Wrecked my truck today...

[JayhawkRoy]

Where is the vehicle located right now? If possible go ahead and get a free estimate from the body shop of your choice. That will give you a ball park estimate on where you stand.

Do you have collision coverage on this, or just liability? It may be more beneficial to deal with your company (you pay deductible up front; get at back later when insurance companies reconcile the claim) than the other guy's.

Read up on your rights -- while an insurance company may try to move you to a preferred vendor, you have the right to refuse and negotiate the estimates with the body shop(s) of your choice. This is difficult to do if the vehicle is not driveable, but may be possible.

Overall it pays to either begin or have an established relationship with a good body shop because you don't know when you will need them again.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Yes, I have full coverage insurance on my truck but the wreck was not my fault. The other driver got a ticket for failure to yield. My truck is at the tow truck shop right now, waiting on the "Good Hands" claims inspector to take a look at it, which could be anytime between now and Friday according to the "Good Hands" supervisor I spoke with last night. The "Good Hands" claims adjustor has not even looked at the claim nor has she contacted me about the accident either. I have been off work the last 2 days but I had to go through my own insurance to get a rental car so I can go back to work tomorrow, and I can only hope they transfer the charges over to the "Good Hands" insurance company. They said they have to contact the at-fault driver and get his statement before they can authorize a rental for me. What a crock and a sorry way of doing business. This whole thing stinks and I am starting to feel I am getting the short end of the stick and the wreck wasn't even my fault.

 

[greenaccord02]

Sounds like you need to switch companies. We just switched my wife away from allstate's sorry [censored] after getting the run around. My advice - find a small local broker that deals with many different companies and deal with him instead. That's what I do and I've never looked back. Those guys treat you right.

 

[Jimmy9190]

I have Geico, they have been very good so far with this process. The at-fault driver is the one who has Good Hands. And they are the ones providing less-than-satisfactory customer service here.

 

[Dave Hess]

Glad you are OK. Your truck can be replaced.

My oldest sister is a lawyer, are you sure you and your GF don't have any headaches, neck or back pain ?

(wink, wink) LOL

 

[sciphi]

If it's going very slowly, a lawyer greatly speeds up the process.

As does being a thorn in their side. Seriously, hound them every chance you get. Be polite, say "please" and "thank you", write down who you spoke with, when you spoke with them, and what you spoke about. Politely hound them enough and they'll get rid of you so they're not drowning in syrup.

Or if the honey and sugar does not work, the lawyer works too...

 

[Jimmy9190]

No, we don't have any pain from the wreck, other than my own outrage, disgust and disappointment from how Good Hands is handling, or rather, not handling this situation.

Yes I am considering getting an attorney involved. I didn't do anything wrong and I certainly did not cause the accident and I will not allow Allstate to screw me over. That is what bothers me the most, that they will try to total my truck because of its age and mileage and say it is not worth what it would cost to fix it. And then try to give me a settlement for less than I owe on the truck. I am not about to let them do that to me. I did not cause this accident.

I have to wait until their claims processor calls me. I left her a very stern voice mail message today to express my dissatisfaction that she had not followed up with me about the accident. I also have to wait for their adjuster to inspect my truck, and who knows when that will be. Allstate said "sometime between today and Friday", kind of like the cable company ETA. Meantime, my truck sits somewhere at the wrecker yard and if it rains and the engine, battery and electrical parts/wires get wet due to the hood being damaged, oh well Allstate could not care less. It's not their truck and it's not their inconvenience so why should it matter to them?

I'd like to go out to the wrecker yard and put a tarp over the hood of my truck to keep the engine compartment dry. I doubt the wrecker yard would care if the tarp blew off or more likely, just magically disappeared. I have an expensive stereo amplifier, a subwoofer and 2 pairs of expensive speakers installed in my truck too, and I would not be surprised if they magically disappeared while the truck is being repaired either. I removed the faceplate from my radio/CD player so hopefully they would leave it alone. I am very worried about who I can and cannot trust with getting my truck repaired.

 

[mrsilv04]

Why didn't you have it towed HOME, instead of leaving it in an impound yard?

 

[greenaccord02]

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
I have Geico, they have been very good so far with this process. The at-fault driver is the one who has Good Hands. And they are the ones providing less-than-satisfactory customer service here.


Ah, well I read too quickly then. Sounds like you made a good choice

 

[saberz]

I myself use Geico, I heard they are very quick to re-act on claims, but can be cheap when it comes to totaling a vehicle or fixing it. Often times they will say fix it. I bought GAP insurance through another company to make sure it can be totaled out if worst comes to worst. I don't want to be driving on a off frame.

 

[Jimmy9190]

I had to go through my own insurance to get a rental car, but I picked up the rental at Enterprise today. I talked to an attorney's office today, they will help if the claim is medical, in other words if I or my girlfriend were injured from the wreck. When there are injuries involved there is more money awarded in a lawsuit, which can cover the amount of difference between what Allstate pays and what I owe on my truck. And truth be told, I may have some injury from the wreck, it may just be a sprain from slamming down on the clutch pedal when I hit the brakes and swerved when the at-fault driver pulled out in front of me, maybe it is not a simple sprain but my left ankle does hurt and started hurting right after the impact. The attorney's office set me up with a chiropractor, I saw them this afternoon and have to go for xrays next week. Chiropractor says I have limited range of motion in my neck. My girlfriend goes for her exam tomorrow.

Then the Allstate claims rep called, I told her I would not give a recorded statement and she asked if I had been injured in the wreck. I said I did not know if I am injured yet but I may be hiring an attorney to handle the claim. Then she went ahead and took my un-recorded statement about how the accident happened and said the case had to go to another rep who handles claims with injuries. The new rep has been very good. All of a sudden she is calling me for more details on the wreck and calling me again to let me know they have assumed 100% responsibility and they will accept the rental car charges and transfer it from Geico to Allstate, and that I can call the body shop to come get the truck. She also said the body shop I want to use is one of their approved facilities and has a very good reputation for quality work, and there is a quality guarantee on the repairs. She also said since I am using an authorized body shop there is no need to have the Allstate adjuster make an estimate on the damage and repairs.

So now I have to wait for an estimate and see if Allstate wants to total my truck or fix it. If they try to total it and give me some low-ball amount for it, then I will use the attorney. It sure is funny how I mention injury and attorney and all of a sudden Allstate snaps to and starts doing their job. All I want is my truck fixed and fixed correctly. If my ankle needs fixing or my gf sustained some injury I want that taken care of too. If Allstate won't do its job, maybe the attorney and the threat of a lawsuit can convince them to do it. It is a shame that we live in this kind of society. People ought to do the right thing the first time without being coerced into it.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190

So now I have to wait for an estimate and see if Allstate wants to total my truck or fix it. If they try to total it and give me some low-ball amount for it, then I will use the attorney.


If the cost of fixing your truck is too high and they decide to total it, don't accept less than retail value of your truck at your local market + tax + registration + any upgrade + extra if your truck is in outstanding condition. You can also negotiate in buying it back after they paid you to total it, to have it fixed with your money.

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
It sure is funny how I mention injury and attorney and all of a sudden Allstate snaps to and starts doing their job. All I want is my truck fixed and fixed correctly.


That how it works with many insurance companies, possible injury and involvement of an attorney will wake them up.