After MONTH'S of fighting State Farm on damage to my Dodge..I finally won.I cannot describe to you the underhanded things that have transpired during this time.Their whine was I wouldnt allow them to total the truck."We cant recoup our losses without having possession of your truck for resale" was repeated a zillion times during negotiations.Long story short,went and had truck repaired to MY specs(not the body shop that has to kiss adjusters ..)and sent a WRITTEN claim to State Farm for my losses.When they rejectedit,simply included a copy of that letter and sent a copy to friggin idiot that hit me and scheduled process server to deliver papers pulling the guy that hit me into court instead of State Farm.Check was in the mail within two days.Better document everything you do ot your truck.Take pictures.Copy ads showing trucks like yours for sale.Keep track of any expense you had FINDING and retrieving your ride as well.
Yet another threat to our trucks..Insurance adjusters
- Thread starter Wellused
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Hey, I resemble that remark. When your truck lasts as many miles as ours it is hard to let go and buy something else.
yea,our fleet at work is going all diesel this week.Boss said this morn,new 350 with a set of nitto's and a headache rack is $54k.But our obs trucks are shot as are the next gens after them.All are above 300k or more..and they are having to ASK the guys to turn them back in to get a new one.This mess with my dodge was insane.They were going to spend $2200 to repair my bedside and dually fender..I got a brand new takeoff bed with gate and lights already the right color for 2k delivered(very good vendor) 2 tires ruined on rear axle.They wanted to put twn new ones on,then a mismatched set..cant rotate diff size tires on a dually.I put 6 new Transforce on and sent them the bill
Lithgow
Full Access Member
Would it be worth it to have our trucks appraised before anything happens? I don't know how much this would cost, but might be worth it.
Well, there's your problem right there, they always try to "DODGE" the repair cost.
FordGuy100
Registered User
Find an insurance company to insure your vehicle based on a certain price. You might have to have your truck appraised though. I read somewhere that somebody was doing just that.
kas83
Full Access Member
Absolute Cash Value is how my insurance phrases it. Document all repairs/modifications, have vehicle appraisal done by well-known classic vehicle appraisal firm, and submit paperwork. But be ready to pay for it. Before wrecking my 85 a few years back, I had planned a full resto and spoke with them about this. At the time I had liability only, $124 per yer year. I gave them a rough estimate of $15,000 ACV, they didn't argue the figure, but immediately quoted $1,780 per year. Without getting into too many specifics, the only way they wouldn't repair, or cut me a check, was if the frame was toasted in a wreck. If I get another bullnose crew cab, and do restore it, I'll be going that route for sure.
As an aside, I also insured my old pulling truck, for cash value of parts installed, against theft, vandalism, 'act of god' natural occurrences ie hail storm, tree fall on it, storage building catch fire etc, on top of normal comp/collision and liability. Only cost a few hundred more a year, but covered roughly 20k in parts too. Each company is different, but ask about what they offer. One might be surprised lol.
As an aside, I also insured my old pulling truck, for cash value of parts installed, against theft, vandalism, 'act of god' natural occurrences ie hail storm, tree fall on it, storage building catch fire etc, on top of normal comp/collision and liability. Only cost a few hundred more a year, but covered roughly 20k in parts too. Each company is different, but ask about what they offer. One might be surprised lol.
dizdak
Full Access Member
check with an agent and look into what they call a " stated value policy", its basically what people do for their classis cars... then there is little argument if something happens.. YES YOU WILL PAY MORE, if they will write it for you.... when the insurance company looks at a truck thats 20+yrs old with 300k on the odo thats how they appraise it.. not the fact that you / we / they have a $2500 truck that we have spent $8k in upgrades and maintenance keeping on the road all the years..most companies are now using "market value" so if you have the fanciest truck in the town and something happens and they see 10 other same make, model, year, similar mileage, and features as yours and they are listed for a fraction of what you value yours at their value will be based on those 10 lesser trucks..
and where I live you can't give them away!
Chris..we have an oil boom here..there are literally thousands of gallons of ..lets say..available diesel for the guys working on location.They claim the red fuel(untaxed offroad) runs better..the websites say its the same including sulfer content
NTOLERANCE
I'm the cotton swab
Just to be clear, you planned to that the other driver to court.
My question is, no one asked you why you werent taking the insurance company to court?
In Wisconsin, insurance is required, I would be concerned that under such conditions, the state would say that his person was covered by insurance and you need to sue them.
Unless, by the insurance companies refusal to pay, led to a clear indication that the other drivers insurance wasnt valid, bringing into question weather he was insured at all, forcing the insurance company to pay up to meet their legal obligation.
Or that the insurance policy was lacking in coverage, and you went after the insured to recoop your losses.
To start off the confusion,we were both insured by State Farm.Under Ohio insurance law,you are allowing the adjuster to negotiate terms for you if you dont send in a written claim.Under contract law,if you hit me and your insurance company doesnt pay,they have broken a contract that you have with them to indemnify you against loss.I took my truck to the body shop.The adjuster showed up and told them how he wanted my truck fixed.Problem is,its my truck and they were trying to scab it back together.The bed floor was stretched from the side inpact.They wanted to just do a bedside,re use a leafspring pack that the top leaf was stretched so bad that the bushing was boucing around in spring eye on main leaf(I swear they told me it would be ok).Towed it home and took it to Dodge dealership following week.Adj told them same thing.Replace 2 tires with new,leaving me with 2 different size tires out of 6(dually) cant rotate them,cant have 2 diff size tires in same axle,they heat up cause diff diameter.They even warned Dodge dealer NOT to write estimate untill adj arrived.I then called a private adjuster to document damage.$150.00. They even documented that Dodge says leaf spring packs were to be replaced in pairs($858/side) that shocks were the same(they wanted to put 1 on) and that bed was ruined.I totaled up the tow bills,proper repairs and price for private adj and a rental up to that time.Sent SF a bill and they refused with a letter.Thats were contract law comes in.Read "Bad Faith in insurance law" they were refusing to indemnify this person from the damage that he caused to my truck.I then promptly started the process to draw this individual into court for my loss.This put SF in a scenario that they could be sued for breach of contract by the fellow that hit me for refusing to cover my damages he caused.I then started repairs on my truck on my dime(which early on was ordering parts from manufacturer)Had a check in the mail within 48hrs that was issued in an amt the was proper and to MY terms.I also nailed them for 71days/$61 per day while my truck was laid up,got 6 new tires,2 new shocks,new t/off bed with correct factory installed paint and new leaf spring packs.
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