Sorry to bother the rest of you, but I've been having trouble
reaching Scott Fisher via his "normal" address. Anyway Scott,
here's the edited version of the article that I was planning to
submit to Larry Snyder for publication in the local club newsletter.
John
lye@elegans.wustl.edu
start here
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Anyone who drives their Triumph with any regularity takes a risk of having
to deal with accident damage. Even if the car is parked and under repair,
its not necessarily safe. For example, Marcus Toose had a neighbor back
into his 1974 MG Midget while it was parked in his driveway. The neighbor's
insurance company tried to settle for $144 to repair the fender with bondo;
Marcus felt this was unreasonable since the car had had a rust-free, straight
body which was why this car was being restored. Scott Fisher responded (via
the Internet) with the following article outlining his techniques for
negotiating with insurance companies; while this won't guarantee that you'll
get complete satisfaction, it is useful advice that I hope you'll never have
to use.
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Now, for the technique for dealing with the insurance company. (In addition
to my own experience with car insurance, please note that I have written
manuals for insurance companies-- a shameful part of my past, I admit --,
so I have a little experience in what goes on behind the scenes.)
First, you must understand that the job description of the person who
is handling your claim is simple: SPEND AS LITTLE MONEY AS POSSIBLE.
This is exacerbated by the fact that you, the beneficiary, are not also
their customer, so they don't have to be nicey-nicey to you. Your first
piece of psychological warfare is to be as reasonable as possible with
the adjuster, right up to the moment you go ballistic on them. You have to
take it on as your JOB to obtain as much money as possible, within the
bounds of reason and propriety. (Getting $2500 for a fender is probably
not right, but neither is getting $144.)
Just firmly but politely say that $144 is not acceptable, bears no
relation to the real world of auto repair, and ask what you have to do
to get them to agree on a reasonable figure. You'll probably have to
prove that the figure you want is reasonable. Written estimates from
your body shops will be a good start, but you will also have to point
out that the car is potentially worth the money you have or plan to
spend on it.
To do this, you should be prepared to show advertisements from club
newsletters, your local auto trader magazines, and other sources that
show a 1974 Midget (or one within 5 or 6 years of 1974) at top price.
This is what your adjuster needs to obtain approval to exceed the
amount they have set aside to cover this claim.
Here's how it works: the insurance company has assigned a certain reserve
of funds to this claim. For the adjuster to exceed the amount of those
reserves, he or she will need to justify it by showing documentary paperwork
that the car's value exceeds some multiple of the cost of the work you're
asking for. To get this approved, your adjuster will have to talk to his
or her supervisor to override the reserve. (I'll bet, however, that the
actual reserve amount that the insurance company has set aside for this
particular incident is closer to $500, but they won't tell YOU that.)
What YOU need to do is this:
1. Be persistent. Make them wait. Don't accept anything for a week,
a month, whatever. The longer this thing stays open, the better your
chances of getting them to settle, finally, for a figure closer to your
value. It would help if the insurance agency was paying for a rental
car for you, because the longer you hang onto the car, the more they
have to pay, but that doesn't appear to be the issue here.
2. Be thorough. Document what you've spent on the car, document the
availability (or lack thereof) of similar cars in the condition that yours
was in before the accident.
3. Be the victim. Continue to remind the adjuster that you are the
victim and that their policyholder is the "perpetrator." It's THEIR
legal responsibility to make redress to YOU.
4. Be assertive. This goes along with being persistent. When in doubt,
just keep repeating what you want, after having made your case for why
you want it. If it's going to cost $1000 to get this fixed, and if you
can justify spending that much money on the car, then be assertive and
keep pointing out that you are in the right and that you want the amount
of money that you have fairly and properly identified is due.
5. When all else fails, threaten to sue. But do it calmly. I happened
to have the resources of a good friend of mine, and the president of the
Austin-Healey Club at that time, Jeff Doberman. I had the supreme pleasure
of being able to tell the adjuster on my claim, "In that case, you will
be hearing from my attorney, Mr. Doberman, shortly." I hung up, but
not before hearing a twinge of fear in her voice.
6. Come back with your counter-offer *after* the threat to sue. I found
a photo ad for a $4000 Midget that, combined with making the appearance of
trying one last thing before litigation, turned the tide in my favor, but
this was the last step in a long process.
7. A piece of apocryphal information, one that I haven't personally
tried, is to obtain the services of an independent adjuster from the
Yellow Pages. It might not be worth it, but these people are said to
put the shuddering horrors into insurance companies. Try it.
And at the risk of sounding like a testimonial out of an infomercial, I
talked State Farm out of trying to settle for $700 on my totalled '74
Midget, and instead got a check for over $4200 (less the salvage value
of the car, which was $700). Unfortunately, the car in question was in
fact damaged beyond repair. I had the horrifying experience, some time
later, of seeing its remnants cut in half and strapped to a pallet for
hauling off to the metal recycler, after the usable parts were pulled
off to provide new life for other Spridgets. But after that, I didn't
have the heart to work on my Bugeye project car, and I haven't owned
a Spridget since then (editor's note: Scott has owned several MGBs since
then, however).
That was my first M.G., a car that I first saw ten years ago yesterday.
The car on which I learned to rebuild and synchronize SU carburetors.
The car on which I learned about lever shocks and tubular replacements.
The car in which I got stuck at the edge of the world, on a cliff a
billion feet over the edge of the Pacific, in the middle of the great
grey Dragon's tail of Highway 1. I'm sure I've told those stories before...
--Scott "But they're guaranteed to raise a smile" Fisher
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Here's an addendum from Bill Sohl (past president of the Vintage Triumph
Register):
Scott Fisher provided some excellent advice to Marcus Toose in
regards to the insurance company only offering $144 to fix the fendor
on his MG. I won't repeat any of it here, but I'll add the following:
1. A good source of approximate value for any collector car is
the "Old Cars Price Guide" published by Krause publications in
Iola, Wisconsin. Another reference source is Cars of Particular
Interest (AKA, CPI Price Guide).
2. If you have a collector vehicle, have some type of documentable
appraisal done on the vehicle BEFORE something happens. In many
cases, you can do it yourself with a good set of photographs and
descriptive information backed up by references to the two
price guides mentioned above. Of course, have an independent
person provide a separate appraisal is more likely to be better
accepted by the insurance company than one you did yourself.
3. If you have an appraisal done, you want something that contains
more than a "one liner" such as: J&J Company representative
examened your vehicle and appraised it at $X.
Anyway, that's just a few additional things to consider. And as
Scott replied to Marcus, DON'T just accept the insurance company's
offer without putting up a battle if you feel the offer is
way out of line as in Marcus's case.
One other thing, if your vehicle is insured as a collector vehicle and/or
it has special classic or antique license plates, that alone provides
a significant distinction that the vehicle is generally being maintained
to a higher degree of quality, workmanship, etc. than just a daily
use car. As such, if the situation went to court, I think you'd be
in a better position to claim the need for a new fendor, instead
of the "pull out the dent and bondo repair" process. Clearly,
straight non-bondo sheetmetal is more desireable, hence the car's
of more value, in the collector market.
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