Quote Originally Posted by JD7.62 View Post
Early last Tuesday morning my wife was in a wreck. The 16year old driver was at at fault, and admitted it, and totaled my wifes car. Heres the problem, its been over a week now since we filed the claim at about 9AM that morning. We didnt get a rental until the following Friday and their insurance has YET to send out an adjustor to look at or car.

There is more, we had been planning to take my wifes car to Birmingham from Wed-Sunday for the holiday but the rental company and insurance company has said so far we are only approved for the rental until next Friday!

Still more, my wifes car was an 01 ford focus that ran great and was reliable, problem is, it has a rebuilt title. The value of an 01 Focus with a clean title isnt much, and with a rebuilt title, well you know... Im afraid their insurance company is going to cut us a check so small that it wont be enough to get a car as reliable as her old one. Its very important for us to have a reliable car as we have a 21mo old baby girl.

So my questions are:

1. Is there a legal time limit the insurace company has to abide by to get the ball rolling on this?

2. Is there a legal limit to how long we can have the rental? What about after they cut the check? Its not like we can get the check and buy a car the same day.

3. Is there anything we can do to get the most money possible to buy a new car? We are not greedy people and dont need a better car, we just need a car that is just as reliable. Its not fair that we have to settle for less because some one else destroyed our car and we simply can not afford any payments for anything more expensive then the check they give us. My wife is a full time nursing student so we are living on just my income and trust me it aint much!

Thanks in advanced for any help/advice!

I am not too sure about the limits of insurance, but I do know the Kentucky Insurance Commissioner really helped me out with a homeowners claim, and they help with auto claims as well. It is a free service, and they can tell you everything you need to know, and the best way to go about a quick resolution. Also, if it gets to the point of their insurance provider not going by the book - the insurance commissioner will step in and straighten it out. Do a google search for Kentucky Insurance Commissioner.

I can say, they will probably get you in repayment - they will only pay what your car is worth in terms of resale/bluebook, and probably not pay 100% of that once they figure in the true depreciated value, especially with a rebuild/salvage title. They never pay what it is actually worth to the person.

Also, remember that it is the insurance adjuster/companies job to pay out as little as possible, and what the offer you, is just that an "offer", you can negotiate.