Sean and Randall,
USAA is a rather large insurer in the US. that started out by insuring
military personnel only.
It has a rather good reputation for handling claims, however this does not
mean that you should not follow Randall's excellent advice. Should you be
disgusted w/ USAA's claims handling, you may ask your insurer to pay under
the terms of your policy. They will then subrogate your rights, (which is
Latin for (Don't ask me)) and ask the other insurer for the money they paid
to you. You'll have to stand your deductible until such time as the other
ins. co. wants to reimburse you.
I had to do this on several occasions when I was younger(and was in a few
accidents). My TR6 was hit by a fruit truck when it was 6 days old. The
insurer for the fruity driver asked me to come to their drive thru claims
office where they wrote up an estimate that included used parts and repair
(meaning bondo at that time.) I told them to P off- the car was 6 days old-
new parts or no deal. They stood by their estimate which was about $1,000
low, as I recall. Went to my insurer, they agreed on new parts, paid my
deductible to the body shop and off I went. Turns out that my insurer only
asked the other (fruity) co. for what they put out and not for my
deductible. Something about legalities, yada, yada.
Sued the B*&*#&$ds and they wrote me a check the next day. I would not like
to have been the ins. agent on the day that the fruity co. got my summons.
He, he. AFAIK, it is against the law in nearly every state to be shunted to
a particular repair shop.
To misquote Garrison Keillor, - Have fun, take care, and keep in touch!
Jeff Johnson '76 TR6 (slightly bruised at birth) the car -not me
BTW, if you feel like suing- go to small claims court- for a small fee you
can sue for up to $15,000 in some states- no attorney needed. W/ apologies
to Jim Altman,Ken Gano, and Steve Thornton, among other attorneys on the
list.
At 03:51 PM 2/23/02 -0800, Randall Young wrote:
> > I am wondering if anyone has some suggestions on how I need to
> > deal with this.
>
>Sean, I've no experience with either of the companies you mention, but my
>advice would be to start by taking the car to an independent body shop
>(preferably 2 or 3) and getting a repair estimate. This is an estimate to
>return the car to the condition it was in before it was hit, _don't_ ask for
>any extras at this point. Be sure to discuss things like are they going to
>replace the bonnet and bumper, and who they are going to buy the parts from.
>Assuming the parts weren't new before, you are not entitled to new
>replacement parts, but you are entitled to "like in type and kind".
>
>Then write a letter to both insurance companies (IMO this step should be in
>writing), listing all the relevant facts and the estimated repair costs.
>Obviously, USAA should cover the repair, but you should still notify your
>insurance carrier. If you have comprehensive insurance, your carrier may
>even subrogate your claim, meaning they pay you and then they go after the
>other company.
>
>Note that some companies will try to get you to have the car repaired at
>their facility. I believe by law they cannot force you to use their
>facility (or refuse to pay the full amount at an independent), although
>perhaps that's only true in California.
>
>Randall
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