Payment on a totaled car??

Question

We have a car that was just in an accident. The insurance company is in the process of going over a cash value for the car. Is this negotiable at all? I'm thinking they're going to try and low-ball us for the value. Also, do they go at all by Kelly Blue Book values? The adjustor said they'd have a total for us by early next week, and I want to be prepared for what they tell me. Thanks!!

Answer 1

They go by the KBB but just like any garage sale, they are going to try to get the lowest price payout.   You have the right to dicker back and point out that the car was kept in immaculate shape and yada yada to get them to up their payout.     If you know of other cars identical to yours that have been(or are being) sold recently(say on a car lot for a higher price) than what they valued your car for, this will help you.    If yours is a one of a kind -end of the line model, you are hooped.

Grin and bear it.      It is how insurance companies work.

Answer 2

I hate when people think insurance companies try to "low ball" them- that word is so annoying.  You really think we have big huge meetings where our bosses go "hey guys-  take what there car is worth- and minus a thousand! mwa haha- were gonna get them!"

of course not!   Its absolutely simple how i get actual cash value- i have a computer program that goes through all the car ads from dealerships, autotrader.com, etc for my area- and then it spits out the average price.

Thats it- so simple! how can i low ball you with that?  Now that being said- since its based on a fact- and not my evil negiotiation powers- no- in my case it is not negiotiable.  

Keep in mind peoples cares are like their babies.  They always ALWAYS think it is worth more then anyone else does.  Your adjuster is  a person and wants to help you- why not listen to them and see where they are getting their figures from?

Answer 3

They will definately try and lowball you.  The best you can get is kelly blue book retail.  Don't let them give you wholesale or trade-in value.  And if you don't think the settlement is fair, tell them you need to talk to the state insurance commissioner.

Answer 4

Unfortunately you can't negotiate with an insurance company for car repairs.  They simply take the parts that need to be repaird and get a cost.  They will either be OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or after market parts.  If this is a "new" car, you can request that all parts be replaced by OEM parts and not after market ones.  No they don't usually use KBB, there is a different resource that is available only to them and dealers as KBB got too widely used by the public.  You can do research on your own if you know what needs to be repaired.  You can use KBB.com to get a best guess on the value of the car.  Then compare them.  Good Luck!!

Answer 5

Generally, insurance companies compute this amount based on actual cash value, which is determined by looking at the condition of your vehicle and what similar vehicles are selling for in your area. They do not use Kelley Blue Book. It is negotiable to some extent. In my experience in the business, people alwats think their car is worth more than it really is.

If they will not negotiate, read your policy to see what recourse is available to you. Most policies provide some kind of process for appealing the decision. You would likely have to pay to have an appraisal done to contest their value.