then it still took days to get a verbal offer. I finally found a phone number for the Total Loss department. They insisted they had sent the paperwork which they had not. They emailed me what they claimed they sent a week prior and not surprisingly in the body of the letter the dates don't match with what I was told. They ginned up the documents the same day. And the paperwork is incomplete. There are apparently forms I need to fill and return which are not included.
No you won't. It will be deducted from your total loss offer but USAA will settle with your carrier and your $500 will be paid back to you at a later date. But that raises the question... will your carrier pay more then USAA is offering.
My carrier will pay more but my fear is that claiming through them will ultimately affect my rates.
This call center model of operation is a woeful mess. Is this the operational model of choice for most companies now?
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 03:42 pm Post Subject:
My carrier will pay more but my fear is that claiming through them will ultimately affect my rates.
Is should not and usually won't... but I can't speak for all carriers. Some get a little more shady. They should not be allowed to increase the rates for a non-fault accident but I've seen some than increase it for other reasons.
USAA has certainly gone down hill over the past 15 years. They used to have one adjuster handling a claim and you could reach the person. They have since limited staffing and gone to that "team" effort. Let me tell you... that "team" thing.... has _NEVER_ worked in any insurance company. It's done only because it cuts costs for the insurance company. I dread calling companies like State Farm that do this as well. Those companies have too many people and the digested information never gets to the correct adjuster.
My recommendation is to get the CCC report and look it over. You may see where they changed the values of certain things on the other vehicles in order to match yours. You may then see where they apply an appearance change. If you read the report you will see that this should not be done. In some cases they may need to really stretch the types of vehicles they use to compare (the three they pick from the list_. If that is the case then USAA can ask CCC to manually increase the range of the vehicles used. Most adjusters should know this is possible but some might not know. You can also call the places that sold those vehicles and ask about their condition. Regardless of what USAA tells you, still send them supporting documents to show that your values are correct.
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 02:28 pm Post Subject:
The only thing tcope has not mentioned in this dialogue is filing a complaint with the PA Dept of Insurance. Even if USAA has done everything "by the book" (which is not what it sounds like), the Dept of Insurance needs to know that they are not being very efficient at what they are doing. This is on the cusp of unfair claims practices, which can cost the insurance company big bucks if it is discovered to be a general business practice.
So even if they have not done anything wrong, let the state know of your complaint. That's called being proactive. It puts the insurance company on the regulator's radar screen if nothing else.
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