How to Save Car from Being Declared Total?

[Peichen]

Hi guys. I am in New York State/City and I am looking at being out $8000+ by Geico and I am wondering if there is anything I can do.

Car A, B (me) and C driving parallel on highway. A rammed B into C and all captured by B's dash-cam. No airbag deployed or window cracked on any of the cars because the speed are around 13-20mph. All three cars are with Geico and all three only have the minimum liability coverage of $10,000. Geico determined A is at 100% fault.

Geico estimate my car at $13,700; repair cost at $10,543.96 ($10,043.96 net) and declared the car totaled. I have a trusted autoshop that says they can repair the car for $7,000 by using aftermarket parts and not charging $48.00/hr labor that Geico is using. I called the adjuster and he insist the car is totaled and it is illegal for him to make the car un-salvaged.

Car C only have its right side scratched and rear bumper bumped-off but the driver retained a lawyer and is hiding the car from Geico's adjuster claiming serious injury.

Because C is playing hardball Geico cannot tell me how much they can pay me. The way I see it, I can get $5,000-7,000 out of A's $10,000 but consider it will cost me $15,000 to get a similar car, I will be out a lot of money. If I can force the adjuster to not declare a salvage title, I can take the $5/7,000 and have the car repaired and still retaining its remaining warranty. Of course Geico cannot sell my car to rebuilders in this case so I understand why they want to force the salvage title.

Anyone have any idea what I can do to force Geico’s hand? Thanks.

 

[BlockO]

Don't you have collision coverage? or if not, at least under-insured motorist property damage coverage?

that would cover any gaps between what is exhausted in liability pay out and what the vehicle is worth (minus the deductible).

If you have either of those coverages, then I would strongly suggest taking the totaled payout (13.7K - deductible) and just buying another car vs. accepting 7k to repair the near totaled vehicle. 9 times out of 10 you will come out ahead for the simple fact that a repair gone bad or an under-estimated repair can leave you screwed!

 

[djs]

Using your numbers, it doesn't sound like Geico is far off. They say your car is worth 13,700, you say 15K, there is only 1.3K difference.

Since most people over value their own car and undervalue others, there is probably a bit of haggle room, but you are not 7K short, you are 1.3k short.

I can't speak to who is right about the valuations, but it is in the ballpark from what you presented.

Alternatively, if you weren't car A, file with your own carrier, you might get a better resolution and it will pay much faster than a claim that is in dispute.

Dan

 

[Peichen]

Thank you BlockO and djs for your reply. I think I need to reward my question as it doesn't seem clear enough.

I am car B and Geico has determined A is at 100% fault. I only have liability insurance so my Geico policy is not going to pay anything. Car A also have Geico and he only have $10,000 liability coverage and this is the maximum A's policy can compensate me. However, since I have to share A's $10k with car C, the max I can get is around $5,000-$7,000.

Geico determined my car is worth $13,700 and repair would cost $10,543.96 ($10,043.96 net) so they wrote the car off. What I am trying to do is force Geico to not write off the car and it only cost $7,000 to repair, not $10,000.

 

[djs]

Geico isn't going to inflate repair bills. This doesn't mean you can't get it repaired cheaper, it just means they pay prevailing rates and won't get caught up in the 'paying to much' or the 'paying to little' bickering. They pay standard shop rates.

If you valued your car, especially if its was worth $15K, you would have insured it correctly. Now, your option is to sue the driver of car A and hope they have assets to pay the claim.

I don't know of anyway to force Geico to do something that they legally cannot do. You can keep the car though, but it will be with a salvage title.

Dan

 

[Josh]

In the great state of NY, by law, 75% is the magic number. There is also no guarantee they have found all of the damage and it's entirely possible, if not likely, the damages to this vehicle easily hit the 75% mark even with the other shop doing the work when all is said and done. It sounds like in your situation you didn't have the right insurance and unfortunately someone else also had the same low coverage limits you do.

So what can you do now? Lick your wounds and learn from the experience. Geico is not in the business of explaining coverage; insurance agents are. If you want to avoid claim situations like this and many others you should talk to an agent vs a call center.

To directly answer your question, you can't force them to do anything. The adjuster(s) with all the facts in front of them have arrived at the (seemingly reasonable) conclusion that your vehicle is a total loss.

Also, to be clear, Geico isn't the one screwing you here, it's the *** that hit you. You can go after them personally for the difference in damages vs what you received, but odds are that's going to be like collecting blood from a stone which is why you should have a solid policy of your own that covers you even if an *** hits you with state minimum coverage.

 

[indienoise]

I regularly have clients decline uim, but we have a 25k minimum for pd. They still take a risk for multi car accidents, but that is their choice to make. If your state's minimum is 10k, NO WAY would i buy coverage without uim. ESPECIALLY if my car were worth more than that on its own.

And THIS is why I say in every doomsday thread on here, I am not worried about direct carriers, walmart, or google putting me out of business. They sooner or later end up with situations like this.

To the OP, with that much damage, I would not trust an estimate that comes in at half the adjuster's. Especially if the shop hasn't had the car in their possession. Theres a good chance the repairs you need may include mechanical, not just body. In addition, I've dealt with adjusters from every angle - in working for a personal injury law firm, as a lienholder, and as an agent. If you have flawless documentation from MULTIPLE sources sometimes you can encourage minor changes but typically not a complete 180 like what youre looking for.

 

[SuperNewbie]

So now that $15k risk you took by just having liability doesn't look so good?

Your best hope now is that the other *** with minimum liability has some assets you can go after in a lawsuit.