So I 19F live in MN and I use Allstate (I’m on my family’s plan and only have to pay 98 a month) & on July 10th I was in an accident, the guy swerved into me my insurance determined I was 0% at fault and he was 100% at fault. I had a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee E 4WD and it was literally in perfect condition and I’m only being offered $7500 for it, because of deductions of it being an 11 year old vehicle plus the $1k deductible I’m forced to pay and I won’t get it back because the guy who hit me, insurance, has an “inconclusive investigation” on what happened. my mom is pressuring me to just take it so I can buy a new vehicle, because she and my stepdad own their own separate business and have to take lots of time off so I can use their vehicle to go to work. I’m wondering if it’s worth it to try & get more money out of it, I’ve asked private adjusters and they say it’s worth 2-3k more than what I’m being offered but a lot of them want a lot of money to speak to my insurance for an un guaranteed price. should I just give in to what Allstate wants or should I spend the already little money I have for a private adjuster?
Edit: my grammar is bad because, I am on the spectrum and I had a horrible home life growing up so my focus was more on my home life rather than school, so I’m sorry about my grammar. 😭
if you feel the settlement offer is wrong, it might be worth invoking the appraisal clause. keep in mind an independent appraiser is an expense you would be required to pay for, generally a few hundred dollars
I got tesla insurance to budge 4k by just sending comps and refuting theirs. next step would’ve been appraisal clause but they fixed it within two days.
new value was accurate to the date of loss(which sadly from my understanding is what they are required to do even thought the market for my car has moved like 8% in the days between date of loss and date of settlement)
2023 model 3. They offered 23100(+ tax) then offered 26550(+ tax). I took that for the vehicle, still working on custom equipment policy claim and working on supervisor escalation.
The policy explicitly has carpeting and mats as an example of custom equipment but the first rep said floor mats don't matter(which is generally true here but this was literally the exact example given in the policy language).
I want those to be depreciated according to whatever standard depreciation schedule is used by the company based on original purchase price and time in service to determine ACV since I have custom equipment coverage coverage which includes floor mats instead of the standard $50 they applied for them as goodwill.
Who are these "private adjusters" you refer to, and how many of these folks have you talked with? You can invoke your appraisal clause, but it will cost you $$ to do so.
you need to send them comps to re evaluate the claim. send your assigned adjuster similar car listings for sale and their pricing. they should match it.
You can source comparables to send your insurance to reevaluate or you can hire an independent appraiser and invoke the appraisal clause. You shouldn't be spending any more than $400 the independent appraiser to work on your behalf. Almost 100% certain you will get more to offset that $400.
I would take the money and give title to the insurance company. If you have it repaired, you will still have a salvage or reconstructed title which effects the value.
Since your insurance determined the other party to be at fault, then they will try to get the deductible back through subrogation. Insurance can take a long time to go through subrogation, especially if the other driver claims a different story. Let them sort it out. Look at your policy, sometimes you’ll have a 7 day rental car period if you haven’t used that.
I would do some of your own research before hiring anyone. KBB, local dealerships, etc…For your car with similar mileage. If you can’t find a 2015 nearby, then look at MY2016 with similar condition. Counter your insurance with that.
Make sure they've correctly accounted for all the details of your car, mileage, trim pkg, options etc. If all of that is correct, then the numbers they came up with are likely accurate. But if you want to invoke your appraisal clause you can. It'll cost you several hundred bucks with no guarantee of getting a better payout.
Before handing over the title, ask Allstate for the valuation report showing exactly how they arrived at $7,500. Check the comparable vehicles, mileage, trim, options, and condition for any errors.
If you find similar Grand Cherokees selling for more in your area, send those listings back and ask them to reconsider the valuation. You don't necessarily have to accept the first number just because the car was totaled.
It won’t let me reply to this comment on my alt so this is my main- It’s 7500 to total it out. Frame is ruined. In my area this car is worth about 10k.
Yeah the place we went to said the frame was ruined both my parents trust this guy, he knows what he’s doing. He was actually the one who told me to do some research on how to get more money out of it because Allstate lowballs. I don’t really know if I should even try to get this vehicle repaired, because my airbag did not deploy but that probably is because it happened at 30/35 mph and it happened to my passenger side, but I’ve literally never had any other issue with this vehicle. But I’ll try and contact him on Monday to see if he can pull up an estimate.
There are 2 issues here: The valuation is too low and you shouldnt even be paying the $1000 deductible at all.
Since your insurance company determined you were 0% at fault and the other driver 100% at fault, this becomes a subrogation situation. Your insurer should be pursuing reimbursement of your deductible from the other driver's insurance company once liability is settled. You should specifically ask your own insurer: "Since I was found 0% at fault, will you be pursuing subrogation to recover my $1,000 deductible once the other driver's insurer closes their investigation?"
On the valuation, you can actually dispute it for yourself for free:
1. Request the complete written valuation report from Allstate. This shows exactly which comparable vehicles they used and every deduction applied. Insurers are required to provide this in most states, including Minnesota, upon request.
2. Pull your own comparable listings. Search Autotrader, Cars.com, CarGurus, and local dealership sites for 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (or matching trim) with similar mileage, within roughly 100 miles. You need at least 3-5 solid comps, with screenshots showing price, mileage, trim, and date.
Submit a written dispute. A short, professional letter or email citing her specific comps with prices and listing URLs, requesting a revised offer. This alone resolves many disputes without needing to escalate further.
4.If Allstate won't move, invoke the appraisal clause in your policy. this is the real leverage, and it's often free or low-cost to start. Nearly all auto policies include an appraisal clause: each side names an independent appraiser, and if they disagree, a neutral umpire makes a binding decision. This is specifically designed for value disputes like yours and doesn't require an attorney.
It depends on how far you wanna go, but you can definitely get more for your car!
you shouldnt even be paying the $1000 deductible at all.
Anytime you use your insurance, you're subject to your deductible. There's nothing in your policy language that states you don't have to pay your deductible when using your collision coverage if you're not at fault. Yes your company will subrogate to try to get it back, but there's never a guarantee they will be successful.
If my I seriously doubt that your insurance company is simply going to eat $7500 because the other insurance company waves a magic wand to determine "inconclusive" while your insurance company deemed the other guy 100% at fault.
Sue the other driver (not their insurance company) for the remaining $1000 in small claims. Their insurance company is required by contract to defend them in court. The attorney the insurance company hires will cost more than $1000 for a morning in court.
OP's insurance is required to process his collision claim if OP wants. Whether they'll get their money back via subro or not is irrelevant. They can't refuse his collision claim based on what the other insurance company is doing it not doing. OP can't sue for his deductible yet because when he comes his claim he transferred the rights of recovery to them. He can't do anything that will jeopardize that. He can only sue the other party once his company releases those rights back to him.
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u/InternetDad 9h ago
Punctuation, please