Sad day indeed....wrecked the truck.

[69TowRig]

Originally Posted by COBALT

Just found out today that Amica Insurance will not even accept 50% of the liability, so now it goes to arbitration. I'm being told that this can take months.

Argh! Sucks to hear that.

[creamsicle68]

just keep at them. they can only squirm their way out of stuff for so long. sorry to hear its beeing such an ordeal tho.

[Blackcypress-EB]

Ridiculous to say the least. We are all pulling for you.

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

Sorry to hear about the truck, hope everything turns out for you in the end.

[77chris03]

Originally Posted by COBALT

I had already given a recorded statement to their insurance company. I was worried for most of the Holidays that this was going to drag out, but found out just a couple of days ago from my insurance adjuster that they contacted the other driver and basically he admits fault all the way.

since their ins. co. got a recorded statement from u, did urs get one from the other driver? if they did, why dont u use it against their outcome? anyone from tx would agree if you come into my lane and hit me, its their fault. anyone ever been rear ended in a taco bell drive thru? i guess she wanted her food faster than she could hit the brake....her ins. covered everything...no questions asked. no police report or written statements. i called, put a claim against her, drove it to alstate claim service at toyota, and my truck was back to me in less than 4 days...new years eve to be exact.

[COBALT]

My neighbor works for a well-known insurance company and is simply baffled in their decision to stand firm on such a trivial amount (considering what it could have been). He told me to call the adjuster representing the claim and just level with him - I'm just looking to get enough money to fix my truck w/o totaling it so I can move on. I should try to settle with the guy directly to put this to bed. I agree with him - I'm probably going to call them on Monday. If the guy won't be reasonable I'm probably just going to start calling them every other day...

They've also taken way too long to work with me on the claim. They may be breaking some Washington State Ins. regulations by taking so long. I can file a complaint with the state and make them fill out some paperwork, but I hate contributing to the BS.

So...it continues.

[COBALT]

Latest:

Nothing much to report. They (the other insurance company) has simply decided not to file for arbitration. They're sitting on the claim after only offering to admit to 25% of the liability. My insurance company told them that wasn't acceptable (and so did I) so it's not moving - period. I get the fun of calling both adjusters once every two weeks to ask what is going on. My insurance company can't do anything because I didn't have collision on the truck. Their insurance company is giving me excuses as to why it hasn't gone to arbitration yet.

My insurance company is baffled. The other insurance company already spent a bunch of money to fix the other driver's car. Don't they want that money reimbursed as a result of arbitration? Anyway here I sit. My truck is sitting in my dad's barn rotting. They haven't settled the personal injury part of the claim either, and that requires me to sign a release for it. They're just NOT doing anything.

So, I may just go fix my truck.

[67ChevyRedneck]

That really really sucks.

I get asked frequently why I carry collision on 4 vehicles that are over 10 years old, your situation is why.

Is the other insurance company a big name, or a small local one? Maybe a call to your local news channel would help

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

That really really sucks.

I get asked frequently why I carry collision on 4 vehicles that are over 10 years old, your situation is why.

Is the other insurance company a big name, or a small local one? Maybe a call to your local news channel would help

Call your state board of Insurance.
s/t

[Racinaround]

Thought I posted on here one time to call me, But I don’t see it?? probably got removed thinking i was advertizing
I have some used 69 parts and fix wrecked car for a living!
You & I can get it back to a daily driver in a day or so and will be glad to help a board member out!
You can do the rest (paint) later??

[dhaymaker]

I read this entire thread and it's an all too common story. Insurance companies that don't want to settle claims and not stepping up and working to settle issues as quickly as possible aren't unique. Even aside from the issue of the bus lane and right turn at what street, no one should cross three lanes and turn in front of someone unless they are confident they can complete the maneuver without causing an accident!

I have a friend who was in an Avalanche, his wife was driving, his very young son was in the back seat. They were driving down a small, backcountry state highway and a guy in an F-350 ran a stop sign, while on his cell phone, and T-boned them. My friend nearly died from internal bleeding, his wife was injured (fully recovered now), and his son still has problems sleeping. My friend has continuing issues with brain damage, memory loss, mood issues, etc. They nearly lost their house, he's struggled to keep one of his businesses going. Lost his CDL and had to shut down his towing business.

Get this, the guy who hit them contends it wasn't his fault!! They've been working with the insurance companies and their lawyers and the insurance company for the guy that hit them says it wasn't his fault and they aren't going to pay. Now it's going to court. And, this has been going on for around THREE YEARS!!

Has to make you wonder about the brains of some of these people.

[COBALT]

Originally Posted by Sport/Truck

Call your state board of Insurance.
s/t

Yep, that's my next move. I need to submit a complaint to the Washington State OIC (Office of the Insurance Commissioner). They will have 30+ days to investigate the claim and if it pans out it will end up in their complaint database per insurance carrier. Basically it's a lot of paperwork for the company that gets a complaint, and can impact them in the long run if they have too many complaints. It may not motivate them to do anything about the claim however.

I'll probably call Amica Insurance (the other insurance company) tomorrow to inform them that I will be doing that.

[COBALT]

Update.

Well, it's been way over a year since Amica insurance decided to ignore me alltogether. They hold the keys to the next move, which is arbitration over the liability, which has two parts: medical and the actual accident.

I finally get a phone call from them a little over a week ago about the medical side of the claim. They're trying to get me to close it. They also dropped a bomb on me saying that arbitration sees me as 70% at fault. I told them to call my insurance company.

So...it's still stuck. I still have a wrecked truck, and I don't think my insurance company is willing to take 70% when they thought 50% was stupid. I doubt this will ever go anywhere unless Amica decides to go after my insurance company. If this happens then all of this evidence will get dragged in and I bet Amica would loose. So I bet they're just going to sit on it for ever.

I guess I get to go quietly fix my truck now.

[72 Super]

It's a shame, but hopefully atleast you can get your truck fixed.

[Clyde65]

All I can say is Lawyer! go get a real good one, you have a case just for the medical alone I would think.

[bigguy69]

man that sucks!

[COBALT]

Update:

Nearing the end - that's the only good news. Amica finaly got around to sending the claim to arbitration after sitting on this for over a year. The other driver has had the joy of having their car fixed before thanksgiving of 2009, and they spent over $9000 to fix it. My truck has been sitting under a tarp at my dad's farm since the accident.

The arbitration decision found the other driver 70% liable. My insurance company complied and cut them a check for 30% of the cost of fixing their car. Amica on the other hand has decided they don't like the decision and are only willing to admit to 30% (they're not bound to 70% at all).

So...they've decided to total my truck. They determined the value of my truck is around $1100 so they're cutting me a check for just over $300 and washing their hands of it.

I have to settle the medical side of the claim, and since I'm honest I'm not going to do anything stupid here, but they do owe me some compensation for this, but they aren't planning on going over 30% no matter what it is. Bad news for me.

My insurance company then capped it off by telling me they won't insure my truck once I get it re-titled.

Joy. I'm getting less money to fix my truck than it cost to go fight the city of Seattle to avoid having a state law violation on my record. This is what it means to be honest.

[406 Q-ship]

I would sue the owner and driver of the car that hit you for the cost of the accident. Insurance only accepts indemity not the liability of the accident, so you have to sue the owner and/or driver of the vehicle that hit you. I have a friend that just went through a deal where the Ins wanted to way lowball the value of the car and total it. The estimate from the repair shop was over 800 less than the ins estimate but the Ins would not accept the body shop's estimate and wanted to total the car for nickels on the dollar. My friend had to sue the driver and the owner of the truck that hit him to get money to repair his car, dodged the salavage title too.

[Clyde65]

lawyer, nuff said.

I am not a proponate of suing and all that but in your case I would sue the insured, the driver, insurance company and the adjuster too.

your getting shafted dude!

[Vintage Windmills]

I would refuse the offer to total it for $300. If you're truck is fixable, the value drop due to a salvage title after rebuilding would be way more than $300. Also the salvage title may make it hard to insure then. I'd say no thanks and walk away from everyone and just fix it myself.

[no moa]

Lawyer. Call today, find one that you can trust. (yes i know thats almost impossible) and go to town.
Also, i know it costs a bit more, but the next truck, full coverage it. I pay out the butt for insurance, i just want to be covered in this day and age.
Good luck to you.

[68 IRON]

So,.....let me get this straight. To transfer title on a truck I just bought for 1200.00, the state estimates the value of a "restorable" truck at 2495.00 and I have to pay the tax on that unless I get the previous owner to sign an additional form saying what they sold it to me for. This tax being about 250.00. How in the H*LL can the insurance companies trump the state estimated value? Ya, this would take a lawyer and some restoration money to win this. This situation doesnt even make sense....they make money to insure your property and wont pay out when it comes time for them to fulfill their end of the bargain. This next shout out is for the people in the Northwest......GET JESSE JONES!!!!!!

[71gmcburb]

Originally Posted by 68 IRON

GET JESSE JONES!!!!!!

x2 and i would sue the owner of the car and amica for all the hassle and problems that they have caused and don't accept the 300 offer make them pay the 70% as the arberter found good luck

[COBALT]

I would entertain the idea of suing, but the costs aren't outweighed by the benefits here. Even when I refuse the $300 they sent it to me anyway. They're not legally bound by any law to abide by the arbitrator's decision. They also have all the time in the world to do whatever they want with my claim. Now that my insurance company is out of the way, yes I would have to sue them both, but the costs of doing that would not be small, and I've already had to shell out $ to go defend myself in court against the City of Seattle. I'm already in the hole financially with this mess, and I don't intend on being any deeper. I will talk to a lawyer, but I don't expect it will go anywhere. I'm not planning on cashing this check any time soon, and I have refused this settlement, but they don't really care what I think all that much and they refuse to negotiate.

Also, I can't seem to stop them from totaling my truck. Once the state has this on the title there isn't anything I can do and they know it. For me this is a final "middle finger" to me - not only do they refuse to give me enough money to fix my truck they want it as hard as possible for me to fix it, and no, it won't be covered by my insurance company even if I restore it to 100% since it was once totaled. I'd have to find a new insurance company to insure it, and the premiums would be high.

They know that my costs would make suing on the basis of the damages unrealistic. This means the only leverage I have is the medical portion of the claim, which isn't much (a couple of doctors visits and a week off of work). Again, it will only be 30%.

My only other option is to hope that the Washington State Insurance Commissioner decides to investigate on my behalf, but the chances of that are slim and really doesn't mean much for me anyway.

Personally, I'm ready for this to be over. It's sad but I think starting with a new truck is the way to go anyway. I did a look-over on my existing truck and I'm going to need more than just a front clip. My cab and doors are in trouble, and I need to rebuild an engine anyway. I can salvage the transmission and the rear axle, but the frame will be qualified along with the vin in the cab as a totaled vehicle. The bed is toast.

[Vintage Windmills]

Originally Posted by COBALT

Update:


The arbitration decision found the other driver 70% liable. My insurance company complied and cut them a check for 30% of the cost of fixing their car. Amica on the other hand has decided they don't like the decision and are only willing to admit to 30% (they're not bound to 70% at all).

I would tell AMica you are submitting that to the Washington Insurance commision (Insurace board). Thats pretty blatant disregard on their part!!! Would be hard for anyone not to side with you on that!