Car insurance is trying to screw me! Need legal/insurance related advice!?

sixoneurdun

Get away from Geico

as soon as possible.

you'll never be compensated for lost time.

you can take legal action against anyone for anything, the question is, is it worth it.

I think your going to have to take whatever they give you unless you have money to burn and know a good lawyer.

Live and learn get a new insurance company.

Geico donates money to the state police to buy laser radar guns saying it increases road safety.

Isaac

Tough situation. I have to say, Geico really impressed me on an issue I had. I think you're agent is the issue, maybe ask to talk to manager, then up, then up. then up....

CwboyBill

Your first line of defense is to chill-out. A calm, professional will get much more respect than someone that is ranting (trust me, screamers are laughed at by the whole claims floor..). You need to request to speak to a manager, NOT the adjuster. Explain the entire situation and tell him/her that you have picked a shop of your choice for the corrective repairs. Here's the tricky part. You all need to be on the same page when it comes to corrective repairs. You can't expect GEICO to pay more than the prevailing competetive rates at ANY shop and the one you choose has to be sensible about it -- they can't just say 'the whole job has to be completely redone using all brand new GM parts and it will cost $8,000.' If you and the shop owner approach the problem logically and come up with a reasonable solution then getting your vette back to specs should be no problem. Forget about legal help. GEICO has an army of lawyers on staff and yours won't scare them one tiny bit -- besides, if you even HINT that you are going to hire a lawyer your entire file will be transfereed to their legal dept and it could be months before your car is repaired. Stay professional, be reasonable and keep asking for managers until you get an answer that makes sense. GEICO has no interest in NOT getting good repairs for your car or being unfair. Sometimes you can get a real dud for an adjuster but there are plenty of other people at GEICO you can reach out to.

Firebird

That is a really good question. I hadn't thought about it, but if you have a collectible car, you'd prefer to be at fault, wouldn't you? Hmmm...

I wonder if any of the collector car insurance companies cover that somehow. There needs to be a "no thanks" clause, for when some soccer mom insurance company insists putting your collector's item in a body shop that paints hondas and minivans.

shjf47

MBRCATZ1 has the correct answer.If you do go to court, sue the other driver, NOT Geico. Geico will probably be in court with their insured. Take all paperwork pertaining to your claim, along with pictuers before the accident and after each attemped repair.

nightroddude

First of all, you have the right to choose which body shop you want to go to. But, as stated previously, if the work performed on your vehicle by the body shop you chose is defective, the problem will be between you and them (compared to using one of Geico's bodyshop where the work performed will be guaranteed). I am sure Geico has other bodyshops who are fully capable of helping you. Remember, the insurance company's responsibility is to bring your car back to as close as it can to what it used to be before the collision... nothing less, nothing more. And contrary to popular belief, majority of the insurance companies, especially the big ones like Farmers, Statefarm, Allstate, are very fair about settling claims, sometimes too fair. It's NOT to their advantage to low-ball claims.

As for totaling the vehicle, YOU don't really have control of that. The insurance company will NOT fix your car if it will cost more to fix it than its fair market value. Also, remember your car is approaching 23 years old and did not qualify to be a collectible. I will therefore recommend that you at least find out what the fair market value is. What happens if for example your car's FMV is $7000 and the bodyshop you want to take it to says it'll cost $8000 to fix it? Of course, you can always try to see if you can win in a small claims court against the driver that hit you.

Work with the adjuster, be calm and be fair as well and don't expect a brand new 1985 Corvette. Good luck.

earnwin3

I would ask to speak with the manager at the claims office. Explain to him the situation. I would recommend you don't scream and yell, just calmly explain the situation. State that you have taken it to their shops a couple times and they haven't fixed it correctly and you feel uncomfortable taking it to their shops any longer. State that you would like to take it to a shop of your choice that specializes in fixing your type of vehicle and ask geico if they can have an adjuster meet with you and your shop to show and discuss the problem. Hopefully, once geico and your shop discuss what still needs to be fixed, have geico pay the shop for their work. Keep in mind though once you take it to a shop of your choice if they still mess it up at that point it is between you and the shop. Geico will no longer be able to back up any work since you no longer had it repaired at one of their shops.

esmy72

Ask to speak with the claims manager. If that doesn't work, file a complaint with the Department of Insurance & the Better Business Bureau. BBB will have someone from the Bureau of Automotive Repair inspect your vehicle and possibly meet with you at the repair facility. They will usually allow the original body shop the opportunity to properly repair the vehicle, in this case, they've already made two attempts and failed. Since the shop was recommended by the adjuster, the insurance company may have to pay to have the work re-done.

Good Luck!

mbrcatz

Gotcha, Geico is the insurer of the other guy.

Well, my recommendation is, go through your OWN insurance company, and then let them chase the money for you. If you have no collision, though, then you have to chase it on your own.

I understand that you do NOT want this vehicle totalled out - however, the LEGAL OBLIGATION of the other party, is THE LESSER OF cost to repair, or actual cash value. So, legally, they aren't required to repair your car, if the cost of finding the parts or getting the repairs done, exceed the value of the car. That's what "total loss" means. You ALWAYS have the option to take that total value and add money to it, to FIX your car back up.

Keep in mind, the adjuster you are dealing with is NOT "your adjuster". He's the other guy's adjuster. The other guy's insurance - aka Geico - has NO duty of good faith towards you. Legally, they don't have to pay you A DIME until after a judge says tehy do. SO, legally, if you don't like what they're offering you - sue the driver in court.

Additionally, I would NOT go to body shop unless I had faith in that shop. That doesn't mean, however, that the other guy is obligated to pay a labor rate of $200 an hour. Any extra labor rate is YOUR responsibility. Usual and customary varies, but should be under $45 an hour in most places, for body work. That's why it might be worth it to just put the claim in to YOUR insurer, and let them chase it down.

One last thing to keep in mind . . .Geico's obligation to pay you ceases after they hit the property damage liability limit on their insured's policy.

Insuranceman

Saved 15% in 15 minutes, eh?!!?!!

That, my friend, is what we in Texas call:

"THE GEICO GOTCHA!"

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