Re: SCREWED by the ins co.

[dwall@sisna.com]

I may not have my finger on the bottom line of Insurance companies, but I 
have noticed one thing in my travels:  Go to any major metropolitan city 
(Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago...) in the United States, drive to 
the tallest skyscraper you can see, and 9 times out of ten it will be 
owned by an Insurance Company!  You can't tell me insurance companies 
aren't making money hand over fist.  Any industry whose services are 
REQUIRED BY LAW and that has no regulation what so ever is going to 
eventually become corrupt.  To quote Ferry Porsche, "they sell you 
umbrellas, and then when it starts to rain, they call in all the 
umbrellas".

Darren D. Wall
darrenwall@netzero.net
dwall@sisna.com
1985 Audi 4000 Quattro
1969 911 Turbo-Look 2.7Liter
1984 Volkswagen Vanagon (The Bus)
1999 Nissan Quest (The Wifes Kid Hauler)


   Sorry to hear about your experiences, but I have a different view.

   Being an insurance major I happen to know a little about how the 
business
works.  Yes, some insurance companies (less known ones) will sometimes low 
ball
and rip off people.  Don't use them, but if you get hit by someone using 
an
insurance company like that, sometimes you get screwed.

   Go with an insurance company that has a high rating from rating 
agencies
like AM Best and Moodys.  And, most importantly one with high consumer
retention.  Insurance companies generally don't want to screw over thier
customers as they want to keep them and they can better classify the risks 
of
customers that have been with them for a long time.

   It is a fact that most insurance companies (practically all) pay out 
more
money in claims than they collect in premiums.  So, they actually loose 
money.
How do they stay in business?  Well, by investing the premiums and betting
they won't have to pay out for a certian amount of time.  So, insurance
companies have to price thier products at a very fair rate or they will 
loose
to thier competition.  They only stay in business because of thier 
investment
income.  And, they have to choose certian (safer) investments due to the 
high
liquidity of the business and to remain solvency in times of crisis.

   The main advice I have to listmembers is to keep good (meticulous) 
records
and reciepts for all work and parts on the car.  If something happens to 
your
car, then you have defence that your car was very well maintained and is
worth more than the average car of that age and vintage.

   Don't settle for a low ball amount.  You can fight it.  Show them 
reciepts
and what other comprable cars are going for in the market.  But, with an 
older
Audi, you are almost never going to get what you have put into the car. 
Those
are the breaks.  It sucks, but that's life.  Roll with it.

   Good luck with it, and I hope you get a fair amount for your car in the
settlement.  BTW, Was it you that had pictures of your wrecked car on the 
web
somewhere?  If so, I'd like to know the URL.  I know someone on the list 
had
posted pictures of a totalled 5000 (head-on collision) on the web, but I 
missed
it.  It was supposedly pretty badly totalled.

   Later,
   Dan




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