2007 Prius totaled, now fighting with insurance..need help

[kimgh]

Originally Posted by nwprius

nmrickie is right!! Your insurance company should reimburse you and then fight the other company for their repayment. That is the way mine works. That is what you pay insurance for.

When you are involved in an accident, even if it's not your fault, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS report it to your insurance company! This should be SOP. As several posters (including the one quoted above) have said, your insurance company can duke it out with the other person's company; you need all the allies you can get in this battle. Unless your state is different from mine, you should not have to hire a lawyer unless there is an injury claim also; your insurance company should have all the lawyers needed. If you need one, they probably will advise you of that.

I assume there was a police report on this accident. You should get a copy of that if you haven't already done so. The police department will charge you a small fee for the copy, but it's worth it to have, just in case you need it.

I have quite a few unfortunate incidents, and the above wisdom (if wisdom it is) was gleaned from those experiences.

Your insurance company is your friend in this case.

[narf]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.
I had opened a claim with my insurance company as a backup, I will bring them in if I can't get satisfaction with the other driver's company. I wasn't able to get a police report filed because the driver left the scene after exchanging information. (I asked him to stay but he refused). There is no issued with liability, everyone accepts the other driver is at fault. The big issue is proving the value of my car with virtually no used 2007 Prius' on the market, especially package 5 touring.

[RobertW]

Originally Posted by narf

I've had more close calls in this car than any other I have owned. I really liked the magentic grey color, but I think it's invisible in traffic, too close to the color of the road)

Going for a spin in a silver vehicle is much safer than any other colour of car - black, brown and green cars are the most dangerous
Silver cars are much less likely to be involved in a serious crash than cars of other colours, suggests a new study of over 1000 cars.

People driving in silver cars were 50 per cent less likely to suffer serious injury in a crash compared with drivers of white cars, the research in New Zealand found.

White, yellow, grey, red and blue cars carried about the same risk of injury. But those taking to the roads in black, brown or green cars were twice as likely to suffer a crash with serious injury.

[dwdean]

Originally Posted by narf

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.
I had opened a claim with my insurance company as a backup, I will bring them in if I can't get satisfaction with the other driver's company. I wasn't able to get a police report filed because the driver left the scene after exchanging information. (I asked him to stay but he refused). There is no issued with liability, everyone accepts the other driver is at fault. The big issue is proving the value of my car with virtually no used 2007 Prius' on the market, especially package 5 touring.

If you don't have a police report, then just let your insurance do their job and let them handle it. Seriously. Even with a police report and a cut and dry case, the other driver's insurance is going to try and eat you alive. Consider this scenario (and yes, this really happend to me):

• It's Sunday morning, we're on our patio in our bath robes having coffee and reading the paper.
• Both our cars are legally parked on private property in the driveway outside of the house. Neither car has been operated since sometime in the early evening on the previous Saturday.
• Suddenly, there's the sound of squeeling breaks and a very loud crash from the front of the house.
• We rush outside to find both of our cars now crushed together, sitting on the lawn with a Land Cruiser embedded in the passenger side of one of them.

Long story short, this is a three car accident, where two of the cars were parked and the respective drivers weren't even thinking about operating them. All the fault was clearly with the driver of the Land Cruiser. A police report was filed.

For as cut and dry as that case was, the other driver's insurance company tried to tell my insurance company that I was 20% at fault for the accident. According to them, I shouldn't have parked in my driveway.....Even with my insurance company fighting on my side, this took a considerable effort to get straightened out (and alot of forceful assertions along the lines of "I won't assume any responsiblity for this whatsoever".)

Maybe you'll have better luck, but there are really times that it's best to let the pro's do what we pay them for....to me, this sounds like one of those times.

Best of luck to you!

[kimgh]

Originally Posted by dwdean

If you don't have a police report, then just let your insurance do their job and let them handle it. Seriously. Even with a police report and a cut and dry case, the other driver's insurance is going to try and eat you alive. Consider this scenario (and yes, this really happend to me):

• It's Sunday morning, we're on our patio in our bath robes having coffee and reading the paper.
• Both our cars are legally parked on private property in the driveway outside of the house. Neither car has been operated since sometime in the early evening on the previous Saturday.
• Suddenly, there's the sound of squeeling breaks and a very loud crash from the front of the house.
• We rush outside to find both of our cars now crushed together, sitting on the lawn with a Land Cruiser embedded in the passenger side of one of them.

Long story short, this is a three car accident, where two of the cars were parked and the respective drivers weren't even thinking about operating them. All the fault was clearly with the driver of the Land Cruiser. A police report was filed.

For as cut and dry as that case was, the other driver's insurance company tried to tell my insurance company that I was 20% at fault for the accident. According to them, I shouldn't have parked in my driveway.....Even with my insurance company fighting on my side, this took a considerable effort to get straightened out (and alot of forceful assertions along the lines of "I won't assume any responsiblity for this whatsoever".)

Maybe you'll have better luck, but there are really times that it's best to let the pro's do what we pay them for....to me, this sounds like one of those times.

Best of luck to you!

Man, that's outrageous! Glad that was resolved the "correct" way!

I had a lawyer once tell me that "law is what you boldly proclaim and cautiously defend." This looks like a perfect example of that maxim, though it seems carried a bit far in this case.

Maybe you can't blame them for trying!

[narf]

Well, I've turned it over to my insurance company. Time for them to earn their premiums. The good news is my new 2008 Package 6 Touring arrived today, only 1 week after I ordered it.

[Bill Merchant]

Congratulations, Narf! What color?

[dwdean]

Originally Posted by narf

Well, I've turned it over to my insurance company. Time for them to earn their premiums. The good news is my new 2008 Package 6 Touring arrived today, only 1 week after I ordered it.

Congrats!

Hopefully everything continues to work out for you.

[peldering]

Had a similar experience with a totaled BMW - in showroom condition - a few years ago. Told carrier:
1 - Unacceptable.....find me a BMW....same color, same mileage......within ten days.....pay for rental.....and planning to get attorney.
2 - pay $xxxx, which I deemed fair value.....
End result....they came back with offer within $400 of 2)....and as my attorney said " my fee will be more, take it".....I did, but insisted they tell me how they arrived at their earlier figure......which they explained as average of 3 area dealers and the local dealer "low balled" needless to say I will never go to that dealer .....Now have a 2007 #6 touring and am delighted! Good luck

[narf]

Originally Posted by Bill Merchant

Congratulations, Narf! What color?

Thanks Bill,

I ended up with a Blue (seaside pearl I think, the old metallic Blue color) Touring package 6. Just what I wanted. Same color as my first Prius. Dark grey leather. I never really liked leather, something about sitting on dead cow skin and all that, but I've got to say it's way nicer than fabric interior. I think that the seats, door panels and arm rests will probably stay cleaner and show way less wear.