Reader question:

My car insurance company gave me a dollar amount to replace my total loss vehicle on my car insurance claim, and it just isn’t right. What do I do?

Allie

Glad you asked.

There actually is something that you can do in this situation, even if it seems like there’s no way you can win out against the big bad car insurance company. People do it all the time, and the key to the thought process behind their success is to not step down. This does not mean that you immediately have to file a complaint with the state department of insurance, hire an attorney and take them to court for everything except the shirt on their back. There are plenty of much easier ways to get thing fixed before you move to the more extreme options.

First thing you need to do is give a call to your car insurance claim adjuster. What you need to find out from this person is what data they used to figure out the total loss dollar value for your vehicle. It is entirely possible that there was something that your vehicle had that they missed, and factoring that in might bring about a number that will please you. If you are trying to prove that your car has more value than they say it does, make sure you have evidence to back it up. For example, if you just got a new set of tires on your vehicle, I hope you kept the receipts. They’ll want to see those.

Don’t be too cynical when going into the car insurance claims process.Keep in mind that all of the car insurance companies in your state are regulated by that state, so there is a very strict set of rules that all of these car insurance companies have to go by. They are trying to get you the right amount of money, so you shouldn’t be dishonest with yourself if the amount that you don’t like is what your car is actually worth. Think about it. If you had tried to put your car up for sale right before you crashed it, do you think someone would have bought it for more than the amount that they are offering you?

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.