Auto insurance company won't pay garage storage fee?
I have a full coverage for my car…and due to an accident (no-fault accident, hit and run on highway, and still under investigation), the car was damaged a lot and my insurance company decided not to fix it for me and just pay me the value of the car.
The process of getting the value of the car, deciding whether to fix it or not, salvage value…and so on….it took about 1 month.
Meanwhile, my car was in a local garage where the police officer called when the accident happened. I told my insurance company that my car was towed to this local garage, and asked them to get it from there (I called them while I was in ER)
I thought they took care of it…but now looking at the settlement, my insurance company charged me $3,000 for local garage storage fee. (The garage charged my insurance company, and eventually I had to pay for it.)
Does it make any sense? My insurance company decided to leave my car at this local garage. If I knew I had to pay about $3,000 for my car parked at this ramdom local garage, I probably asked them to tow the car to my backyard!!!
I am trying to call the claim adjuster and talk to her. But since the settlement letter was sent to me, she is extremely hostile and treats me like a piece of ****. She thinks everything is finished and she has no more business with me about this accident. She was almost screaming at me on the phone when I asked to look at the settlement again….
Should I talk to a lawyer or call the State department for insurance settlement and reopen the case? I don't have a car now and I owe $3000 to the garage….even though I had a full coverage insurance? (but the way, this is after $500 deductibles that I paid)
I don't understand! please help
thank you
thank you so much for your help.
I just found that another settlement document that my insurance company sent me about 2 weeks ago. On that paper, they did not deduct the $3000 for storage fee.
About 2 weeks later, they decided to amend the settlement (of course, I wasn't informed!) and sent me the one with $3000 deduction. I guess they realized that they paid too much money to the garage and changed their mind and made me pay.
I think I will talk to a lawyer who is a good friend of mine and see what he thinks. If he thinks it is better to have a lawyer on my side, I will go for it even though it will cost me at least $1000. I am very furious about how badly the insurance company treated me although I was their customer for more than 7 years with no accident and no tickets whatsoever! I really wish to speak up but no one is listening…so I might just gor for a lawyer
Thank you all for your wonderful answers. I wish I can choose all as the best answers. thanks!!!
Atlanta Salvage Yards
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Comments on Auto insurance company won't pay garage storage fee?
5:55 am
Atlanta Salvage Yards
Talk to your agent. They don't have much control over the claim situation, but they do have a relationship with the company they represent. If that doesn't work try to contact a district rep for the company. The agent and the district rep are selling the products of your company and trying to retain clients. They should be able to get somewhere with someone and at least report back to you what they have found (without yelling at you).
You can even try to go above the claim adjuster that was assigned to your case and talk to a claims manager. Just explain that they need to pay for a bill that mistakenly got sent to you. Ask for the information on where to send the bill and do so in a calm manner. It should not matter that the claim is closed, there was a bill that was not accounted for and that's too bad for the insurance company. You were advised by the adjuster that they would take care of everything so you did not move your car from the tow yard. The fact that they paid you off for your car implies that they took ownership (to some degree) of the vehicle. I would guess that you even signed a document before they gave you the check that said that you are signing over the vehicle to them.
The last option is to check with the Insurance Commissioner in your state. Maybe they can shed some light on the subject.
1:52 am
Atlanta Salvage Yards
You need to first call your agent.
This situation may or may not be unreasonable. The insurance company IS on the hook for REASONABLE storage fees, from the time of the accident, until they cut you a check for the total loss. Reasonable, is usually $20 to $30 a day.
So what you have to look at, is 1. what was the daily rate the garage was charging? If it was $100 a day, would this guy negotiate it downwards? 2. how soon after she paid you for the car, did you send the title and the insurance company take it to the junkyard?
I would ask your agent, to have the adjuster decline to pay storage fees, IN WRITING, and quote the applicable policy parts. If they can't/won't do that, THEN you need to file a complaint, with your state insurance commissioner. Worst case, you can ask about an attorney, for a 'bad faith' insurance claim. In any case, keep a log of your phone calls, date, time, who you talked to or left a message with, and a summary.
I agree – you're getting the short end of the stick here.
2:47 pm
Atlanta Salvage Yards
i believe the insurance company dropped the ball and is trying to weasal out of this. when they found out about the $3,000, the adjuster would have been in hot water.
when the cop towed to this garage the insurance company would know where it was since they had to have someone go out and inspect it. they determined after a certain amount of time that your car would cost more to repair vs total it. a good appraiser will note or ask the garage if they charge storage fees and note to the adjuster.
also once a car is deemed totaled, most companies will tow to a salvage yard asap to reduce storage fees, since they have an agreement with the insurance company.
even thought it took over 30 days which is not uncommon on autos that are not deemed either totaled or repairable, someone should have questioned you if you were aware of the storage costs and that you need to move it.
usually the insurance company sends out a mitigation letter which states you have to get your car moved to stop incurring storage. did you receive any letters from them on this?
also; most insurance companies eat the storage fees as part of settling your claim w/in reason; note another reason for the mitigation letter. a lot of them will send the letter certified mail as a back up. if they did and it is returned back signed, you could be sol.
unless you totally ignored them about moving your car, they might be on the hook for this one.
my suggestion; dont call the adjuster back, but call customer service and ask the name of this adjusters supervisor or manager. they will review the file to determine if the adjuster did what they were supposed to.
if no response or solution, file a complaint with the insurance department in your state. they have to review all complaints and file a response.
if that does not work, then hire an lawyer. the lawyer will most likely file a bad faith suit against your insurance company if it can be shown valid;
good luck