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Insurance Adjuster Trying To Lowball You? Not Any More! Here's A Sample Letter That'll Get You What You Deserve! - plus - A Tremendous Resource For Consumers Doing Battle With The Insurance Company
November 29, 2001
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Dear Ben: My parked car was recently in an auto accident. No one was in it at the time, so no one was injured. I just spoke with the other person's insurance company telling me that the repair cost is more than the car is worth. They're giving me the option of taking it as a salvage vehicle or to declare the vehicle as a total loss. The pre-accident value of my car (via Kelly Bluebook) is +/- $6,700. What (or how much) can I negotiate while trying to settle with the insurance company? I don’t want to add more debt for a new car; especially since I implemented a debt reduction plan last year and would have been completely out of consumer debt by the end of 2003.
Kevin N., via e-mail
Dear Kevin: Congratulations on framing (and executing) a methodical debt elimination plan! However, your dilemma spotlights something I frequently discuss: The "X" factor, also known by the term "Life happens." The best intentioned plans many times get shot down because of unforeseen events like yours. With that tidbit of wisdom and perspective out of the way, let’s arm you with a strategy to get what you deserve from the insurance company.
Remember: Insurance is the only product we pay for and hope we never have to use. And the goal of the insurance claims adjuster is to pay out as little as possible, period. That’s why I called on the skills of a man generally perceived as a major thorn in the side of the insurance industry, crisis management expert Ron Alford. Ron’s been teaching consumers how to get what they’re rightly owed by insurance companies across the nation for years: "Ben, your reader needs to make the owner of the car that caused the accident accountable and force them to put the heat of their insurance company to pay up. Here’s one of my letters (to be sent via Certified Mail/Return Receipt Requested) that always works when doing battle with the insurance company:
Dear (Owner of the Car that Killed My Car):
At the time you destroyed my vehicle it was NOT for sale and it is still not for sale to your insurance company. Inasmuch as your insurer (whoever) has contacted me to settle this matter they have done nothing more or less but to insult my intelligence and to squander my good and valuable time with inane offers that don't begin to solve the issues caused by your actions or inactions.
Be advised that every day your insurer continues the charade, ongoing damages are mounting in the form of lost time, lost opportunities and other money damages of which you are legally liable. After having invested (pick the right number: 2-3-4) days of my life searching for an acceptable vehicle, I have finally located a suitable replacement. This vehicle will cost $7,421.00 plus tax, plus license, plus reimbursement for the time I lost being forced to find it. To settle this matter, I will accept $8,921.00 within 5 days of your receipt of this letter, or my losses will continue to occur, inasmuch as I am without a car and my time is still being squandered until this matter is settled.
I trust that you will advise your insurers of its responsibility and that I have no intention of allowing them to continue to stonewall or harass me in any form without paying for all fair and reasonable recovery costs.
Sincerely,
(The Victim signs their name here)
Trust me Ben, this letter will get the insurance company to the table and force the process of settling in good faith.
Dose of Dover For The Week: I devoted this entire column to this subject (which I urge you to clip and save) because some day, you’ll need this information. Ron Alford has written several books about—and made a career from—showing consumers how to play hardball with insurance companies, and win! I discovered Ron’s organization (Disaster Masters) a few years ago while researching a story on getting insurance companies to pay off on total losses such as burned out/burned down homes (and their contents). Sooner or later, you or someone you know will need his information in your pursuit of a fair settlement from an insurance company; bookmark his website: www.ronalford.com
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