I just went through this... The insurance company is going to offer you what they deem as the 'value' of your vehicle before the wreck. It will not matter what you did to it and when. A $5,000 lift done the day before the accident doesn't add $5,000 to what they will give you, even with reciepts and whatever else. They will calculate what they think it adds to the value of the vehicle, which will be somewhere around 10%. So, that $5,000 lift will add $500 over their base value. It will be the same for your rear-end, wheels/tires, and whatever else. They have no obligation to replace the vehicle as it sat, or give you enough money to make another one just like it. They are only obligated to give you the value prior to the accident. If you have a modified vehicle, you're basically screwed. Whether your at fault or not (I wasn't), you won't get your money back.

Edit: All insurance companies use similar formulas and there's not much you can do aside from paying for your own appraisor and an arbitrator. The medical side is much different. You can negotiate your settlement for your injuries.

Brandon

 

yea so im out 1700 for the rearend then all the mods for sure. but either war hopefully i can get a new truck and then just bite the bullet on everything else.

 

Glad you made it out alive,

however: I have to question..
Why did you just give up and "let the lord take over"???

Driving down to Kodiak: I hit black ice at 60 mph in my truck...
went sliding facing east for quite a ways.. caught it oops over comped
went sliding facing west for quite a ways....
caught it and straightened her out to a stop- in the oppisite lane facing the right direction
calmly put on my right hand blinker to get back into the proper lane

And if you question this- had step-son in passenger seat AND a Alaskan State Trooper behind me (Who steered on to the right shoulder for traction to stop)

Be a frog about to be eaten by a heron--- grab that sob by the throat and hold on tight

to quote Tim Allen "never give up, never surrender!!"

But I have lived a full life, and God knows when He calls I'll be available to take that call -- BUT I aint going to be looking for a phone booth!!.

(forty years driving and been to war)

Chris
Disabled Vet

 

Wow Bud Glad your OK

If you want any extra money you should have had an Ambulance haul you out of there

To get money for pain and suffer you have to hit around 5K in DR Bills so you have to Rack up a Bill any way you can be it Dr visits or physical therapy whatever

The Best thing you could do right now is Go to the Emergency Room get X-rays and Cat Scans etc......


You may feel OK Today but tomorrow might be a different storey so Make sure you OK

With Health Care the way it is its Basicaly a Form of Theft so it wont take long to hit that 5K Mark in DR Bills


The INS Adjust will come at you FAST and HARD wanting to Hurry and settle

Iv been down this road a Time or two

 

Oh and Don't Pay for the Hospital either

Call the INS CO and get a Claim Number Going then have the wife take you in

Tell the Hospital its a Car accident Give INS Name and Claim Number you will be Fine

With the Health Care theft you hit the hospital today and maybe again in day or two you should about hit the 5K Mark

Once you hit the 5K Mark then just about any Accident Lawyer will take the Case


It may seem Wrong of me to do this but trust me the INS could care less about you they will try to get off with just paying Bare Minimum by what the Law Requires them to

 

Im not sure about this, but the insurance company should cover what was "declared" when you first were quoted for full coverage. If you had a $5000 lift and tires, and wrote that on the declaration, it should be covered. When you add stuff, u should contact your insurance, so its covered, it may add a few bucks a month, but worth it. Likewise, if you add safetly equipment or LoJack type stuff, it can lower your payment.

I had a vehicle stolen, i owed $15k, local ads and newspapers were selling the same van for like $10k. I held out until the last moment, and got them to agree to pay the exact amount i owed. The insurance company HAS to settle in a certain time frame or the get penalized by the state and their rating goes down. They need your signature

 

because there is a point in time where you just know you cant hold..

i can write a book on the situation that happend in less then a few seconds im sure..

but once i sunk into the grass and spund around i was done with.. the way the medians are around here are to catch water in the middle, like a v so with that i hit it wrong. i remember the first roll. that is it. im a damn good driver on the track and on the road, but when i tell you, i was completely out of control of the truck, i was.. i dont know if it was black ice or not. i just know i was totally out of control once i hit the median.

i tried to keep control on the road and almost had it. then the median ate me alive.

so in good faith, considering god and i havent been on the same page for years.... i decided to give it a go. and it worked out for me.

i really dont know my friend, all i know is im having personal issues now with myself because i want to know if i could have done something different. etc..
but im here, and money is just a thing, i can make it back no matter what the ins comp gives me, i did it more then once one more time will only **** me off. but at least i have that chance

my truck was totally un controllable. it was like floating on its wheels in all directions.

 

Your a very lucky man, not to many people get a second chance to tell and show their family how much they love them. I have never had an experience like yours but I make it a point to show and tell my family I love them often. If I take a sudden check out I want them to know they had a Husband, Father, Grand Father who loved them very much. The reason why you are still here is because your still here, no more no less. This might be a good time for you to put into motion all those Self Improvement things you have been thinking about (your family deserves the best you can be).

As far as the mods. go, get your receipts together for the insurance Co. You'll get something for them, just not what you paid. Your family has something more valuable than money,they have YOU

 

Thanks for the pics, going to show them around to younger less experienced drivers so they can see how quick things can happen and the outcome. Glad God protected you. Don't worry about why he did, he will make that known to you when that time, that situation arises. Hope you are able to find a good replacement truck.

 

I would agree with the Above^^
Definatly the correct way to go about it but most people don't think about that



But yours was simply stolen alittle different when there is an wreck

This would be the LAST thing I would worrey about Especialy since he was involved in a Major Accident

In these cases you must look out for yourself

The INS CO will only be concerned with whats in there Best Interests so that means Get you to Sign the settlement for the Smallest amount possible

Trust me that INS CO will come at you Hard and Fast Im sure the adjustor will contact you either Today or Monday to get the Ball rolling

SO far they owe for the truck and should have to pay the Lein holder for the Title


DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING UNLESS YOUR SATISFIED WITH THE DEAL

 

please do show them, message me if you would like more. i can even send pictures of my injuries too, i want kids ot be aware, i have already made an appointment with the highschool around here to show them what can happen to an experienced driver with racing ice dirt trails experience let alone a kid. and i want them to know.

just let me know what you would need for this.

the story i could tell for hours... happened in less then 5 seconds most likely.

 

I appologized if I came off too strongly...

I wasn't in your drivers seat...


Glad you are okay, and get another Christmas with family

Chris
DisabledVet

 

so i hold the last hand... i have to sign something. so if i do not like the offer, i just say no? then haggle them up? i want them to pay in full for my whole truck. if they low ball, i just say NO?

 

Wow, your lucky to be here after that crash, so take it as a blessing and live life to the fullest with the family. First off don't take the first offer your insurance company gives you. They normally will low ball the first offer.

Next I would gather any receipts up you have for the truck , if you put a new rear end in, if you put in a new tranny etc etc. Any improvements you have made that added value and life to your truck and use these to help in showing your insurance company that you have more value in your truck then they are trying to say you have.

Remember they are looking at a basic set of criteria that is how they are judging the payout to you. The onus is on you to show them and back it up with prof that there is more value in your truck then they realize and to help in getting addtional funds out of them in your payout.

There are going to be cases where they are going to say too bad, but if you can back up what you say and be stubborn about it you may get some additional monies added to your payout, but your going to have to put up a little bit of a fight and be persistant.

The insurance company never wants to pay more then they have to, if they can give you less, then they will. My brother in law is an adjuster and when my truck got written off in an accident, this was the advice he gave me and it did help in securing a better payout then what was initialed offered to me.

But having the documentation and receipts to back up what you are saying is critical, if you don't have it then your pretty much SOL, but if you do your chances will be a little better.

 

i should have receipts for most of the additions to my old girl,

how do i go about buying the truck back? thats another one!