[V8] re: Tis the season.....

[Ed Kellock]

When I have documented proof that several cars in nearly the exact
same condition sold for 12-14 thousand dollars and there are less than
150 such cars in the country, how can a value of 10 thousand dollars
be considerd "more realistic".  Because they have their own special
book?  ACV, whatever.. call it what you will, it's just bs that they
use to screw people out of money.  I didn't total it at an event.
They were clearly not interested in making my loss whole.  At the
time, I could not have replaced it for their initial offer.

I greatly appreciate your wisdom as a previous insider in the
insurance industry and find it very valuable, but your explanation
does not wash with my experience in this case.

Ed

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Roger M. Woodbury" <rmwoodbury at downeast.net>
To: <sfevold at wwdb.org>
Cc: <v8 at audifans.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 5:49 PM
Subject: [V8] re: Tis the season.....


> There are a couple of things that people need to know about
insurance
> companies and the adjustment process.
>
> First of all, ALL cars are JUST cars to the insurance company.
Generally,
> unless the car is on the insurance company's no-no list, all cars
are
> acceptable, assuming the driver's record and financial circumstances
are
> stable.  At time of loss, ALL cars are JUST cars, and ALL Audi's are
treated
> equally:  old Audis are OLD Audis, period, and if it is only one of
27 for
> that year (such as a '94 V8) it is JUST an OLD Audi, and the rarity
makes no
> difference in its valuation.
>
> Insurance companies do not use the same NADA or Kelly Blue Book that
the
> average person has available.  Their data is MUCH more detailed and
from a
> whole lot of different sources. They rely on what sometimes is
referred to
> as "The Black Book", which is a more detailed reference for
automobiles.
> What we get at the book store or on line is useful information, but
an
> insurance company's data is going to be much stricter and probably
more
> realistic, just as a dealer's wholesale figure is much different
from the
> NADA Guide or the KBB values.
>
> An insurance company is going to try to merely make whole the loss.
The car
> might have been worth a lot to the insured, but the actual cash
value of the
> car is probably much different.  Sometimes insurance adjustment
people have
> a true "hard on" for difficulty.  I had a very hard time getting a
cash
> settlement for my BMW motorcycle which I totalled.  The bike was
repairable,
> but the adjuster for USAA (a contract adjuster, and not a USAA
employee)
> thought he was a Private Investigator like Magnum.  He tried to
bully the
> motorcycle shop into straightening the rear suspension frame and
calling it
> good, despite the fact that the factory manual said that the part
was NOT
> repairable and straightening it would weaken the entire frame and
make the
> bike unstable.  I finally got hold of the Northeast REgion claims
supervisor
> and asked them if they wanted me to ride a bike that was documented
as being
> improperly repaired, and would they welcome the liability from that
> exposure, since it would have been caused directly by their
employee.  In
> the end, they paid me for the bike and totalled it.  But the fact
was that
> had I not spent about twenty years in the commercial insurance
business I
> might not have had the same result.
>
> And another thing that is very important to remember:  coverage is
NOT
> determined by the funny tv ads, the insurance agent selling a
policy, or
> wishful thinking.  Coverage is actually determined AFTER the loss by
the
> claims department.  For any of you hotshots who are rallying, club
racing,
> autocrossing, gymkhana-ing, or going on those "wink-wink" so called,
> "drivers ed" weekends, if you prang your ride you will probably find
that
> your insurance company won't cover the loss and then they will
cancel your
> coverage.
>
> Roger
>
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