insurance- after the wreck

[1000kva]

My Girlfriend just got home from turning her Volvo into an accordion.Luckily she is fine, the other driver was at fault. I have never really been involved in dealing with the insurance run around after a car has been totaled. At this point my GF can't afford a new car so she is going to have to take whatever the other insurance will say her car is worth. And no, unfortunately her car is not close enough in value to be "replaced" by a 90. I am not looking to get her a new Bentley out of it but I also don't want a Yugo sitting in my driveway.If anyone has been in this situation I would appreciate your feedback/strategy.

[rover4x4]

Get a really good lawyer and sue the bad guy if youre that type of person. That being said, Land Rovers are cheap.

[woldd90]

Do your homework before talking with the insurance company... Research Kbb.com and edmunds.com to find out the car's value. You can use this to negotiate with them.

She can go to the doctor and get some medical money, but the best option is to negotiate a fair deal. If it comes to it, you can get a lawyer, but no one really wins and part of the settlement goes to the lawyer.

[bharris]

was the volvo fully covered or just liability? If it was fully covered then you can get your insurance to pipe in on what it was worth because they are on the line to you for the vehicle even if it's the other guys fault so they'll push the other guys insurance... if you just let the other insurance say what it's worth they'll low-ball the hell out of you. (I had my bmw rear-ended by a F-350 traveling at 65mph while I was stopped in traffic.... yea... done deal).

Of course state laws vary a lot so your experience may be drastically different from mine (I was in California at the time).

[1000kva]

Yeah, I am not looking to get anything that is not honest- I am not a huge fan of unnecessary use of lawyers. I can and have used them if I see a use for them. But I view them as a necessary evil kind like the whole nuclear Mutually Assured Destruction stuff we used to have, or more appropriately two little kids arguing about how "my dad can kick your dads A$$"

I was more looking for the don't accept their first offer- come back with this counter offer and here's why type of data.
Brad yours sound like what happened to her but she ended up getting smashed between two big SUV's

[Rugbier]

Yeah, I am not looking to get anything that is not honest- I am not a huge fan of unnecessary use of lawyers. I can and have used them if I see a use for them. But I view them as a necessary evil kind like the whole nuclear Mutually Assured Destruction stuff we used to have, or more appropriately two little kids arguing about how "my dad can kick your dads A$$"

I was more looking for the don't accept their first offer- come back with this counter offer and here's why type of data.
Brad yours sound like what happened to her but she ended up getting smashed between two big SUV's


I believe Florida is a NO FAULT STATE, therefore, it doesn't matter who hits who.
If you don't have stated value for your vehicle, the best you could try to get is a product between NADA abd KBB values. If you have receipts for recent add ons / or repairs, you might make a case to get a little more.

Sadly, on the recommendations of medical claims, your PIP is the max your physician would get.

here are the links to do some homework

www.nadaguides.com (http://www.nadaguides.com)

www.kbb.com (http://www.kbb.com)

good luck

[bharris]

in a no fault state you should work directly with your own insurance... which is good as they have a vested interest in keeping you happy and you should get NADA/KBB value for it. If you have problems beyond this there are several companies around that will do an independent value assessment and will argue on your behalf (before lawyers are involved too)...

[Craigd]

My wife totaled two cars and both times the insurance company provided us with blue book values, information from car dealerships that were selling the same vehicle and ads from the newspaper from private parties selling the same vehicle. They then gave us a figue somewhere in the middle. Overall I thought it was a fair way to do it and I felt like I got the right amount.