I was involved in an accident and the other driver was completely at fault. My Jeep is at the shop now and a Progressive Adjuster called me and told me it was going to be a total loss. I told him I sent in documentation to Progressive of all the mods that were installed by a reputable shop totaling $17,000. The adjuster said, "Oh, I wasn't aware of that". So, I am beyond ticked off at the moment. So, I started researching how to combat a total loss. Here's what I found.
How to Fight an Insurance Company Over a Totaled Car’s Value
Receive a settlement offer from the insurance company.
Gather evidence,
including an independent appraisal, the car’s sticker details, prices for comparable vehicles, photos of the car before the accident, and receipts for any features you added.
Send this evidence and a counteroffer to the insurance company.
If the insurance company does not agree to your counteroffer, contact your state’s insurance regulator to request help.
Ask your insurance company for third-party arbitration if necessary.
File a lawsuit as a last resort.
Does anyone know an appraiser near Atlanta, GA or north of Atlanta that knows how to value these vehicles?
Any advice on this would be very helpful. Thanks, I love my Jeep.
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I had Progressive last year or so when I hit black ice in Wyoming, and took out a large road sign. (I thought I did a post on it, but can't find it). Crushed the front driver side fender and hood, as well as the top of the passenger door, when the two 8x8 posts flew in the air and came down on the top.
So fortunate though, the sign post went between the front of the tire and the front bumper, and the wheel and steering were spared. The overflow tank went into the fan, and of course leaked along with the radiator.
Pictures were sent, and Progressive said they had to total the jeep because fluid was leaking
..... And, they had to come to my house, tow away my jeep to an "Estimate Facility"....basically an exposed to the weather and criminals tow yard. Because of Covid, they refused to send an estimator to my house . I refused the tow and the jeep sat in my garage.
Around and around we went. I had to get multiple comps of similar TJ's in the Denver area. After months they agreed to fix it. Once fixed, it looked good......except for the obvious broken windshield......another round and around with progressive and finally got it fixed.
As soon as everything was finalized, and jeep in hand, I dumped those A-holes.
Lessons: don't let them tow away your jeep to their Estimator Facility, Know what you have into your jeep and save the work orders, look at the prices of TJ's in your area, Pictures, pictures, pictures of your jeep before and after.
If you can get the crash jeep to drive, Flex-Tape (the guy in the boat) was a life saver for me. Sealed the top, the top-header to windshield, the crack in the radiator, and the passenger door. A roll is now part of my tool kit.
Visit your jeep multiple times while it's being repaired, to avoid short cuts, inferior parts, and poor craftsmanship, all of which I experienced. And I'm still finding little things like wires not being secured, and lock washers stacked and used as spacers... Oh yeah, don't hit black ice in Wyoming. The road sign was about 8 feet from the edge of the pavement. The next time I drove by, it was well over a hundred feet and at the base of a hill . Guess they knew I was coming back
Good luck with your fight, and pay attention to some of the good advice in these posts.
Ray
