Handling Your Property Damage
Brumbaugh, Mu & King, P.A. does not handle property damage claims, but we do staff an experienced private investigator who is more than willing to assist you with your property damage if you run into any problems or have a question.
Below is a brief summary of your property damage rights, which will be helpful when you discuss your claim with the insurance adjuster. Do not discuss the accident or your injuries with the adjuster.
Also...
DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING CONCERNING YOUR PROPERTY DAMAGE CLAIM, INCLUDING THE CHECK, UNTIL WE HAVE EXAMINED THEM AND AUTHORIZED YOU TO SIGN. YOU COULD SIGN AWAY IMPORTANT RIGHTS TO YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM AND OTHER PROPERTY CLAIMS.
Try to settle your total property damage with the other party’s insurance company first. If they request a statement about the accident from you, refer them to us. Keep a record of whome you talk with, what was said, and on what date. Another way to settle your automobile damage is through your own insurance company if you have collision coverage. They will try to get you to deal directly with the other party’s company but if it denies your claim or will not make a proper settlement, you can insist that your company fix your car. Payment by your company will not include your deductible. It will have to be paid by the other party’s company. Be sure to inform us as to the amount of your deductible. We also need to see, before you sign, any releases to make sure you are not giving up your right to collect your total property loss.
As soon as possible, you should obtain estimates for repair of your vehicle. You should also take photographs of the damage if we have not done so. An insurance adjuster will want to look at the vehicle. The insurance company will usually not pay for any more than what is on the agreed repair bill. For that reason, you should have your car examined carefully to make sure all damages from the accident are on the estimate. Please give us a copy of all estimates.
North Carolina Law requires you to limit your damages. You should get repairs started as soon as possible. If you cannot come to a prompt agreement with the adjuster, you may have to pay for the repairs yourself. However, do not obligate yourself for the repairs unless you are able to pay for the repairs. Normally the insurance company will pay you, not the shop, and if you authorize the repairs, you must pay for them regardless of what sums you eventually receive, so it is better to get an agreement first.
Property damage includes not only the cost of repairs or replacement, but also depreciation, loss of use, towing bills, storage fees and damage to personal property.
Ask a car salesman to give you a written estimate of the loss of value due to the wreck. Provide a copy to the adjuster.
Loss of use of your vehicle is valued as the cost of the rental of a similar vehicle, for a reasonable period of time, while your vehicle is being repaired or while you are waiting for reimbursement for your totaled vehicle. You are entitled to this even if you don’t rent another vehicle while yours is in repair. Not all insurance companies will voluntarily pay for a rental car and you could be forced into filing suit to collect rental and property damage. You should get authorization from the insurance company before renting if you cannot afford to pay the rental bill yourself. If the insurance company has not approved the rental, you will have to pay for it and then try to collect later.
If your vehicle is being held at a body shop or car dealer, there is a daily storage fee. Until arrangements are made with an insurance company to the contrary, you are responsible for these storage fees and they are a priority lien against your vehicle. You should immediately contact the place where your vehicle is stored and determine the amount of daily storage and take action to limit these fees. Be sure any agreement with the insurance company includes payment of the storage and towing charges if you are keeping the vehicle. Do not allow your vehicle to remain in storage for a long period of time.
The adjuster will require you to document the value of personal property that was damaged with receipts or appraisals. Examples of personal property might be a typewriter carried in the trunk that was damaged, broken eye glasses, a broken watch, torn clothes, groceries in the car that were ruined, etc. You will have to provide verification of the damage, but you are entitled to collect for all damages to personal property caused in the wreck.
If your vehicle is “totaled” (repairs, depreciation and loss of use will cost more than the value of the vehicle), then you will normally be paid a value based upon the NADA retail book value of the car. If you feel your vehicle was more valuable than that, you must be prepared to prove it. A “classic” car should have a written appraisal from an expert with the expert’s qualifications in it or attached. If you kept your car in exceptionally good shape, get statements from whomever you traded cars with and from those who have cared for the car about its value. Here is where good pictures help, especially pictures taken before the wreck. If you dispute the adjuster’s value of the car, you will have to prove the car’s value to him. The best proof is the sales price of a similar vehicle.
If you owe money on the car, the insurance company will probably make the check payable to you and the loan company. If the car is totaled, the loan company will deduct what is owed them, and you will be given the rest. If there is a loan on the car, you should settle as quickly as possible, since interest, finance charges and monthly payments continue to accrue.
Whichever insurance company ultimately bears the cost of your property damage claim, you will be required to sign a check and a release.
Again...
DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING, INCLUDING THE CHECK, UNTIL WE HAVE EXAMINED THEM AND AUTHORIZED YOU TO SIGN. YOU COULD SIGN AWAY IMPORTANT RIGHTS TO YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM AND OTHER PROPERTY CLAIMS.
Below is a brief summary of your property damage rights, which will be helpful when you discuss your claim with the insurance adjuster. Do not discuss the accident or your injuries with the adjuster.
Also...
DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING CONCERNING YOUR PROPERTY DAMAGE CLAIM, INCLUDING THE CHECK, UNTIL WE HAVE EXAMINED THEM AND AUTHORIZED YOU TO SIGN. YOU COULD SIGN AWAY IMPORTANT RIGHTS TO YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM AND OTHER PROPERTY CLAIMS.
Try to settle your total property damage with the other party’s insurance company first. If they request a statement about the accident from you, refer them to us. Keep a record of whome you talk with, what was said, and on what date. Another way to settle your automobile damage is through your own insurance company if you have collision coverage. They will try to get you to deal directly with the other party’s company but if it denies your claim or will not make a proper settlement, you can insist that your company fix your car. Payment by your company will not include your deductible. It will have to be paid by the other party’s company. Be sure to inform us as to the amount of your deductible. We also need to see, before you sign, any releases to make sure you are not giving up your right to collect your total property loss.
As soon as possible, you should obtain estimates for repair of your vehicle. You should also take photographs of the damage if we have not done so. An insurance adjuster will want to look at the vehicle. The insurance company will usually not pay for any more than what is on the agreed repair bill. For that reason, you should have your car examined carefully to make sure all damages from the accident are on the estimate. Please give us a copy of all estimates.
North Carolina Law requires you to limit your damages. You should get repairs started as soon as possible. If you cannot come to a prompt agreement with the adjuster, you may have to pay for the repairs yourself. However, do not obligate yourself for the repairs unless you are able to pay for the repairs. Normally the insurance company will pay you, not the shop, and if you authorize the repairs, you must pay for them regardless of what sums you eventually receive, so it is better to get an agreement first.
Property damage includes not only the cost of repairs or replacement, but also depreciation, loss of use, towing bills, storage fees and damage to personal property.
Depreciation is the decrease in value of your auto (after it has been repaired) because it has been in a wreck.
Loss of use of your vehicle is valued as the cost of the rental of a similar vehicle, for a reasonable period of time, while your vehicle is being repaired or while you are waiting for reimbursement for your totaled vehicle. You are entitled to this even if you don’t rent another vehicle while yours is in repair. Not all insurance companies will voluntarily pay for a rental car and you could be forced into filing suit to collect rental and property damage. You should get authorization from the insurance company before renting if you cannot afford to pay the rental bill yourself. If the insurance company has not approved the rental, you will have to pay for it and then try to collect later.
If your vehicle is being held at a body shop or car dealer, there is a daily storage fee. Until arrangements are made with an insurance company to the contrary, you are responsible for these storage fees and they are a priority lien against your vehicle. You should immediately contact the place where your vehicle is stored and determine the amount of daily storage and take action to limit these fees. Be sure any agreement with the insurance company includes payment of the storage and towing charges if you are keeping the vehicle. Do not allow your vehicle to remain in storage for a long period of time.
The adjuster will require you to document the value of personal property that was damaged with receipts or appraisals. Examples of personal property might be a typewriter carried in the trunk that was damaged, broken eye glasses, a broken watch, torn clothes, groceries in the car that were ruined, etc. You will have to provide verification of the damage, but you are entitled to collect for all damages to personal property caused in the wreck.
If your vehicle is “totaled” (repairs, depreciation and loss of use will cost more than the value of the vehicle), then you will normally be paid a value based upon the NADA retail book value of the car. If you feel your vehicle was more valuable than that, you must be prepared to prove it. A “classic” car should have a written appraisal from an expert with the expert’s qualifications in it or attached. If you kept your car in exceptionally good shape, get statements from whomever you traded cars with and from those who have cared for the car about its value. Here is where good pictures help, especially pictures taken before the wreck. If you dispute the adjuster’s value of the car, you will have to prove the car’s value to him. The best proof is the sales price of a similar vehicle.
If you owe money on the car, the insurance company will probably make the check payable to you and the loan company. If the car is totaled, the loan company will deduct what is owed them, and you will be given the rest. If there is a loan on the car, you should settle as quickly as possible, since interest, finance charges and monthly payments continue to accrue.
Whichever insurance company ultimately bears the cost of your property damage claim, you will be required to sign a check and a release.
Again...
DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING, INCLUDING THE CHECK, UNTIL WE HAVE EXAMINED THEM AND AUTHORIZED YOU TO SIGN. YOU COULD SIGN AWAY IMPORTANT RIGHTS TO YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM AND OTHER PROPERTY CLAIMS.