RE: My Ins Co. Stinks (kinda long)

[Joshua Hadler <josh.hadler@everest.com>]

Audi200TQ wrote:

> Just in case anyone is interested, my 1990 200 Quattro that was in an
> accident August of 1996, is still not repaired.  LIBERTY MUTUAL insurance co.
> still denies the damages are related to my accident.

First question, and this is important. Have you signed anything? I mean
_anything_. Especially anything that claims to be a release or an
acceptance of settlement? If you have, you're going to have alot of
problems. In fact, you're probably sunk. The insurance company will have
every _legal_ right to drop you like a sack of wet manure. If not, then
something is really, really wrong.

[snip]

>  I normally dont go this route, but I have
> not had use of my 200 for seven months now, and I intend to begin filing a
> lawsuit.  If anyone can offer any suggestions, I need all of the help I can
> get.  I have already contacted the DA's office, The Boston Globe, Liberty
> Mutuals home office, The Insurance Commisioner office...

If you havn't signed anything yet, then the Insurance Commioner's office
should be able to bring their weight in on your case. I don't know what
the commonwealth laws are like, but in many other states if a case
remains open for more than 90 days, the commisioner comes down on 'em
pretty hard. Yes, the DA and the Globe are also good offices to inform.
But the point is moot if anything has been signed. I may sound like I'm
harping on one point here, and that's because I am. I have had the
(unfortuante) experience of having dealt with _many_ insurance companies
and claims in the last year or so. And what I have taken from all of
these trails and tribulations is this: If the insurance company you are
dealing with has accepted responsibility for the damage incured to your
car (assuming you are not the client responsible) then you have to be
prepared to play hard ball. You outline to them exactly what needs to be
repaired and you _refuse_ to sign anything untill the repairs have been
completed to your satisfaction. 

	They may have restrictions on what shop to use, on how much to pay per
hour of body shop work, blah blah blah. It's bunk. You are the injured
party and are entitled to fair and just compensation. However, before
anyone goes off on a righteous rant at their claims adjuster, something
like this will take a _long_ time, and it will require phenomenal
patience. Most if not all people are not so blessed and will wind up
settling for something less than what they desire. This is because the
insurance company has the luxury of high priced laweyrs and you don't.
The last case I had to deal with was that of a chevy suburban backing
into and OVER my Porsche 914 while it was parked in a parking lot. Now
one would think that this would have been open and shut. But no, the
insurance company wanted to total the car right off the bat and I was
very supprised that they would do this. That is untill I discovered that
the damage adjuster himself owned a few 914s, and my guess is that he
had his eyes on my car for parts, some of them quite valuable. I took me
alot of shouting and yelling before I mangaed to get them to agree to
repair the car at the cost of the estimate from _my_ body shop. I talked
to a lawyer and his advice was to settle, he agreed that I was in the
right, but court costs and time would cause me to loose more than I
would gain from a lawsuit. Score another one against the little guy. I
still lost money in the deal, but not much. To give you an idea of the
time it took. I just accepted delivery of my repaired car yesterday, and
the incedent occured in late January 

In conclusion, get a lawyer. Call the DA, Call the newspaper, Call the
Insurance Commisioner, Call your local representative (you think I'm
kidding), and write lots of letters to car magazines and the like. You
are going to have to make yourself the sqeakiest wheel in the state and
it's going to be frustrating. I wish it were otherwise, but that's how
it looks from here. Then again, the point is moot if you have signed any
kind of acceptance, settlement, or release. And make a paper trail! A
big one! The better the documentation you have the better your case will
look in court. Judges really like a well prepared and well presented
case. The clearer it is to the judge, the quicker he/she will rule. Out
paper the insurance company. Everything from the accident report (if
there is one), estimate and repair reciepts, to the dates and times you
called the various people/offices and copies of letters sent. One more
thing you might try to do is get what is called a "mechanics affidavit".
This is a statement by a third party mechanic that says that the work
performed on your car was insufficient and/or inappropriate.

> and now I drive around
> with a nice big sign on the back of my other car that says exactly what I
> think of Liberty Mutual and its practices and I intend to leave it there for
> a while.

that'll make you feel a little better, but it won't get you anywhere. 

> Is there anything left to do but sue?

It doesn't sound like it. Have you told the insurance company that
you've called these other offices?

Good luck!

-Josh2

-- 
Joshua Hadler          '74 914 2.0 CSP/Bi - Hooligan Racing #29
                       '87 Quantum Syncro - aka stealth quattro

jhadler@everest.com
http://rainbow.rmi.net/~jhadler/jahome.html