A trailer truck hit me and the insurance company is offering me what seems to be a lame deal, can they do this

Question

It hit me and the police report said its his fault. I have no insurance so the trucks insurance company looks at my car and says the care is worth $1,500 but the damage is $3,700. so they say they can either take my car and give me $1,700 for it or I keep it and they give me $1,200

I don't see how thats helping me. It seems like I am coming out worse. If I keep the car and they give me the 1,200 how will I get my car fixed if the damge is worth 3,700?

Can they do this or are they trying to get over

o.k no I don't have insurance cause I can't afford it. So what should I do just not go to work. There is no bus where I live so just answer my question because I know I don't have insurance and I didn't ask if I needed it...thanks

Answer 1

What they are trying to tell you is that the damages to your car exceed the value of your car. They can do this. They don't have to repair the car if this happens. What you can do is fight and try to get more money for your car.
Let the insurance company keep the wreck and buy yourself another car.

Answer 2

Yes they can do this. Your car is only worth the 1,500, that is what they will give to you. Some people choose to keep their car and fix it. In your case it would not be a good idea, because the estimates are already higher than the value of the car. Take the 1,500 and get a new car. There is not much you can due. You can get a lawyer, but you will not get more than the value of your car.

Everyone keeps saying you should have insurance, and I agree with them. But having insurance wouldn't change the situation you are in now. If it was the trucks fault, his insurance will pay not yours. Hello, think people!

Answer 3

The insurance company is only obligated to pay you the Actual Cash Value of the car. Actual Cash Value is replacement cost less depreciation. Seems like your car is pretty well depreciated and only WORTH $1500, regardless of how much it costs to repair it.

So - your choices are simple: 1) take the $1700, buy another $1500 car and put $200 towards your insurance 2) take the $1200 and drive a wrecked car and maybe you can get your friends to repair it with salvage yard parts enough to get you by or 3)keep writing to answer boards for their opinions.

You can take some of these folks answers, hire an attorney and he'll charge 30-40% plus expenses and you get $850 and STILL don't have a car!

Take door number 1 and get on with your life!

Good lucka nd I hope this helps!

Answer 4

They have totaled your car, and are offering you fair market value for it, and once they give you that, the car becomes the property of the insurance company. Or, you can buy it back for salvage value and keep it. That is why there are two offers on the table.

Since you had no insurance, they really don't need to offer you anything. Without insurance, you should not have been out there in the first place, and if you hadn't been, the accident would not have happened.

I'd suggest you take the deal before they withdraw it, and once you have a car again, don't drive unless you are fully legal, which includes insurance.

Answer 5

When the value of the car is less than the estimate to fix the car, the car is considered a total loss, even if the car is still driveable. The insurance company will usually offer you current market value for the vehicle, with adjustments for mileage, condition, and any previous damage.

Since you had no insurance, you are lucky you were not arrested. In my neck of the woods, you would have been arrested for failure to provide insurance.

You do not have to accept the money, but the insurance company also does not have to give you a higher offer.

Answer 6

Since the cost to repair the car exceeds the market value of the car -- your car is a total loss.

The other company does not owe you the amount of damage -- they owe you the market value of your car.

The reason for the different offers: when the company total losses the car - in essence - they buy the car from you. They then take the car to a salvage yard and sell it for parts to re-coop some of the money they paid you.

If you choose to keep the car - they do not have the vehicle to sell for parts - you do. So they deduct what they think they could have gotten for the car at the salvage auction and give you the car and the difference. What you do with the car is up to you. They don't care if you fix it or turn it into a lawn ornament.

It sounds like what the company is doing is legit.

Answer 7

I was in a similar situation. My car was totalled and the insurance company offered me $6500 for it. No options, that was it. I wrote to them disputing their assessment, and they told me that what they offered WAS the current market value.

So, what I did was went back through some recent newspapers from both classified ads and car dealer ones. I took all the ones that were similar age/kms to my own, and upheld my claim for $8500 was the current market value based on ads.

My insurance company came back with a once-only, now-or-never offer of $7500. I was pissy about it, but took the offer and got on with life.

EIT: Oooops, almost forgot. It is critically important to actually BE right. Having a mate say "its worth more" isn't what insurance companies take into account when estimating values. The data they have will disappoint almost anyone, saying vehicles are worth less than a hopeful owner feels is right.

Answer 8

The first issue is why are you driving without insurance? Do you even have a clue what a risky position you are in? Next thing....take your car to a couple shops for estimates on the damage and then you will see how much they should be paying for the repairs.If the damage truly is more than the worth of the vehicle, they will "total" it and pay the value of the car...not the amount of the damage estimate. Was a police report filed? If not you should do so ASAP. In reference to your comment on why you don't have insurance....You can't afford NOT to have it. Are you really willing to risk all you have in hopes that you are not found to be at fault in a crash? I think it foolish to do so as it is illegal in most areas to drive without it. I also don't like reading about the outcome for someone injured by a driver without coverage. Their life is ruined by debt that can't be paid by the person who caused the problem because they "couldn't afford insurance". How would you feel if the other person had no insurance? You wouldn't be getting squat.

Answer 9

Here's the deal: no one is going to give you more than your car is worth (duh). Secondly, the state REQUIRES that the vehicle be declared a total loss if costs to repair exceed the value -- it's a law. The fact that the insurance company is willing to give you $1,700 for a $1,500 car is a deal (you could not have sold it for as much) so take it, buy another $1,500 car and get on with your life.
P.S. -- to all you morons advising to hire a lawyer, get a clue; a lawyer will only take HALF of the settlement to handle the paperwork. He cannot make the claim worth more than it is.

Answer 10

Not being able to afford insurance is not a valid excuse for driving without it. This accident shows why you can't afford to drive with no insurance. When you have insurance, you have a company with a vested interest in gettin you taken care of, and, if you are not at fault, they have a law department to fight for you. The other insurance company is not there to help you.
By the way, if the accident was your fault, you, personally would be on the hook for their damages, and any injuries. There are people paying off hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in one case I know of, 3 million dollars in uninsured damages.
You don't say what your car is, but any car can be damaged beyond the value, in which case the pay-out stops at the actual cash value of the car at the time of the accident.
If you can show vehicles of same make, model, options, mileage, and conditions are actually selling for more than their valuation, you can ask for more.