Attacking Insurance Companies,one of my favorite sports!

[Milanogold@domain.elided]

Greetings Alfisti!
     This message is for the lady in Maryland who lost her GT Junior,but can 
apply to others in similar situations.That's why I'm posting it here.I rent 
insurance replacement cars,and see people get screwed over daily.I enjoy 
helping out whenever I can.Here's some ideas I've seen that work;which might 
be worth a try.
       State Farm must have sent an idiot for a claims adjuster out to 
estimate your car........Call the claims rep and see if there's a State Farm 
adjuster  who might specialize in "high dollar" or exotic car losses.(An Alfa 
Romeo should certainly fall into this category.)Have them re- evaluate the 
car.From the original post describing the car,it should fall into a category 
demanding quite a bit more attention that what it appears they're giving.Try 
a second,independent appraisal, and force State Farm to pay for the appraisal.
      Have you considered subrogation as a means of getting the dollar value 
out of the car that you deserve?Subrogation is where you use your insurance 
company to pay off or repair the vehicle, and then your insurance company 
takes state farm to court for the money they paid you off with........  See 
if your insurance co.would subrogate your claim.They would pay off your loss 
claim (What was the car valued at by YOUR insurance company?Find out.I would 
bet that your insurance company values your car much more highly than State 
Farm's payoff;that way they can charge higher premiums to you. ) and charge 
SF for it.Let the insurance companies fight it out;you've lost your Alfa and 
that's enough pain for one to suffer..... You have a lawyer,use him.Your 
insurance company is there to service you;if they don't do this find another 
insurance company.
	If you want a damaged car rebuilt;a way to get this expedited is to 
file a claim on your own insurance and let them subrogate to the claimant's 
company.Sure, you file a claim against your own insurance with 
correspondingly higher rates, but you can expedite the repair process and 
choose your repair shop more easily.
     Here's a technique for everybody to use, should they need to;If your'e 
the claimant in an accident. Rental cars can be paid for on a direct bill 
basis more quickly by using the subrogation technique.(File a claim for 
rental as an insured against your policy to get yourself into a rental car 
the day you get into an accident, then quickly file as a claimant to the 
other person's insurance co.)For example, Allstate absolutely 100% refuses to 
pay for a claimant's rental on a direct bill basis;preferring to let the 
claimant pay for it themselves and then allstate reimburses the claimant.   
(Allstate uses this as a means of controlling costs and making claimants 
suffer as much as possible,something they excel at)By using the subrogation 
trick;Allstate will not have much choice but pick the rental  up and "retro" 
the rental from day one (Meaning it essentially wipes out the fact you filed 
a claim on your insurance policy and pay no out of pocket expenses 
either.This can be,and has been used successfully with all insurance 
companies,and I've gotten in trouble several times telling customers how it 
works.So it must be good! 
	Another thing to consider.As the claimant in an accident ,this is no 
time to be nice, or professional,or reasonable.You didn't ask to be put into 
this situation,and the specter of automobile induced bodily harm always tends 
to make me a bit unhappy.Your claims adjuster would have to be pretty thick 
shelled,otherwise the turnover in that industry would be huge...Abuse them, 
that's what they're paid for.Keeping a civil tongue in your head("Southern 
colloquialism, sorry)is just going to cause you to be another pis*ed on 
customer.
Hope this helps,
 stuffing his face with the missus's homemade apple pie.Yum!!!!!!
Terry Akins
Alexandria,VA 
1987 Milano Gold (Alfie)
1979 Alfetta Velocissima (Lazarus)

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End of alfa-digest V7 #842
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