Insurance question

Buddy of mine got into a wreck with his 2014 F250, it’s a nice truck and very well maintained. Insurance totaled it, stating it’s value because it’s close to 300k miles is less than what the repair would cost. He said they are offering him $14,000. He knows damn well he can’t buy that same year truck for anywhere near $14,000 right now. So, my question is, how does one go about protecting themselves from a situation like this? What insurance would be best?

Ask them to replace the truck.

Has he accepted the 14k offer? I just went through this. I gathered my own comps and sent back to them li ks and I fo for the comps, the reasoning why I think my vehicle was worth more than what they offered, and what I considered a reasonable amount. It took about 6 weeks of back and forth but we got to where I thought we should be.

No matter what ins you have, you have to be willing to do the research and put in the time to fight against them. They want to get you to accept the least amount they can.

Go pull ads for 7 trucks with same mileage and trim level locally. Average them and send all of it to them.



I’ve totaled two trucks. Well technically I wasn’t in either, but I had MetLife at the time and that’s what they sent me with my estimate. I thought I’d was very fair no hassle way of doing it

He may get a little more out of them but I doubt he gets much more

A friend of mine prob 10 years ago got so pissed at a similar situation he sued his ins

I think he said he paid around $2500 in lawyer fees and his insurance ended up paying about $2500 more than the original quote

But all that took several months, not worth it

I totaled mine a few months ago, and I thought they paid me out more than fair

My only wreck and insurance claim ever, the process sucked and they are slow AF, but paid good

Get an extra $2500. if he got bumped around.
https://www.valuepenguin.com/car-insurance/how-pip-works-texas

This right here.

My brother had his truck stolen back in December. Think he got around $45k for it, which was only like 5k less than he paid, IIRC. Sending his insco for sale comps is how he got that much.

This is what I did when I had one totalled. NEVER accept their first or even second offer. They want to settle and get you out of the rental.

Gap insurance policy pays difference ?

BP, You may need your Realtor hat on for this. This person got lucky giving I suppose Autotrader "Asking" prices. In real estate comps ONLY count with "Sold" prices.

I have no idea where you can pull "Sold" comps on autos. As we do daily, we can look at MLS and see all the "Sold" comps on property.

I told him the best he can do is find similar vehicles and contest their price.

He’s meticulous. He won’t buy a used one. He documents every fill up, oil change, air filter, fuel filter, tire rotation, etc. He changes the belt, water pump, shocks, radiator flush, every 60,000 miles.

A new similar truck isn’t in his financial plan considering it’s going to be $70,000+

I told him to sue the other driver. I really have no answer for him, but I’m in the same boat with driving a great 2014 truck with low miles that’s been paid for for 5 years. I’d hate to be stuck having to buy another truck in this market

Your friend is up a creek. A lawyer won't give him the time of day for their cut of your friend's perceived valuation.

Danny touched on it but finding good comps for this one is going to be hard to verify. You need concrete data and everything on the web for vehicles is play sand per se.

Correct to a point - GAP only covers your note not what you think the value of the vehicle might be.

I recently purchased a new GMC and put $5k down and got $5750 off sticker. I did not feel GAP would be useful since the value of any insurance settlement should more than cover my note.

GAP, in my opinion, would be valuable when you finance 100%, roll negative equity into a new deal, or finance over 60 months since you are slow paying the principal on the loan.

An agreed value policy is what he’d need. But that may require a specialty insurer.

He would sue both the driver and their insurance company. He has two years and he would want to start sooner than later because finding someone requires lots of calls and referrals if he did not lose a limb in the accident.

I got lucky by the insurance doing the same thing on two different trucks? I got higher then “blue book” with out even fighting them. If they do an average of listing price there is an 8.25% tax sway that essentially adjusts for final sale price .

I’m only recommending what the Insurance Company ACTUALLY did x2 as I thought it was extremely fair. It was their idea not mine.

Good post. Good info.

Houses are full replacement value. Not the same with vehicles.

Vehicle tax is 6.25%. If there are no injuries then a lawyer is probably not going help.

I thought about that last night but ya 6.25% swing essentially.

Apparently Insurance carrier matters. MetLife must be an anomaly…

Stuff like that has zero impact on things. When they determine the value of a vehicle the maintenance history / records or mechanical condition are not even looked at. While I get where he is coming from it simply doesn’t matter.

The way I have seen people get more from an insurance company is by being reasonable and courteous. It doesn’t always work but adjusters are human and you catch more flies with honey. Lots of people try to make insurance claims into a lottery winning. Make it clear that you are not trying to come out ahead and just want to be made whole.

I know the truck was worth more than 14k to him but doesn’t seem horribly out of line for an eight year old truck with 300k miles. How bad is the damage? Any possibility to take their settlement offer and buy it back and then fix it himself?

Yup, local fair market value is for sold vehicles, not for sale vehicles, and yeah you start locally but if there's not enough comparable vehicles, then you can expand your search to nearby markets for those sold vehicle values. 7 comparable vehicles are ok, 10 is better

My wife totaled her car last week. It was a little Dodge Journey that she bought new, about 8 months ago. She bought that little "econo wagon" for lots and lots of trips up to Ft. Riley, KS to see the out daughter and Grand kids while their Dad is deployed.

She paid $20.6K out the door for it new and it had 18K miles on it when she crashed it. The insurance company is writing a check for $28.8K because that is what they said it would take today. Rental coverage is not part of that amount.

Marc

How much fuel was in it? Could have taken a loss if it was full.

[quote=Sewer rat][quote=BigPig]

I know the truck was worth more than 14k to him but doesn’t seem horribly out of line for an eight year old truck with 300k miles.

This right here. I realize trucks and especially diesel trucks are crazy overvalued at the moment, but 300K mile eight year old pickups aren't. I agree that $14K is not terribly far out of line. Maybe $16-18K.. Not like it's a 12 valve or 7.3 with their cult followers.

Edit: Quick search on autotrader turns up $22-24K values (F250 Lariat Diesel 4x4 crew cabs) may be worth considering...

It wasn't clear to me who was at fault until you posted this... He should absolutely refuse the other insurance companies offer, do the above on the comparables, go rent a car (I'll assume his policy has rental coverage) to tide him over and advise he'll send them the bill until they come back with an equitable offer to replace. Do not fully settle the claim until any and all possible medical expenses are cleared within the the first 10 months or so, as to fully settle, he is entitled to a "pain and suffering" payment to fully close the claim. It is very negotiable.

Charlie