Total loss and loss of use with at fault’s insurance party

[akrkwk310]

Hello Everyone, I am writing here to respectfully ask for guidances or help with insurance company (AAA) that i have been dealing with last two months or so.

i was hit by reckless driver stopped at the light from the side. The other party insurance accepted the full liability ( glad i had a dashcam). It resulted my car to be declared total loss. It is 2010 FJ cruiser trail teams edition 1/1500

a long story short, I have some questions

1. I have over $4000 factory accessories installed after i got the car and they are all less than 1year old. I have receipts for most of them. Am I entitled for accessories installed after i got the car? Remember this is with at faults party insurance

2. Loss of use can be claimed through the period of negotiation until the settlement correct? They used the wrong comparison ( base FJ) in the two very first CCC reports)

if you can help me with these questions, ill be greatly appreciated. I am trying to get my claims settled. I have hired 3rd party professional appraiser and submitted the report but the insurance still going by CCC and says it is the right value. I have offered referee appraiser but refused

 

[adjusterjack]

I'll preface my remarks by saying that the other driver's insurance company is not your insurance company. It has a contractual obligation to it's own insured. It owes you nothing until and unless a court of law says so and says how much. If you aren't happy with the offer, your option is either to sue the other driver and prove your loss to a judge, or use your collision coverage, if you have it. Do you have collision coverage?

1. I have over $4000 factory accessories installed after i got the car and they are all less than 1year old. I have receipts for most of them. Am I entitled for accessories installed after i got the car?

Depending on what those accessories are, you may be entitled to the depreciated value. Items you don't have receipts for are likely to be depreciated as with the age of the vehicle. Items with receipts may have less depreciation.

You can upload a list here and I may have some comments about that.

What did the adjuster do about your list of accessories?

2. Loss of use can be claimed through the period of negotiation until the settlement correct?

No. Loss of use generally stops when the adjuster makes an offer. Otherwise a claimant can drag the negotiations on for months and expect to be paid for loss of use. That's not going to happen. If you want to dispute the offer for a time, you'd better find yourself a replacement vehicle or cover your own continued loss of use.

2. They used the wrong comparison ( base FJ) in the two very first CCC reports)

So. What happened after you pointed that out to them? And what is it that you object to in the final CCC report?

the insurance still going by CCC and says it is the right value.

I used to think CCC was BS. I had an opportunity to evaluate one for another poster a few months ago and found it to be accurate.

Feel free to upload a copy of the report.

Last but not least, how much money do you want?

And how much is the most recent offer?

 

[akrkwk310]

thank you! Greatly appreciate your thorough reply!


ill answer the questions


1. Do you have collision coverage?

-yes i have my own and going with at faults party insurance AAA

2.What did the adjuster do about your list of accessories?

-he said they are my preferred parts and cant pay for them. He ended up giving me $150 credits for my TRD/bilstein complete strut set i installed after I got the car (msrp is well over $2000 w/o labor)

List of accessories I have installed

-TRD intake

-TRD catback exhaust

-TRD/bilstein complete offroad strut set

-pioneer 2600 nex premium audio

-TRD front skid plate

-genuine toyota optional rear skid plate

I have receipts for all of them except audio and strut set but have installation invoice showing the date of installation ( less than 4months old)


3.What happened after you pointed that out to them? And what is it that you object to in the final CCC report?

-they corrected the equipments marked wrong on the report which increased overall value by $1000 but still used the base FJ cruiser as comparison until I submitted my 3rd party appraisal report then they finally used the special edition like my car for comparison on thr report. I do not agree with the value of my car on CCC i mean if he adds the money for my accessories top of appraised value on CCC then i am willing to negotiate and be flexible but he went straight and told me, he wont pay for my accessories or for the appraised value on my report or loss of use pass their first offer i repliesd If you made a correct offer using correct comparison and without errors. I would have considered it but because of it is soo low not including the accessories and using base FJ for comparison. I consider your first and 2nd ccc report to be worthless


4.how much money do you want?

-3rd party report valued my car at $43,300 including those accessories installed on the car

Plus tax and license plus the loss of use for 49days ( when submitted my last demand letter)


5.how much is the most recent offer?

-Their final offer was $35,237 plus tax and license plus loss of use for 27days


3rd party report valued my car at $43,300 including those accessories installed on the car


About the loss of use, i get what you are saying, people can purposely drag the settlement for more compensation. But if you think about it in their shoes, they can just prepare incompetent report and make an offer just to get that first offer in so they only have to pay the loss of use until that day, their first and second CCC report still used base FJ cruiser as comparison thus i find those reports have no credibilities. I would like to get loss of use compensation when they made a counter offer with the latest CCC report using correct comparison. However i am willing to settle til i submitted my last demand letter

 

[fed up]

If they offered $35000 on a 13 yr old vehicle you are lucky and should take the infer and be happy

 

[akrkwk310]

If they offered $35000 on a 13 yr old vehicle you are lucky and should take the infer and be happy

so the age of the vehicle is what you use to determine the value of the car for you? When i clearly know my car is worth much more than that and the report supports it?

 

[adjusterjack]

he said they are my preferred parts and cant pay for them.

Looking at the list, I have to agree. You have installed parts that did not change the Actual Cash Value of the vehicle. In fact, by installing those parts, you may have limited the potential market for resale.

The following article is not "legally" authoritative but does make sense.

Do Custom Modifications Affect Resale Value | instamotor

3rd party report valued my car at $43,300 including those accessories installed on the car

Plus tax and license plus the loss of use for 49days ( when submitted my last demand letter)

Well, those appraisers have to inflate the value of the claim or no one would pay them for their services. Will his opinion hold up in court? Ask him for a list of names of clients for whom he testified in court where that testimony resulted in a higher award than previously offered.

But if you think about it in their shoes, they can just prepare incompetent report and make an offer just to get that first offer in so they only have to pay the loss of use until that day,

I'm not going to say that it never happens but CA has some very strict unfair claims settlement practices law. A company that does that regularly could find itself paying punitive damages for bad faith or, at least, be penalized by the state.

With regards to loss of use, I present the CA jury instructions:

To recover damages for loss of use, [name of plaintiff] must prove the
reasonable cost to rent a similar [item of personal property] for the
amount of time reasonably necessary to repair or replace the [item of
personal property]

CACI No. 3903M. Loss of Use of Personal Property (Economic Damage) :: California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) (2022) :: Justia

Emphasis mine to indicate that there is nothing in there about the time it takes to reach a settlement, only the time it takes to repair or replace the item.

To that end I always ask: If you wrecked your vehicle with nobody else involved and no collision insurance, what would you do to replace it and how soon would you do it, taking into consideration that you could lose your job if you couldn't get to work?

I would still like to see the final CCC report.

so the age of the vehicle is what you use to determine the value of the car for you?

That's certainly a factor in determining the ACV.

When i clearly know my car is worth much more than that and the report supports it?

Everybody (including me) thinks their vehicle is worth more than it actually is.

Meantime, you have two options. Use your collision coverage and see if your own company does better. Or file a lawsuit for the $43,000. The strategy there is that when the adjuster receives the lawsuit he has to incur the cost of defending against it. That could bring him back to the negotiating table. Understand, however, that just threatening a lawsuit isn't likely to work.

 

[akrkwk310]

Lol so the age of the vehicle is what you use to determine the value of the car for you?

Looking at the list, I have to agree. You have installed parts that did not change the Actual Cash Value of the vehicle. In fact, by installing those parts, you may have limited the potential market for resale.

The following article is not "legally" authoritative but does make sense.

Do Custom Modifications Affect Resale Value | instamotor



Well, those appraisers have to inflate the value of the claim or no one would pay them for their services. Will his opinion hold up in court? Ask him for a list of names of clients for whom he testified in court where that testimony resulted in a higher award than previously offered.



I'm not going to say that it never happens but CA has some very strict unfair claims settlement practices law. A company that does that regularly could find itself paying punitive damages for bad faith or, at least, be penalized by the state.

With regards to loss of use, I present the CA jury instructions:

To recover damages for loss of use, [name of plaintiff] must prove the
reasonable cost to rent a similar [item of personal property] for the
amount of time reasonably necessary to repair or replace the [item of
personal property]

CACI No. 3903M. Loss of Use of Personal Property (Economic Damage) :: California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) (2022) :: Justia

Emphasis mine to indicate that there is nothing in there about the time it takes to reach a settlement, only the time it takes to repair or replace the item.

To that end I always ask: If you wrecked your vehicle with nobody else involved and no collision insurance, what would you do to replace it and how soon would you do it, taking into consideration that you could lose your job if you couldn't get to work?

I would still like to see the final CCC report.



That's certainly a factor in determining the ACV.



Everybody (including me) thinks their vehicle is worth more than it actually is.

Meantime, you have two options. Use your collision coverage and see if your own company does better. Or file a lawsuit for the $43,000. The strategy there is that when the adjuster receives the lawsuit he has to incur the cost of defending against it. That could bring him back to the negotiating table. Understand, however, that just threatening a lawsuit isn't likely to work.

Thank you. It makes sense, whats the best way to file a lawsuit against the insurance company? Can you share basic process of suing insurance company like if I have to write a formal letter or file a lawsuit with local court house?

thank you.

 

[adjusterjack]

You don't file against the insurance company. The insurance company did not cause the accident. The driver did. Any lawsuit against the insurance company will immediately be dismissed for that reason. However, once you file against the driver, you'll be dealing with an attorney appointed by the insurance company to defend the driver.

The CA court website doesn't provide much help or forms for civil lawsuits greater than small claims.

[EXTERNAL LINK] - Filing a Lawsuit - getting_started_selfhelp

You'll have to follow the CA Code of Civil Procedure:

Codes: Codes Tree - Code of Civil Procedure - CCP (ca.gov)

Also check out the following search results:

[EXTERNAL LINK] - CA sample complaint for vehicle collision damage at DuckDuckGo

 

[akrkwk310]

This is the front page of the CCC report

 

[adjusterjack]

It would help to see the list of comparable vehicles used in the evaluation but not critical as I did my own search.

2010 Toyota FJ Cruiser for sale in Englewood, CO - CARFAX

2010 Toyota FJ Cruiser for sale in Sterling, VA - CARFAX

2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser - VIN: JTEBU4BF4BK106993 (edmunds.com)

2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser - VIN: JTEBU4BF1CK138494 (edmunds.com)

2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser - VIN: JTEBU4BF5DK172567 (edmunds.com)

2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser - VIN: JTEBU4BFXDK152217 (edmunds.com)

2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser - VIN: JTEBU4BF2EK182720 (edmunds.com)

2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser - VIN: JTEZU4BF2EK013537 (edmunds.com)

Given those sources (I'm sure there are many more) I suggest you take the $35,000 and call it a day.