What state is the claim filed in?

[Allen Trent]

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?

I am no attorney, but questioning also if your attorney is one either. Very certain you are not taxed on auto insurance claim payments

 

[adjusterjack]

They are saying they only have to pay for "maintenance items" installed in the last 12 months.

Which insurance company are you talking about with regard to the aftermarket items?

 

[Evan Estep]

USAA. Nationwide seemed willing to pay for some of the aftermarket items, though painfully little compared to what they actually cost. USAA is essentially paying for the truck and a couple add ons like brakes (which they initially listed as a personal preference item).

 

[Al3x Lee]

USAA. Nationwide seemed willing to pay for some of the aftermarket items, though painfully little compared to what they actually cost. USAA is essentially paying for the truck and a couple add ons like brakes (which they initially listed as a personal preference item).

Sounds like you might need to switch to an independent agent so you have someone who can go up to bat for you on this kind of stuff

 

[Evan Estep]

How would I go about that? I didn't even know that was an option.

 

[Al3x Lee]

How would I go about that? I didn't even know that was an option.

Unfortunately, for this claim you're on your own other than fighting the claims adjusters from USAA and Nationwide and getting advice from people like us online. Once a claim is started, you're stuck with whoever you had at the time of that claim.

There are benefits to being with USAA since you're military, but now you're experiencing one of the drawbacks, which is that the insurance company doesn't work for you. Claims adjusters are paid to keep the insurance company profitable and in business, this means adhering strictly to policy language and negotiating lower settlements if possible.

An independent insurance agent is essentially an insurance broker, they work on your behalf to place your coverage, explain it to you and a good one will help you negotiate claims and try to get you the most favorable outcome. Insurance is complex, and unless you deal with it daily, you'll probably never learn the ins and outs.

You also have to vet your agent, in most states you can earn your license in a week if you study, meaning if you pick the first one that comes along, they may not know much more than you do. You could ask your friends for references or you could explore Independent Insurance Agents to try and find one in your area.

To be clear, this would mean leaving USAA, so you have to weigh that as an option, and whenever you hire a professional you should take what they say with a grain of salt until you've built a relationship and can measure their competence through seeing them in action.

 

[Evan Estep]

Claims adjusters are paid to keep the insurance company profitable and in business, this means adhering strictly to policy language and negotiating lower settlements if possible.

In that regard they are very good at their jobs. I wish they worked half as hard for me as they do against me. I plan on leaving USAA after this anyway, as this is not the first issue I have had with them.

 

[Al3x Lee]

In that regard they are very good at their jobs. I wish they worked half as hard for me as they do against me. I plan on leaving USAA after this anyway, as this is not the first issue I have had with them.

Yep, and it's tough to keep them in check if you're not well versed in insurance, which the vast majority of the general population isn't. People have better things to do with their free time.

If you plan on leaving them anyways, I'd definitely recommend finding a good independent

 

[adjusterjack]

USAA. Nationwide seemed willing to pay for some of the aftermarket items, though painfully little compared to what they actually cost. USAA is essentially paying for the truck and a couple add ons like brakes (which they initially listed as a personal preference item).

That's because it's ACV (Actual Cash Value) which requires a deduction for depreciation. If you paid $30,000 for your car 5 years ago you aren't getting $30,000 for it now. Maybe $20,000 or so. If you installed $5,000 worth of accessories 5 years ago, you're not getting $5,000 now, maybe a fraction of that.

 

[ehall2]

Next month I will have been an agent for 50 years. The most rude claims rep I have ever talked to was with USAA. My insured was turning right into a driveway with his turn signal on and a USAA insured hit my insured in the rear without slowing down. It totaled my insured's truck and bent the frame. Two weeks after reporting the claim to USAA no one had contacted my insured. I called USAA and got the claims rep on the phone and she said there was a question if there would be coverage because there was a teenage unlisted driver. I told USAA that wasn't an issue because in Georgia you had to pay property damage on the liability regardless of an unlisted driver and if USAA didn't pay my insured would get an attorney and get bodily injury limits also. The claims rep said she wasn't going to listen to me lecture her and hung up the phone. Any reputable, ethical company would pay my insured for his damages within a few days to settle and prevent a possible bodily injury suit.