What state is the claim filed in?

Evan Estep

New Member
9
I am a Washington resident who lives in Massachusetts and my vehicle was insured in Florida (military, we move a lot). I was in an accident in Massachusetts and was hit by a Connecticut driver (100% their fault). My vehicle was totalled and the insurance company is trying to process the claim via Florida since that's where my truck was insured.

What decides where an insurance claim I processed? The location of the accident? The insured location of the not at fault party/at fault party? The vehicle was garaged in MA, and I live in MA, and the accident happened in MA, so why is it being processed through FL?
 
What do you mean by "process" the claim through Florida?

Which insurance company are you referring to? Yours or the other Driver? You ambiguously refer to "the" insurance company.
 
I have USAA, they have Nationwide. My truck was totalled, and USAA is trying to go by Florida laws and coverage for how they determine the value of my truck. So, even though the accident happened in MA with a CT driver, they are processing it via the FL insurance policy on the vehicle.
 
The claim gets filed with the other person's carrier and processed in Connecticut. USAA only enters the picture if their coverage is not enough to replace your vehicle (underinsured), or somehow part of the cause is attributed to you.
 
Interesting. So initially, as the not at fault party I turned the claim in to my insurance to work out. We came to a point where I needed to shift it to Nationwide, which we did. After a few weeks of back and forth with Nationwide (who seemed to be processing the claim through Massachusetts), but they kept trying to low-ball the settlement offer on my truck and not include everything that was supposed to be included in the value assessment. So I switched back to USAA, and more or less repeated the situation with haggling back and forth about the settlement offer.

Now, suddenly USAA is saying it has to go through FL because that is where my truck was insured at the time of the accident. That is where they are pulling comparable vehicle from, and curiously enough, the valuation requirements for a total loss compensation are less in FL than MA. But you are saying it should be through CT and their insurance as the at fault party? What dictates what state the claim is filed through?
 
When you file a claim against another driver's liability insurance, his policy complies with the laws of the state in which the accident occurs. That applies only to liability coverage. The claim gets adjusted based on MA laws where the accident occurred.

When you file a claim on your own collision coverage the claim is adjusted based on where the policy was written. Your company is correct to use Florida standards. Read the section Damage to Your Auto. You will not find any requirement that your company use the standards of other states regardless of where the accident occurred.
 
For aftermarket items on the truck that are not included in the settlement valuation, is there a process for recovering those items?

Also, I spoke to an attorney to get some advise and he suggested that I make sure they allocate the settlement to the bodily injury aspect of the claim so that I don't get "1099'ed" and have to pay taxes. Is there a process for that?
 
Aftermarket items added to the vehicle might require receipts. If you added a bed cover, fancy wheels and tires, lift kit, stereo system, custom seats, etc. get receipts.
 
I gave them receipts for all of it, canopy, wheels, tires, bumper, side steps, etc. They are saying they only have to pay for "maintenance items" installed in the last 12 months.
 
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