[alfa] Alfas and INs. Companies

[adoherty@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I just went through a bit of a row with my insurer. Brief history: I was in a
line of cars waiting at a light (just before Christmas), heardsquealing tires
and acceleration behind me--which was not getting further away, sat back in the
seat and waited (there was no where to go...). Black Monte Carlo SS rear-ended
me then took off, so I was left dealing with my insurer (uninsured motorist
coverage) over my now wrecked 164. The right rear door wouldn't open, the right
rear 1/4 panel was buckled-up, the roof was buggered a bit between the two
doors
on the right side, the truck floor is bent up, rear bumper and lights turfed
etc. Anyhow, not much needed to turf a decent but 134K miles 164 these days....
I got an entimate from a insurer approved list which confirmed a total, their
appraiser also totaled it. Ok, I can deal with that; but then the ins. co. came
back with what was a ridiculous offer to pay out my claim (sent me all the
paper
work etc in the mail to close it out. I guess the finality of it is enough for
some people such that they go with that, or others don't know that they can do
what I did which was call the ins. co. up and tell them what I thought
(politely) of that particular mailing. So I get several value sources (SCM,
CPI/Black, etc), to which she responded 'we can't use them, they are just for
informational purposes only, and not to set values on a car.' I kid you not. I
know what you're thinking, and I told her the same regarding the books. We went
back and forth ad infinitim. She then changed her tune and said that the value
has to be based on an actual car(s) currently for sale--NOT one that were just
sold and figure into a price guide like SCM. Huh, but thats where the prices
come from--ACTUAL CAR SALES.... So I go to my local dealer and ask for an
estimate on the cars worth prior to the collision (which they wouldn't accept
because it wasn't an actual car for sale on his lot...) and cull some ads to
counter the ads
they presented for actual cars for sale. Best part was, they always found the
lowest priced ALfas in the world--mind, no one actually SAW the cars from the
ads first-hand, so all they or I know is that the car looks like it just came
out of a smash-up derby. I sent them my ads, and they said they would
contact the sellers--and of course they could only contact the lowest one or
two priced ads. Once they did that, they did some nonsense deductions etc etc
to bring the value down further. After a few rounds of this, I just said I to
no-longer contact me directly, but that this matter would be handled from here
on out by my attorney/father. They went back-and-forth maybe twice before he
called her back one time and layed out the not-too-distant-future which
included coming to my town to defend themselves in court if they didn't get
straightened out. After all this aggravation and time (5-6 months), they
finally ended up paying me $165 more than what I originally said I would settle
out for. Of course in my one case it doesn't make sense, but when you figure
some percentage of the claimants just give in and get reamed, it probably works
out for the ins. co. And, of course, playing the actuary game is what they are
all about. Hold fast with the ins. co., and they'll come around; as someone
else said, make it expensive for them to screw with you and you'll see how they
turn to a more reasonable state. You might also point out to them, like I did,
how they took your money as a premium based upon a book value somewhere, but
now say they can't pay out based upon a book value. Figure that out.... I'm not
even sure if its anywhere in my policy fine print that they would only value a
loss by actual ads--but I can play that game by getting ads of my own. Sorry
for the length, but ins. cos. are something that can really trip my trigger
having just dealt with them....

AD
-- 
Adam S. Doherty
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
University of Pennsylvania--School of Medicine
360 CRB
415 Curie Blvd
Philadelphia, PA  19104   USA

Phone: 215-898-7806
Fax: 215-898-8780
Email: adoherty@domain.elided
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