State Farm Refuses to Pay for Storage - Small Claims Court?

[FullAuto]

If they never looked at it, how do they know it's a total loss? How do they determine how much to offer you? When they told you they hadn't looked at it, is it possible they met they hadn't seen it themselves but someone else had? The adjuster that accepts liability, makes the call that it's a total loss, determines value, determines salvage value, negotiaties settlement, decides who/when/where/how much to pay will NOT look at your car. But unless someone else looks at it, how do they know what to pay you? Someone has to provide them an estimate, pictures, condition report of interior & exterior broken down into several subcatagories, mileage, verify VIN, registration expiration to prorate, tire tread depth/brand/size, list of any aftermarket equipment, vehicle options, etc. You don't just make a payment off a simple VIN decode. It's also very common to tow cars out of a salvage pool when the appraiser writes it as repairable.

They can't just call and move your car. It's your car.

 

[b61mack]

when you sue in small claims, you are allowed to send supena's thru the court... by certifed mail... if no one signs for it, problem. but if they sign for it, insurance companies get a lot of certified mail.. someone signs for them. that means the supena was served. when you don't have full coverage the insurance companies will play with you... last year my parked van was hit my a drunk driver. gieco offered me like 1200. only until i told them i was filing a small claims suit... then they gave me 2900.. they count on that most people will just except what they offer. sueing in small claims court is time consuming, but it is a way to even the field.. of course you have to sue where the accident happened. in the first accident it was 2 hours away....

 

[KPIA]

Just practical advice: Get a lawyer on your injury claim but don't agree to sign if they won't handle the PD portion of the claim as well. Severe accident, "no-doubt" injuries, you will find lawyers willing to handle the entirety of the claim for you.

Always drives me nuts to see injury lawyers refuse to handle the whole case simply because they are too lazy to do a little work. All they do in most cases is write a letter or two, make a few phone calls, then rake in 1/3 or more of the money. Then to say they won't help on the property damage claim? I think any lawyer worth their salt does the whole thing, but that's just my opinion.

 

[VolAgent]

You know, I have to agree with the OP on this.

Why is it his fault that State Farm dragged their feet on making a settlement offer? I could understand if State Farm had quickly made an offer and the OP was slow about accepting or rejecting the offer.

I once had a rental car for over three weeks because the repair shop had trouble getting parts. The other person was at fault, not a word was said to me about returning it early to limit the other company's exposure.

This really sounds like the claims handling that State Farm and Allstate have become notorious for, dragging it out in the hopes that the other person just goes away.

 

[xrac]

......The amount I'm seeking means it will be Small Claims, where attorneys are not allowed to represent plaintiffs.....

That may be the case where you are at but an attorney can represent you in small claims court in Indiana.

 

[KPIA]

Yeah, he's in California where lawyers aren't allowed in small claims.

He thinks he is gonna settle with SF lawyer-less and save the money the lawyer would've taken. But if SF hardballs him on the PD, knowing full well there is an injury claim pending, I don't think they will suddenly grow a conscious when it comes to the injury claim.

 

[xrac]

Yeah, he's in California where lawyers aren't allowed in small claims.......

If that is the case who represents SF.

 

[KPIA]

If that is the case who represents SF.

The insured and the adjuster.

 

[FullAuto]

Why is it his fault that State Farm dragged their feet on making a settlement offer? I could understand if State Farm had quickly made an offer and the OP was slow about accepting or rejecting the offer.

Define "dragging their feet".

The timeline SF has to handle the matter will be defined by law. Either they met it, or they did not. Do you think the claim reps sit around looking for poor people to inconvience and counting days in hopes to reclaim salvage value from the insured/claimant to avoid the auction? That's quite a stretch of the imagination.

 

[djs]

What most people miss here is the insurance company has to do a fault investigation. Normally, this is quick. You file a claim with state farm (as in this case), they call their insured who gives their side of the story, then they process the claim.

The problem is, when their insured says it isn't their fault. Then the investigation will take longer, as it did in this case. They ultimately agreed that their insured was at fault, so they paid. It was well within the timelines defined by the state, if I'm interpreting his timeline correctly. Trust me, they work hard to stay compliant to these.

I explain this process to my insureds if I send them to the other carrier to file a claim. I also add the statement that it is the right thing to do, you don't want someone filing a claim against your insurance, the insurance company to pay it out, without ever checking with you to get your side of the story, do you? Heck, maybe you weren't even involved in the accident (I had one of those once).

Dan