For those who didn't see it yet: Dak got banged up a bit in a Hit and Run.

For all the details plus pictures see General Discussion Page Thread "Ice Road *uckers..."

I'm fairly certain (95%) that there is no functionality damage, structural damage or instability, and that only simple bolt on pieces will need to be replaced. Keep in mind that this happened at about 0730 in the morning and by the end of the day I put over 200 miles on my truck with ZERO change in drive-ability or any noticeable change overall.

Here is the rather short list of what I can at least tell will have to be fixed (excluding hardware)
1. Front Fascia (w/Fog lights)
2. Plastic Fascia support bracket
3. Front Impact bar (attaches to front of frame)
4. R & L Wheel Well Liners
5. Driver Headlight Housing
6. Aftermarket Bentley Style Grill
7. Grill Support Bar
8. Ram Head Illuminated Trailer Hitch Cover
9. Rear Bumper (If I'm lucky, but I doubt he'll include it)
10. Front Plastic Air Dam
That's really about it.

I'm going to see claims adjuster today and after the initial phone call Q&A yesterday this is gonna go one of two ways. Either I'm gonna have to shell out $500 for my deductible and have the shop fix her up (rental included) or since the truck is still drive-able they'll cut me a check for their estimate minus the $500. Bottom line up front, worst case scenario I go with the pro's and wait til next month when I got the cash for it...but the potential best case scenario (which is the reason I'm posting this thread to begin with) is that they some how come up with an obscene estimate and let them cut me a check and then be able to handle the repairs on my own with the same end result, but with some extra cash in my pocket.

You don't really gotta read this part, I just felt like making up a disclaimer, lol


. . . . . *****Legal Disclaimer***** . . . . . . .

*****(Before continuing any further in this thread to the actual questions being posed by it's author and initiator; Be advised that any and all advice, input, or responses posted to this thread are individually and collectively indication that you have read and understood the following disclaimer, that you do so of your own free will, with no assumptions as to any form of compensation or re-payment, and as such any immoral, unethical, illegal information, or advice, provided under any other guise than as to it's true nature, intent, or legal definition herein, will be the full and sole responsibility of indidvual(s) the information in question and that the author of this forum thread)

Let me say up front a couple things real quick, just to CYA (<---if you don't know, google it). This is a legitimate insurance claim, and I am in no way making any attempt to commit any form of fraud, legal or moral. Simply put, I am an intelligent adult and understand that the insurance industry is a business just like any other, and regardless of any personal opinions you or myself have about the insurance industry as a whole, the bottom line is that they need to make a profit, otherwise they wouldn't exist. That being said, I am fully aware that there are specific tools, techniques, and tactics they facilitate in order to process any claim filed within the limits of their legal obligations, but the end goal is to settle the claim for the lowest possible cost to the company. Ergo, to reiterate this is not an attempt to commit fraud or imply any form of deceit. I am simply seeking information to self guard myself from unintentionally using any verbiage that, if stated in a different format, but definitively having the same underlying meaning; could inherently alter any assessment or estimation performed by the insurer, thus resulting in a less than favorable determination for the insure (myself). Additionally, I am also seeking any valid, morally sound, and legally ethical tools, techniques, and tactics that myself, as the consumer, have full rights within the limits of the law, to implement before, during, and after the conclusion (i.e. in regard to a rebuttal or appeal) of any and all assessments and estimations performed by the insurer, with the sole intent of safe guarding my rights as the insure to receive any and all compensation within the legal and moral limits of what I would be due, observing any and all ethical and or moral standards of practice. *******



1. Is it best to show up with my truck looking immaculate, or does it not really matter?


2. Are there any tactics or tools the claims adjuster might use to try and "under-estimate" their ...uh... estimate"


3. What if anything should I be cautious not to say or admit, even if in grand scheme of things is arbitrary, that could do one of several things including...reducing the determination of compensation, void the insurers obligation to have to compensate anything at all, or worst case unintentionally or inadvertently make it appear as if I am either trying to hide something or increase their index of suspicion that I may be trying to commit some sort of fraud?


4. Is there anything I should definitely make sure I submit or inform the claim adjuster of that could easily and significantly increase the determination?


5. If I see the adjuster inspecting some damage that I know full well was there before the accident, but easily it fits the "profile" of what happened and I see him add it to the list...Moral Gut Check-----You tell me what you would do?

Examples, referring to each other questions above, in case you didn't quite get what I was asking...............


1. Having anything look like it is taken care of to the extent of which that it would hold more value as opposed to something far neglected that received a depreciated value...i.e. the excellent/good/fair/poor rating system used by Kelley Blue Book


2. My aftermarket grille looks very similar to other "Bentley Style" grills on the market, but I paid more to get a good quality one that wouldn't start chipping away after only a few months, or start to crack/break too easily.



3. If the claims adjuster used any kind of "Interrogating-esque" tricks, like having him say "Tell me again, exactly what happened" (even tho I told him the whole story yesterday) and it's written in the police report, as if to see if my "story" changes.


4. If I notice a really really small imperfection in something that was legitimately caused by the accident, morally don't feel right trying to claim it because it's so insignificant, but legitimately have the right to do so and just because I mentioned it, it gets added on the list.

 

Sorry for you loss . . .

Having just gone through a totalling of my truck I know the following (keeping in mind I'm dealing with a Canadian insurance company, but it was a NY State adjuster):

The adjuster actually puts a lot of work into the process. The report from him that I got listed every item that needed to be replaced to make the truck like new, then added labour and finishing to the parts list.

Then, he took off things for existing damage. I had a minor parking lot hit and run that scraped up my front passenger door, so he took off the price of painting half the door. So the rust I see at the bumper dent might work against you.

But, he added things too, like the nerf bars - only one was damaged, but he had two on the list with a note that the supplier only supplied them in pairs.

My feeling (I know you can never tell when she gives you a kiss what here intentions really are) is that the adjuster was straight up.

If you have receipts that show you paid more for a quality parts, like your grill, bring copies to the adjuster. He might try to work with you. Above all keep your head, keep your cool, understand that he has a job to do and he is likely a reasonable guy that gets people trying to scam him every day!

 

My encounter with a mailbox ended up costing me over $1200. I believe @$400 was actual parts replaced. The rest was labor and paint. It is ridiculous the amount of money body shops charge these days. But thats lust like any auto repair facility. The adjuster I worked with was legit. She even asked me iof there was anything else I wanted to have done and she would include it in the estimate (for ex. at that time I had headlight covers that I had painted to match the body color. She added that to the quote and had them painted as well, since they could not buy just one, they bought a set and painted both but charged me for only one). I was also running a stubby antenna that broke off, they replaced it with the exact same thing. I was very pleased with how the whole thing worked out. I have an awesome insurance policy and it cost me only $100 out of pocket and it did not count as a claim since it was under $1500. (we are allowed one under $1500 "incident" every 3 years and it does not do anything to our rates). Just make sure you are there with the adjuster, dont take it somewhere and drop it off and leave. Request they use genuine OEM parts as well. Good luck!

 

Thanks for all the input guys! It's always invaluable. My insurance is through Progressive, and after seeing how well they took care of me last year, I was already fairly confident that they would do the same again this time around. Big difference was that, last time the truck got towed from my driveway and the adjuster just went straight to the dealership where it was evaluated while I was at home. Y'all know how the end result was (immaculate) so I'll spare you the deets. I'm assuming this time was different solely because the truck was drive-able. I made a few attempts to try and weasel my way back there with the adjuster, but it was a no go. She even mentioned that she is only allowed to make her estimate (as far as the magic $$$ number to "buy me out") over what she is able to determine from outside visible damage. Even said she couldn't open the hood (for fear that it might not close again, to which I said I had already done several times, plus to display my efforts from the past summer)...in the end it was her domain and she knew she had all the keys. Any-whooo, from what I best guesstimated from my research last night, was that their estimate was going to be around $1,250...knowing that if I took a check they would cut my deductable from the top, I had it in my head that I'd take no less than a $1,500 estimate ($1,000 to me)...I was pleasantly surprised tho...she came back with a total estimate of.... drum roll please ... $2,220. I maintained my poker face, asked her how long I had to make a decision on accepting a check or having the pro's do it and she said I can take as much time as I wanted and could essentially come back next summer and do it if I wanted to.

So, currently as it stands, I'm once again more than satisfied with how the insurance is working with me thus far and I do plan to take their check, in the mean time, I'm gonna be scouring as many of the organ donor yards as I can to get what parts I need as cheap as possible. Plus, opening myself up to the possibility of maybe some kind of face lift, seeing as how I might have a little extra scratch to play around with.

Now so far, with only barely scratching the surface of looking for parts, I'm roughly guessing that I'll be able to do the job myself for about $700 + or - which after deductible would hopefully end up putting about 1G in my pocket. So, like yeah! At the moment I'm looking at this as a blessing in disguise...not only was I already planning on working on my truck over my xmas break, but I was hoping to maybe make a little extra cash on the side, never would have thought that I would be hiring myself to work for myself, lol. Plus, the cheer is gonna get spread, because I have two close friends that are recently on hard times, who bless their heart, don't like hand outs, so I should have more than enough to "hire" my buddies to help me out with some things I need done around my home and probably a bit of help with the Dak as well. So, really this is a blessing that came out of a blasphomy that is going to end up turning the holidays completely around for 3 veteran soldiers...So thank you Lord, for you truly do work in mysterious ways, Amen!