Goodbye For Now

[Left Coast Geek]

assuming you have full comprehensive/collision style insurance, I would expect your insurance company to pay out for the car less deductible, go after the responsible party, and if they collect, refund you the deductible. It probably depends on who this parking lot was owned by, and how official the parking use was. Many parking lots have posted 'at your own risk' signs, whereupon there's very little chance of your insurance collecting anything.

 

[SyndicateZ]

assuming you have full comprehensive/collision style insurance, I would expect your insurance company to pay out for the car less deductible, go after the responsible party, and if they collect, refund you the deductible. It probably depends on who this parking lot was owned by, and how official the parking use was. Many parking lots have posted 'at your own risk' signs, whereupon there's very little chance of your insurance collecting anything.

So pay a lawyer $3000 to collect a $500 deductible?

 

[HILLY]

assuming you have full comprehensive/collision style insurance, I would expect your insurance company to pay out for the car less deductible, go after the responsible party, and if they collect, refund you the deductible. It probably depends on who this parking lot was owned by, and how official the parking use was. Many parking lots have posted 'at your own risk' signs, whereupon there's very little chance of your insurance collecting anything.

So far sounding like whatever I get from insurance is where I'm at. I subscribe to an Allstate Legal service through my work (like health ins) and as soon as I described the incident and also told them no one was hurt, they were immediate and blunt that it is an insurance comprehensive matter. Talking to others that have had accidents, etc., that have solicited a lawyer still ended up paying a good portion of the proceeds to their fees.

 

[GixxerJasen]

Just do your homework and know the comparables and ask for the reports they are using. Lots of websites out there to walk you through it. Insurance companies are for profit and they do so by charging as much for their services as they can while paying out as little as possible. What they offer IS negotiable and with a little knowledge you can increase that pretty easily. That first offer is a lowball offer because they know most folks will take it and not question it.

 

[Fastcar]

Your insurance should make you whole. Just a matter of establishing it's value.

 

[Mr Big]

If the vehicle gets totaled, they will pay out the full appraised amount. Unfortunately, I have found for some reason, Expeditions do not hold their value. I was going to trade it in on an EV SUV lease. They offered me $23,500 for my 2019 mint Platinum and they offered $25,400 for my Explorer Base model. So, it seems Explorers hold their value and Expeditions don't.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

So pay a lawyer $3000 to collect a $500 deductible?

the insurance company is paying the lawyer (who's probably on staff), and they're collecting whatever they paid out to you.

 

[GixxerJasen]

If the vehicle gets totaled, they will pay out the full appraised amount.

They will do research and find comparable vehicles listed for sale. Then they will take the three lowest priced ones and use them for their valuation of your vehicle. By asking for that particular report you can check and see if they indeed compare with your vehicle. In my particular case I had them throw some out. One wasn't in my region and that makes it not comparable, the other one had twice the miles on it. You should also be able to request a third party appraisal and they should have to pay for it.

If you take their first offer without a little investigative work, then you are losing the game. If you choose not to play the game, just remember they are still playing it, and you still lose. Most folks won't take the time to do a little research and just take the check and they know it. It pays well to check your rights in your particular area to see what you are entitled to.

 

[2018ExpyPlatinum]

They offered me $23,500 for my 2019 mint Platinum

Well, I don't feel bad at my $30K offer on my 2018 (pending mileage on both). Value is so low, it's almost not worth getting rid of.

 

[Benztech]

Having just gone through all this for my wife's Expy my takeaway is this: Take an average price of what equivalent optioned and mileage Expys near you, and see if the offer is reasonable. It might never seem to be a great offer because of personal time and emotion invested in the car but you shouldn't walk away feeling ripped off. My insurance company (Erie) used a third party for the report. Based on what I thought was fair price there were higher and lower values on the report (8 cars in total). They did not use the three cheapest for their offer in my case. I felt their offer was reasonable (not way off) but a little low and I explained why. They came up another $1500-2000 I believe. That was very fair for what listed vehicles were advertised for.