Insurance Question...Understanding the "Make You Whole" concept.

Reason I ask. Boss just had her little Kia Rio totaled by someone. Not her fault at all. 2009 creampuff with 40k miles that was now paid off and a year of extended warranty left.

Insurance company says 6.5k is the most they will cover. Based on comparable at several dealers. Three times the miles in all cases and they admit that is the case, but don't care; only factor is year and model. Nothing for the value of the remaining extended warranty.

So, where do you go next when you don't agree with the adjuster or don't want to be out of pocket in order to get an equivalent vehicle? Is the adjuster on the end of the line the last court of appeal?

Oh, and another question, the adjuster told her that he had gone to the body-shop but had not stuck his head in to look at the mileage because of the risk of "secondary airbag deployment" Never heard that term. Full of E36 M3 or a thing?

Bring some facts on why it should be higher.
Find some auto trader or similar used car ads proving what it will take to buy the same car in similar condition and reasonably same miles.

Don't accept the check/offer. Tell them to their face they are full of E36 M3. Warranty won't be covered because it isn't tangible to the value, they bought it as insurance against breakdown.

Adjuster is a Bob Costas. Basically, I'd call them out on their unwillingness to do their job.

Basically, it turns into a waiting game; the longer the claim stays open, the more insurance wants it closed.

She should be able to cancel the extended warranty & get a pro-rated refund for time/miles not used.

As above. Arm yourself with as many ebay and craigslist ads for comparable units as you can, and then play the waiting game with the insurance company, if she can afford to wait. Any potential for getting it fixed? Used parts and a bit of owner legwork can save a lot of dough on a claim sometimes.

"Making whole" means you wind up with enough cash to buy the exact same thing. A seven year old Rio with no miles is still not worth a whole boatload of cash, so she will be out of pocket for the replacement, likely.

Honestly imagine what you would pay for that car if it showed up on craigslist, and that's how much dough you should get. Irritation and inconvenience are not really factored into the equation, I'm afraid. Its one of the downsides of driving an older car. Downside to driving a newer one, is most people are upside down in insurance value within a year of leaving the dealer, if you have really good insurance. Not so good insurance, you are upside down if a truck backs over your new car on the dealers lot just after your sign the sales contract.

We've negotiated an insurance payout from $4,000 to $7,000 on a 9 year old Maxima before. Keep trying.

My son went through this a few years ago with a low mileage Sidekick that SF was (appropriately) writing off. I think they offered something like $1200 to start, which would have been a fair offer for most similar age 'kicks. He ended up with about $4500 plus the truck, which he fixed and is still driving. Just be persistent. If her request is reasonable, she should be successful

Not too worried about her cause she is a consumer pit-bull, so she will probably drive over to the adjusters and use one of his children as a club to beat him unconscious. I have seen her do this to more than one of our suppliers.

More interested in what the rules of engagement are for these situations. Cream puff equivalents seem to be selling for closer to 10k (this is Canada everything is more $$$).

I wouldn't be confrontational, be cordial but professional and firm in dealing with the adjuster. I had a creampuff BMW 325ix get totaled a couple years ago by someone running a stop sign; the first offer was low, but I persisted with valuation numbers I had found (sold prices, not asking prices) and eventually they came up to a value I felt was fair.

First, I'm not 100% sure if Canada works just like it does here, I have little claim experience there, but I'm thinking it does

This is her own insurance policy, right? First, the simple step is to find local examples just like hers and show them that is the market value of the car. If that doesn't work, the policy probably has some kind of arbitration clause that will spell out exactly what steps are to be taken when the insurer and insured don't agree. It's very, very rare for claims to get there. Show your evidence, explain your position.

Contrary to what you may think, the adjuster isn't trying to be a Bob Costas or cheat anyone. They're probably going off a valuation report done by a third party company. If you show them that it's wrong, and show them why, it's not that hard to get a proper settlement. I'm wondering what I'm missing here though...for a common car like the Rio, I can understand if there is a $500 difference in opinion, even $1k, but $3.5k isn't right.

You need to find local RETAIL examples. Dealers are Retail. Craigslist is not retail.

And don't forget to add in the cost of licensing and sales tax.

All third-party value reports are wrong for every vehicle. They are basically an average of similar vehicles but every individual vehicle in the report is not the average vehicle.

rande wrote: You need to find local RETAIL examples. Dealers are Retail. Craigslist is not retail. And don't forget to add in the cost of licensing and sales tax. All third-party value reports are wrong for every vehicle. They are basically an average of similar vehicles but every individual vehicle in the report is not the average vehicle.

If you can get the sales tax paid, and get an insurance company to pay dealer retail, you are a better man than I.

That's what my son got from SF. In the end, he got what he paid for it, tax included, and the truck.

Get comps from dealers not Craig's list. Go from there.

I just took a quick look on eBay and they seem to be between $9,000 and $14,000 US so something does not seem right.