Car Written Off? Negotiating With Insurance?

[Feruk]

My car's been written off as a result of hail damage. Insurance said my car is worth X and gave me two choices: either take Y (almost X) and they take the car, or take Z (~25% lower than X) and keep the car.

How do I know they're giving me a fair X value? Based on Autotrader comparison, I think they're underestimating (big shock, right?). I heard about "black book" value of car? Is this related, and if so, how do I obtain the value? Will insurance negotiate, and what should my approach be to get the best value for my now beater?

There's lots of websites on this, some with contradictory information. I have zero experience so I figured I'd ask Beyond.

[G-ZUS]

See what they are going for with similar mileage on Kijiji and Autotrader, screen shot those ads and send them back to the adjuster and tell him/her its worth more than what they offer

[Xtrema]

Canadian Black Book will give you an estimate of value.

Autotrader is asking, not selling. Unless your car is super rare, insurance seldom take list prices on classified services. But doesn't hurt to do what G-Zus suggest and see if they will bite.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by Xtrema
Canadian Black Book will give you an estimate of value.

Autotrader is asking, not selling. Unless your car is super rare, insurance seldom take list prices on classified services. But doesn't hurt to do what G-Zus suggest and see if they will bite.

When my vehicle got written off in February, the adjuster went on those 2 sites and priced my car out. I was able to send her a few ads which got me another $500 out of her

[Feruk]

Additional question: If I keep the car, the salvage they are taking is 21%. How is this number decided and can I argue it?

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by Feruk
Additional question: If I keep the car, the salvage they are taking is 21%. How is this number decided and can I argue it?

I am not sure how they come up with that number, but I bought mine back for 10%. The car may be declared salvage and you may need a salvage inspection once you buy it back.

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by Feruk
Additional question: If I keep the car, the salvage they are taking is 21%. How is this number decided and can I argue it?

Who are you with?

With TD the salvage amount is the amount they will get for the car from salvage. Non-negotiable according to my adjuster.

[Masked Bandit]

To some extent it is a negotiation and not a dictatorship, but you've got to be reasonable. If you have legitimate evidence that your particular car is actually worth more than the assessed value, the adjuster should be willing to review with you. However something goofy like "hey man, I've got this sick exhaust system, that's worth $2g, and I just filled it with gas"...lol...well that isn't going to get you anywhere.

In your example, I'm assuming Y is simply X minus your deductible?

What kind of guidance has your broker given you?

[Blue]

Look on autotrader and kijiji. Find the car that's similar to yours ex) km, options etc and
Send it to your insurance. That's what I did for my x5 when it was written off

[Feruk]

I'm with TD.

Y is actually X minus deductible plus GST. Those two (deductible/GST) balance out so Y is pretty much X. I have no broker. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna keep the car as the damage is 100% cosmetic, I just want to get the maximum value for it.

One annoying thing is the comparable cars (same model from that year) all have way more mileage than mine on autotrader. Can I throw in cars from following year with similar mileage?

[ExtraSlow]

I have had two vehicles written off by TD. Both times the offer was totally fair IMO. Although, both were relatively common vehicles, and pretty low value.

[blownz]

Always negotiable. And if you had extras like tinted windows, 3M, etc, they should pay for that as well.

I recently had my F10 535 written off and from the original offer to what I accepted was a difference of over $8K.

Try finding the exact car (preferably at a dealership) and tell them you are going to pick it up and the dealer offered you $x off the price and the insurance company needs to match that. Worked for me (after a fair amount of back and forth arguing lol).

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by Feruk
I'm with TD.

Y is actually X minus deductible plus GST. Those two (deductible/GST) balance out so Y is pretty much X. I have no broker. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna keep the car as the damage is 100% cosmetic, I just want to get the maximum value for it.

One annoying thing is the comparable cars (same model from that year) all have way more mileage than mine on autotrader. Can I throw in cars from following year with similar mileage?

One thing to confirm is if it was a write off and you keep it TD told me they won't cover any sort of collision or Comprehensive coverage on the car.

Also ask your adjuster to send you the Valuation report used to evaluate the value of your car.

On the one they sent me there were 11 comparable cars used to determine my value (all same year make and model).

[Feruk]

Originally posted by lasimmon
One thing to confirm is if it was a write off and you keep it TD told me they won't cover any sort of collision or Comprehensive coverage on the car.

Also ask your adjuster to send you the Valuation report used to evaluate the value of your car.

Yes, I'd only be eligible 3rd party liability, which (I think?) is fine. My insurance would also drop nearly 50% as a result.

I will ask for report for sure.

[BAB Inc]

The difference between you arguing with them and what they are giving you is usually a small amount. If your hurting for the extra few hundred then:

Post add on kijiji, similar year make model, post it for a few thousand more than what they are giving you, print add and sent to adjuster

Now get 3 of your friends to do the same thing and then you can stop worrying about the few hundred bux that they are ripping you off for.

The only way your are going to get a substantial amount of money from them is to be a criminal like them.

BTW: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME PPL

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by BAB Inc
The difference between you arguing with them and what they are giving you is usually a small amount. If your hurting for the extra few hundred then:

Post add on kijiji, similar year make model, post it for a few thousand more than what they are giving you, print add and sent to adjuster

Now get 3 of your friends to do the same thing and then you can stop worrying about the few hundred bux that they are ripping you off for.

The only way your are going to get a substantial amount of money from them is to be a criminal like them.

BTW: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME PPL

[dirtsniffer]

Originally posted by Feruk
Can I throw in cars from following year with similar mileage?

Yes you can, you should search for the same body style regardless of year, then sort of average between years, mileage, trim level, and condition.* I've done this on several occasions with success, usually the adjuster will take between 5% and 10% off the asking price to determine value though.

*Only pretending to be an expert.

[ee2k]

Do negotiate, have nothing to lose. When mine was written off I had Insurance adjuster give me the report from whoever did the assessment. Their assessment includes comparables from Autotrader, which I looked up myself and drew up differences between my car and the ones they listed and used that as leverage:
- new tires
- new brakes
- clean
- lower mileage

All in all I got an additional $1300 more out of it. I was surprised at how easy it was. Negotiate in good faith, and they will do the same.

[hampstor]

Is the adjustor from TD or contracted by TD? Recent negotiation i helped with required the intervention from the insurance broker since the adjustor was a fucking tool from claims adjustor shop. In the end we got what we wanted (was a reasonable ask to begin with). We used auto trader and kijiji as reference points.

[dirtsniffer]

you could also get the claims manager involved as well.