My Black Beauty Was Hit
11-18-2013, 11:00 AM
#21
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by jimi' timestamp='1384786025' post='22882147
If she admitted fault and the police documented, it should not be any fight at all. If there is a fight start complaining about soreness & such, and watch them get busy.
I chose my insurance company so I wouldn't have to wait for the report to be finalized or deal with his insurance company.
11-21-2013, 07:02 AM
#25
Thread Starter
Got the police report today. The girl was cited for careless driving and admitted fault in her statement. In the investigation portion the trooper said she conducted an unsafe lane change making an impact with my vehicle. It all seems cut and dry to me.
Now to get the claim started and get my car out to Elrich on LI. My wife thinks I shouldn't drive it but I don't know if I can bend the fender back up off of the tire. I think she's worried the wheel will fall off or something, I don't think the hit was that bad. Towing is probably best so I'll ask my ins about that. Since we have to go on a weekday and she needs to follow me out it looks like we're going to wait until after Thanksgiving. I don't want to wait that long but it's not like I need the car right now.
Now to get the claim started and get my car out to Elrich on LI. My wife thinks I shouldn't drive it but I don't know if I can bend the fender back up off of the tire. I think she's worried the wheel will fall off or something, I don't think the hit was that bad. Towing is probably best so I'll ask my ins about that. Since we have to go on a weekday and she needs to follow me out it looks like we're going to wait until after Thanksgiving. I don't want to wait that long but it's not like I need the car right now.
03-10-2014, 07:03 AM
#29
Thread Starter
OK so I got the car back a few days before Christmas. The fit of everything is utter perfection, you can't even tell work was done from that perspective. The paint color is a perfect match, too. The only issues I see are a little orange peel, evidence of a couple tiny fisheyes that were wetsanded, and evidence of drips below each side marker. All of these are things that can only be seen if you're 18" away looking for them. The shop offered to fix these little issues but I'm not sure whether I'd be risking more by having them addressed. Overall it's a good job.
Now on to the real purpose of this follow-up: inherent diminished value.
When this started I mentioned my intent to go after inherent diminished value in this thread but I deleted it in case the at-fault's insurance company was looking at forums. First, what is inherent diminished value (IDV)? IDV is basically the monetary value lost as a result of actions of the at-fault party. Specifically, in the case of cars, it's the difference of what a car will sell/trade for with a clean Carfax versus the same vehicle with an accident record which is inextricably tied to that vehicle through no fault of your own.
In this case I went through my insurance company for the property damage portion since I knew they would treat me best and let them go to subrogation to get the money back from the at-fault's ins. co. For the IDV I went directly to the at-fault's insurance (it had to be this way).
So a few days before New Year I sent a letter via certified mail to the at-fault's insurance company making my demand for IDV. A lot of research went into the letter. It needed to sound legal/authoritative ('whereas' this, 'whereas' that) and have attached support for my demand (ended up being a 13 page document). They responded to the letter a couple weeks later saying they need someone to inspect the car. An adjuster came to my house to look at the car and take photos. This was the first test by the insurance company. If they could get me to, in any way, attribute my claim to the quality of repairs it would lose validity as IDV is a completely separate matter and, by law, they have to provide for a satisfactory repair and if the shop doesn't execute it that way it's not their fault (so let that be a lesson, say nothing about the repairs even if you're not happy with them, property damage and IDV are unrelated). The adjuster told me that my demand was a little high but not unreasonable and that it was very clear I did my homework putting together a solid case for myself (he also said the shop did a good job on the repair). Another week or two passed and at this point we're at 1/30/14, I got a call from the adjuster saying he came up with a figure less than mine but we negotiated a value that was satisfactory (and where I expected to be at the end of it). Now pay attention because this is where it gets tricky. He sent me a release form to sign which would allow me to be paid for my IDV claim but the fine print says it also releases 'any and all' other claims, including property damage. So my wife told me to call my insurance (since I went through them) to make sure they had been paid for the repairs that were done in December. Good thing I did because they hadn't been paid and the at-fault's ins. company wasn't even returning calls or emails. Basically, it seemed like the at-fault's ins. co. was trying to see whether they could get me to sign the release so they could get out of reimbursing my insurance company for the property damage! So after several strongly-worded emails and phone calls stating the property damage and IDV were separate claims, both being legal/valid, and since their insured was found to be at-fault there was absolutely no way I would forfeit the right of my insurance company to be reimbursed for an accident their insured caused. I'd like to point out that through all of this it was imperative to keep some composure and not insert opinions and accuse them of attempting unethical behavior, in others words keep everything professional and aboveboard to not give them a reason to deny the claim. So after dealing with that mess since 1/31/14, I finally received a check last week and a go-ahead from my ins. company that it was safe to cash since they have documentation from the other ins. company that payment for the property damage claim was issued.
So I hope that can help fellow S2000 owners if, God forbid, your cars are damaged through no fault of your own. I'll see if I can somehow post my demand and support document so you can reference it.
Now on to the real purpose of this follow-up: inherent diminished value.
When this started I mentioned my intent to go after inherent diminished value in this thread but I deleted it in case the at-fault's insurance company was looking at forums. First, what is inherent diminished value (IDV)? IDV is basically the monetary value lost as a result of actions of the at-fault party. Specifically, in the case of cars, it's the difference of what a car will sell/trade for with a clean Carfax versus the same vehicle with an accident record which is inextricably tied to that vehicle through no fault of your own.
In this case I went through my insurance company for the property damage portion since I knew they would treat me best and let them go to subrogation to get the money back from the at-fault's ins. co. For the IDV I went directly to the at-fault's insurance (it had to be this way).
So a few days before New Year I sent a letter via certified mail to the at-fault's insurance company making my demand for IDV. A lot of research went into the letter. It needed to sound legal/authoritative ('whereas' this, 'whereas' that) and have attached support for my demand (ended up being a 13 page document). They responded to the letter a couple weeks later saying they need someone to inspect the car. An adjuster came to my house to look at the car and take photos. This was the first test by the insurance company. If they could get me to, in any way, attribute my claim to the quality of repairs it would lose validity as IDV is a completely separate matter and, by law, they have to provide for a satisfactory repair and if the shop doesn't execute it that way it's not their fault (so let that be a lesson, say nothing about the repairs even if you're not happy with them, property damage and IDV are unrelated). The adjuster told me that my demand was a little high but not unreasonable and that it was very clear I did my homework putting together a solid case for myself (he also said the shop did a good job on the repair). Another week or two passed and at this point we're at 1/30/14, I got a call from the adjuster saying he came up with a figure less than mine but we negotiated a value that was satisfactory (and where I expected to be at the end of it). Now pay attention because this is where it gets tricky. He sent me a release form to sign which would allow me to be paid for my IDV claim but the fine print says it also releases 'any and all' other claims, including property damage. So my wife told me to call my insurance (since I went through them) to make sure they had been paid for the repairs that were done in December. Good thing I did because they hadn't been paid and the at-fault's ins. company wasn't even returning calls or emails. Basically, it seemed like the at-fault's ins. co. was trying to see whether they could get me to sign the release so they could get out of reimbursing my insurance company for the property damage! So after several strongly-worded emails and phone calls stating the property damage and IDV were separate claims, both being legal/valid, and since their insured was found to be at-fault there was absolutely no way I would forfeit the right of my insurance company to be reimbursed for an accident their insured caused. I'd like to point out that through all of this it was imperative to keep some composure and not insert opinions and accuse them of attempting unethical behavior, in others words keep everything professional and aboveboard to not give them a reason to deny the claim. So after dealing with that mess since 1/31/14, I finally received a check last week and a go-ahead from my ins. company that it was safe to cash since they have documentation from the other ins. company that payment for the property damage claim was issued.
So I hope that can help fellow S2000 owners if, God forbid, your cars are damaged through no fault of your own. I'll see if I can somehow post my demand and support document so you can reference it.
03-10-2014, 07:31 AM
#30
Community Organizer
Thanks Det.GoFast182, nicely done.
It's no wonder my wife thinks that you're a bad ass.
It's no wonder my wife thinks that you're a bad ass.
