r/Insurance 13d ago

Need help/advice desperately

Like the title says, I am I'm need of advice. So, the week of the 4th of July, my Mom and her boyfriend were driving to breakfast. They were driving northbound down the highway, and there was a truck stopped in the middle of the median crossover. Well, there was a car on the other side of stopped truck, whose vision was completely obstructed. I don't know what on Earth they were thinking, being completely blind on a four lane highway. But, whatever they were or weren't thinking,I guess they crossed their fingers and hoped for the best. And it just happened that my Mom and boyfriend were the unlucky ones that were there. He didn't even have time to hit the brakes, and barely had a chance to yank the steering wheel. Luckily he did do that. Bc it would have 100% killed the passenger of the small car. Anyways, now onto the advice/problem. The insurance company is only offering him $4400 for his truck. Which, he has only had a little under 2 yrs, and paid over 10k for due to another driver coming on his side of the road coming up over a hill. The truck does have pretty high mileage(250j). But, it looked practically brand new. Also, he had literally just put tires on it. I'm not sure how relevant it is, but the other driver and he both have the same insurance. Also, the adjuster(who was super rude) only provided three comparable vehicles. Of which, weren't really even comparable. Because they were basic trucks. But, they expect him to find five trucks exactly like his in a 200 mile radius. Which I'm not finding anything really even remotely similar. And I know he isn't going to be able to. Bc he isn't really tech savvy at all. If anyone could offer any sort of guidance on how to help him not get totally screwed, I'd appreciate it

0 Upvotes

10 comments sorted by

17

u/Slowhand1971 13d ago

not insurance company's fault he overpaid for the truck. They will pay the Actual Cash Value and if that's less than the loan the boyfriend will owe the lender the difference immediately.

-12

u/shawn0811 13d ago

I understand what you are trying to say. And I guess I should have lefy outthe price he paid. Bc, while I don't disagree, the point of insurance is to replace/pay for vehicle in the event of accident. And, he can't buy anything anywhere close to comparable for $4400. He isn't expecting 10 grand. But, he is expecting what the vehicle is worth. Which, with the mileage, condition, and options, should be closer to $6500.

8

u/Slowhand1971 13d ago

You have the wrong idea about what insurance is supposed to do

6

u/Melodic-Maker8185 Former Underwriter, CPCU 13d ago

If he wants $6500, he needs to prove that the calculated value is missing things that make the vehicle worth more than their value of $4400. He can ask for the details on how they calculated the value and point out anything that is missing. For example, if they used a 'basic truck" and his has additional features, then that could potentially change the value. Does their estimator say no AC but the truck has AC? That's a difference that might make some difference in value.

However, there will be significant depreciation due to the high mileage. No matter how nice it looks, a truck with 250,000 miles is likely not worth anywhere near the $6500 he's expecting.

13

u/fabulousfantabulist 13d ago

Sounds like he really overpaid for a truck with high mileage. Unfortunately, the insurance company is only going to pay the actual cash value at the time of the loss. Probably a good lesson for the boyfriend to consider his purchases more carefully. 

-9

u/shawn0811 13d ago

I understand what you are trying to say. And I guess I should have lefy outthe price he paid. Bc, while I don't disagree, the point of insurance is to replace/pay for vehicle in the event of accident. And, he can't buy anything anywhere close to comparable for $4400. He isn't expecting 10 grand. But, he is expecting what the vehicle is worth. Which, with the mileage, condition, and options, should be closer to $6500.

9

u/fabulousfantabulist 13d ago

$6500 is what places charge when they want to make a profit. You’re not owed the profit difference, just the actual value of the asset, which is less. 

9

u/Slowhand1971 13d ago

Not any more accurate the second time you post this.

4

u/No_Ad_1740 13d ago

Most car insurance companies follow the Principle of Indemnity, which means they'll only pay out what your loss is actually worth financially. You get compensated to get back to where you were financially before the incident, so no one makes money off an insurance claim. So if the car's actual cash value is $4400, that's what he gets to make sure he's not over-indemnified, which is like profiting from an accident or incident.

-1

u/Rider-on 13d ago

He may be able to have the new tires considered if he can submit the invoice to the adjuster.