Insurance Claim Payout Question

[Croke]

Hi, I have a question I am really hoping someone could help answer for me. Recently, I was involved in a fender bender which was 100% the other person's fault. I filed a claim and his insurance company agreed that they were liable. They decided that my vehicle was a total loss and gave me 2 options: 1)they offered to buy my vehicle from me for a certain amount, or 2)they will give me a lesser amount, but I get to keep my vehicle and have to obtain a salvage title

About 3 years ago I started making some alterations to the vehicle, as I wanted to convert it into a camper. Basically, I stripped the entire interior of the rear of the vehicle (removed the seats, carpet, headliner, plastic molding etc). I also cut a 14"x14" hole in the roof and installed a roof fan and solar panels. This was the state the vehicle was in at the time of the accident.

Now, as far as I know, the insurance company sent out an independent investigator to evaluate the vehicle. This was done without my awareness, so I have no idea how that person conducted their investigation or what they looked at. They did not have access to the inside of the vehicle, but of course they may have took photos through the windows. But based on the investigator's findings, the insurance company determined an amount to offer me.

My question is, if I sell the vehicle to the insurance company for the amount they offered, can they then turn around and change the offer once they have better understanding of the condition? Please keep in mind that my vehicle is in the exact same condition as it was at the time of the accident.

 

[adjusterjack]

My question is, if I sell the vehicle to the insurance company for the amount they offered, can they then turn around and change the offer once they have better understanding of the condition?

No.

Once they pay you and take the vehicle and title, you're done.

If you want any adjustments to the amount offered you need to negotiate before you finalize the settlement.

Call your claim rep and find out how they arrived at the amount. My guess is that the amount was determined by taking comparable vehicles' values and deducting for the pre-loss "damage" you did to the vehicle.

PS: Keep all your discussion to this thread. Your other post has been reported for deletion as a duplicate.

 

[Croke]

Thank you for your reply, and sorry about making a duplicate thread (didn't realize that was a violation). I guess it just seems strange to me that they made the offer with such limited information. I mean, they don't even know if it runs. But that's on them I guess for not doing a more thorough investigation, I guess.

Should I remove the vent fan and solar panels before selling to them?

 

[adjusterjack]

Find out how they arrived at the number, then ask if you can remove the items.

 

[Newby]

Hi, I have a question I am really hoping someone could help answer for me. Recently, I was involved in a fender bender which was 100% the other person's fault. I filed a claim and his insurance company agreed that they were liable. They decided that my vehicle was a total loss and gave me 2 options: 1)they offered to buy my vehicle from me for a certain amount, or 2)they will give me a lesser amount, but I get to keep my vehicle and have to obtain a salvage title

About 3 years ago I started making some alterations to the vehicle, as I wanted to convert it into a camper. Basically, I stripped the entire interior of the rear of the vehicle (removed the seats, carpet, headliner, plastic molding etc). I also cut a 14"x14" hole in the roof and installed a roof fan and solar panels. This was the state the vehicle was in at the time of the accident.

Now, as far as I know, the insurance company sent out an independent investigator to evaluate the vehicle. This was done without my awareness, so I have no idea how that person conducted their investigation or what they looked at. They did not have access to the inside of the vehicle, but of course they may have took photos through the windows. But based on the investigator's findings, the insurance company determined an amount to offer me.

My question is, if I sell the vehicle to the insurance company for the amount they offered, can they then turn around and change the offer once they have better understanding of the condition? Please keep in mind that my vehicle is in the exact same condition as it was at the time of the accident.

They made an offer. You either accept it or you don’t.
If you think the offer is too low you make a counter offer of what you will accept and clearly state your reasoning why.

Once you accept an offer, you are done.
Jack’s, Smacks, no tag backs is the legal term I believe.

 

[adjusterjack]

Jack’s, Smacks, no tag backs

I never heard of that. Kindly explain the origin.

 

[Newby]

I never heard of that. Kindly explain the origin.

Once you reach an agreement, you are bound to it.
3rd grade trading baseball cards is where I think I learned it.

 

[adjusterjack]

3rd grade trading baseball cards is where I think I learned it.

You should write a Wikipedia article on it.

 

[Croke]

Thanks for your input, everyone. I'm going to go ahead and sell my van to the insurance company. They said they'd give me 7k for it. Despite all of your reassurances though, I am still worried that they'll pick it up, see that there are no seats, carpet, headliner etc and send me a bill to get some of their money back. But that's how it was when they made the offer, so I don't see how I can be accountable, unless they try to claim that I did that after they made the offer. Hopefully that doesn't happen. I just want to get rid of it and not have to deal with the headache of trying to obtain a salvage title and then sell it to a third party.

 

[Newby]

Thanks for your input, everyone. I'm going to go ahead and sell my van to the insurance company. They said they'd give me 7k for it. Despite all of your reassurances though, I am still worried that they'll pick it up, see that there are no seats, carpet, headliner etc and send me a bill to get some of their money back. But that's how it was when they made the offer, so I don't see how I can be accountable, unless they try to claim that I did that after they made the offer. Hopefully that doesn't happen. I just want to get rid of it and not have to deal with the headache of trying to obtain a salvage title and then sell it to a third party.

If you haven’t removed anything since they made the offer you should be good. They had the opportunity to inspect it.

I once had a school bus drive through my concrete block office building and knock out a wall. They agreed to a settlement with me the very next day with no physical inspection on their part.
Sometimes I think Insurance companies have even more money than politicians.