mantonakakis
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Colorado
Car was hit by hailstorm in early August 2018. Full coverage, declared a total loss. Insurance company gave a low-ball first settlement offer, which is somewhat understandable, as my car's model is highly sensitive to a few key factors: body style, transmission, and condition; and exacerbated by the fact that they don't come up for sale locally very often.
The company determined that my car was in "dealer retail" condition (the highest rating), and it has the body style and transmission that demand a premium. However, the first several claims reps refused to consider that might car might be a little trickier to value, and a lot of time was wasted getting them to agree to use comps that matched my vehicle's body style and transmission (eventually aided by the CO Dept of Regulatory Agencies).
This chapter ended with them making me an offer based on the two cheapest cars available nationwide, which I did not accept, given my car's top-level condition, and the fact that the claims rep made numerous mistakes in his adjustment arithmetic. At this point I had to invoke the appraisal clause, solely due to a 60-day limit in the contract to do so.
Another 6 months have passed since asking for appraisal, and there is still no resolution, as the appraisers have seemingly struggled to keep up with communication.
The latest insurance company rep on my claim seems quite reasonable and willing to take the time to understand the market for my model, and I'm fairly confident he and I could come to an agreeable valuation if it was only up to us. However, he claims that is not an option, that since the appraisal clause has been invoked that appraisal is the only way forward. I don't see any language to that effect in the contract, though. Given that my contract had a 60-day deadline to invoke the appraisal clause, and 6 more months have passed, I feel my best course of action is to push for settlement directly between the insurance company and myself. But I don't want to do that if there's merit to the rep's claim that that is not allowable.
In terms of legal action, I know the size of the dispute is important. The difference between what I believe to be an objectively fair value and their last offer is about $6000. Any advice on any of my options would be greatly appreciated, and I would be happy to share any of the specific language in the contract.
The company determined that my car was in "dealer retail" condition (the highest rating), and it has the body style and transmission that demand a premium. However, the first several claims reps refused to consider that might car might be a little trickier to value, and a lot of time was wasted getting them to agree to use comps that matched my vehicle's body style and transmission (eventually aided by the CO Dept of Regulatory Agencies).
This chapter ended with them making me an offer based on the two cheapest cars available nationwide, which I did not accept, given my car's top-level condition, and the fact that the claims rep made numerous mistakes in his adjustment arithmetic. At this point I had to invoke the appraisal clause, solely due to a 60-day limit in the contract to do so.
Another 6 months have passed since asking for appraisal, and there is still no resolution, as the appraisers have seemingly struggled to keep up with communication.
The latest insurance company rep on my claim seems quite reasonable and willing to take the time to understand the market for my model, and I'm fairly confident he and I could come to an agreeable valuation if it was only up to us. However, he claims that is not an option, that since the appraisal clause has been invoked that appraisal is the only way forward. I don't see any language to that effect in the contract, though. Given that my contract had a 60-day deadline to invoke the appraisal clause, and 6 more months have passed, I feel my best course of action is to push for settlement directly between the insurance company and myself. But I don't want to do that if there's merit to the rep's claim that that is not allowable.
In terms of legal action, I know the size of the dispute is important. The difference between what I believe to be an objectively fair value and their last offer is about $6000. Any advice on any of my options would be greatly appreciated, and I would be happy to share any of the specific language in the contract.