Dealing with car insurance companies is not easy, but this story has a happy ending

#BeavertonCarGuy

Hello Loyal Beaverton Readers!

Here is a story about a recent Beaverton resident who reached out to me for assistance in dealing with her son’s unfortunate car situation.

Meet Sue, from Beaverton

Sue sent in an email about how she’s been trying to look for a car for her son for over 3 months but with little luck. Her son’s previous car was stolen when he and a group of friends had gone to Hillsboro for a School event. The car was never recovered and the insurance company was trying to settle for about half of the vehicle’s actual value (big surprise!).

Be wary of insurance settlements

In fact, with demand still very high and supply being still very low, on both new and used cars, the insurance settlements today are truly a joke.

IMPORTANT NOTE: if you are ever in this situation, keep in mind that settlement offers are negotiable. We do not have to accept the first offer the insurance company makes to close or settle the claim.

While I had started to assist Sue with a replacement vehicle, I also assisted her with the valuation of the vehicle that had been stolen. And as it turns out, the offer from Progressive on the stolen vehicle was slightly less than half of what the actual value in today’s market is.

I asked Sue to include me in all correspondence with the insurance adjuster and provided them with a list of comparable vehicles (in terms of miles and equipment) within 200 miles. I also provided them with a Kelley Blue Book valuation chart to show what a bank or credit union would lend on this vehicle. With these tools in hand, we could prove that Progressive valuation was less than 40% the actual value of the vehicle.

Typically, Progressive, like most insurance companies, consider their bottom line over the interests of their client and that’s why it pays to do your homework and not just take the word of the adjuster. Thus, After a few emails, we were able to get Progressive to increase the settlement to almost 80% the retail value of her son’s vehicle and that’s a huge win in my book! A week later, Sue had the settlement check in hand.

Happy ending

During this process, we were also actively looking for a replacement vehicle so Sue wouldn’t have to continue driving double duty. Unfortunately, with the market being as it is, especially since Sue’s budget was only around $10k, good options were not presenting themselves.

The day after she got her check however, a previous client of mine, asked me to get him a brand-new Subaru Outback. This was very simple to do and I arranged to have the Subaru delivered to my office. When he picked it up, he then asked if I could sell the car he drove up in: a one-owner Honda Accord which I instinctively knew would be valued at right about $10k! Within hours, Sue’s son was happily behind the wheel of his new Honda Accord. Yeah!

While not all situations work out this way or this easily, this one was truly a miracle. I was able to solve both of the issues facing Sue, a single mother, trying to bring closure to a very difficult situation.

Thank You all for reading. Please continue to ask questions and I will answer as soon as I am able.

If anyone is looking for a new or used vehicle, or has one they would like to sell, please allow us to assist you. We will save you time, money, and the hassle of dealing with a dealership salesman. Email me at fergusonautobrokers@gmail.com