Not-at-fault accident: which party's insurance to use?

Someone turned left in front of my wife driving our 2008 Saab 9-3 wagon.  I had started a claim with our insurance company, then the other party's insurance called us to get a statement and said that they were accepting liability.  This is in PA.

I asked both adjusters (from each company) if it was to my advantage to use one company over the other to process the claim and got no clear answer.  If our company does it they are going to get the money back from the other company.  Does it matter which one I use in terms of future rates?  Is it just rolling the dice as to which company I think will give the best valuation?  The car is almost certainly going to end up totaled and I will have to decide whether I care enough about my unicorn to try to get it fixed anyway.

If the other company accepts liability it is probably easier to file with them. If you file with your insurance company you'll pay your deductible and then they'll have to go through the subrogation process to recover it. If the other party was at fault there should be no change in your rates.

It's worth noting that, especially for a less-common vehicle like the Saab, you'll likely have to fight a fair bit on valuation. Be prepared to reject their offers and back up your claims. This may take some time. 

I am not in the business, but we went through this - twice - when DD#2 was rear-ended twice in 6 weeks.  Once in her car, once in ours which we had lent her while hers was off the road from the previous accident.

Both times, we opted to go with the other driver's insurance.  In the long run, I wish we had gone with ours.  It would have meant paying our deductible, but as others have said, eventually you get it back.

The second claim worked out OK (though it ended in totaling our old minivan).  She had some passengers, and the other company did cover some medical expenses, etc, and (eventually) gave us decent value for the car.  But it meant dealing with their adjusters, a bit of distance from our house.

The first claim, however, was a nightmare.  Their driver went radio silent even though the accident was 100% undeniably his fault.  That meant the claim was tied up forever while their company went through a long, state-mandated procedure of trying to contact him various ways, with mandatory response periods, etc.  If it had been our company the claim would have been processed much more promptly, and all of that would have happened during subrogation, after we had gotten her car fixed.

I'm with Duke.  I've done it both ways and going through my insurance company (USAA) was a much better experience.  They have some incentive to make me happy and I found them much more responsive.  Obviously an N=1 experience but I see no reason to continue the experiment if it happens again.

Filing with the other guy's company is fine, up until the day that they decide to change their mind about accepting responsibility.  At that point it doesn't matter what they said now, you need to fight them to get paid.

IMHO the right answer is to file under your own policy.

You'd think that your own insurance carrier would want to make you whole, right?

Right?

When, about 2 years ago, my wife's Mazda was totaled by some jamoke running a red light and turning into her, I thought the same thing. The other driver was cited and 100% at fault.

I pay a lot for insurance. I use a broker and buy good policies. I carry auto, motorcycle, homeowner, inland marine, and various business insurance packages. "Cool," I thought, "I'll just file with my carrier (Safeco / Liberty Mutual) and it'll be easier." 

Feckin' NOPE. Not remotely. Safeco gave me the runaround for well over a month: Giving me absurdly low valuations on our car, providing "comps" to support their valuations that A) had twice the mileage, B) did not have the options ours did, C) were hundreds of miles out of state, and D) **DID NOT ACTUALLY EXIST** when I called to inquire about them (and call my carrier's bluff). 

The adjuster ghosted me and generally wanted to play silly buggers; my own insurance carrier jerked me around for 7 full weeks! I brought my broker into the fold. The adjuster's manager finally reached out but with an absolutely anemic increase in valuation. This was during COVID so the used-car market was absurd; they wanted to give us pre-COVID value, rather than replacement cost. (How do I know what replacement cost was? I found the exact same car that we lost -- very nearly the same mileage, same trim package, even the same color -- and bought it in cash from a reputable no-haggle dealer.)

Ultimately I ended up filing with the other party's company. This was still a headache, but eventually they played ball and reimbursed me for the full purchase price of the replacement car. 

Consequently I fired my insurance carrier. I involved my brokerage, who (I believe) has stopped recommending that carrier as a result. I also wrote a rather detailed e-mail that copied my broker, the adjuster, the adjuster's boss, and the adjuster's boss' boss explaining why they were losing my business. 

Screw them. 

It seems it comes down to which one is going to treat me the best, but I have no way of knowing in advance which one that will be for this particular claim.  We have had a few claims over the years with our company (Encompass) but no major auto ones.  They have treated me fairly on the claims I have had.  The other company (Penn National) seems like a solid company from what searching I have done, but I have no personal experience with them.

I have little experience with either of those companies. I did occasionally write for Encompass two decades ago when I was an IA, but none of that would be relevant today.

No harm in going through the guilty party's carrier first. If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to your own. Happens all the time.

Valuation on the 9-3 may be challenging.  I haven't had a Saab claim in probably three years. Not many out there, and they have to change hands to establish value. Be realistic, though. It's an orphan brand that most people won't touch anymore no matter how good of a car it may actually be. 

Encompass is offering $6k.  I can see that number from the point of view of any random Saab 9-3, but I think this particular car should be worth at least a little bit more.  There aren't that many red rust-free 6MT Saab station wagons out there, but the people that want one are enthusiastic.  I sent them BaT and carsandbids links for sold Saab wagons ($10k and up for ones in similar shape) but they say they do not accept auction results and it has to be within 100 miles of me.

At this point my option is to accept the $6k or get my own private appraisal done and continue the argument.  Still mulling that over.

In reply to alphahotel :

Just tell them to find you one for the $6k and you'll go grab it. They must have found non auction ones within 100 miles for comps right?

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Their answer will be "Sorry, sir, we don't source replacement cars."

Duke said:

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Their answer will be "Sorry, sir, we don't source replacement cars.

OK, so they don't "source replacement cars."  But are they not under obligation to prove their comps?

This is why you look into agreed upon coverage. Especially on something that is unique. I am in the process of doing it now for my M5. The three comps I found nation wide are at 50k. However if you just google the value of these they are less than half that because most are the automatic manual transmissions. Mine being a factory manual (not a conversion) makes it much more $$$ to replace.  I am currently in the process of getting coverage for a agreed upon value of 50k.  

I have a question. Say you and your insurance company are far enough apart that you just can not accept there offer. Is there a state board or regulator that arbitrates things like this? 
 

Or do you have to take them to court?

I am not talking a couple thousand dollars difference I am talking tens of thousands of dollars. 

Yes, if I find a cool car to replace this, I will look into agreed value coverage.  Mostly just venting and trying to decide if it is worth pursuing a private appraiser.

Here are the comps (they just sent them this morning):

SportCombi the first (85k, auto, silver, $7k asking, $5500 "adjusted comparable price" per insurance)

SportCombi the second (143k, auto, gray, $6k, $6160 "adjusted comparable price")

But both are AT, not as appealing colors, don't know if all the common issues that Powar took care of have been done, and who knows what they look like underneath rust-wise.

WTF is an "adjusted comparable price"?!?!

dean1484 said:

I have a question. Say you and your insurance company are far enough apart that you just can not accept there offer. Is there a state board or regulator that arbitrates things like this? 
 

Or do you have to take them to court?

I am not talking a couple thousand dollars difference I am talking tens of thousands of dollars. 

There's an arbitration clause in the policy.  In short, it basically says in the case where agreement can't be reached each party hires its own independent expert. The experts then agree on a neutral arbitrator.

Unfortunately, sometimes there are situations where local comps simply don't exist. Sounds like that's the case here.  A 6MT Saab wagon is almost a unicorn.  In those cases it can be difficult to come up with a good value. Adjusters aren't experts cars, and without comps to work with can be a challenge.  If the adjuster can't understand why your car is worth more, ask to speak to the claim manager. They may have a better understanding. Explain that the car is very rare and therefore makes it more valuable.  You might have to use a comparable automatic as the starting point, and then negotiate up from there.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

From the report I got from the insurance company:

Adjusted Comparable Value

represents the price of the comparable vehicle with adjustments for options, mileage, condition, and year/model/trim as compared to the loss vehicle.

A condition adjustment is also made to set the comparable vehicle to Normal Wear condition, which the loss vehicle is also compared to in the Vehicle Condition section.

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

If there are no "local comps" then go past 100 miles and consider the BAT ones.  Just saying "There are no local comps" and disregarding the non local ones is a E36 M3 answer

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:

Steve_Jones said:

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

If there are no "local comps" then go past 100 miles and consider the BAT ones.  Just saying "There are no local comps" and disregarding the non local ones is a E36 M3 answer

Keyboard hero, find something better to do.  

In a case like this, yes you may need to search nationally. Even then, sometimes you come up empty. There's nothing wrong with using a car on BAT or C&B if it's sold fairly recently.

then in the next post:

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Just out of curiosity, why is it you jump in on these threads when you clearly don't have a clue what you're talking about?

i'm genuinely confused.

first you agree with him verbatim.

then you question why he chimes in on subjects he knows nothing about.

weird.

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:

Steve_Jones said:

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

If there are no "local comps" then go past 100 miles and consider the BAT ones.  Just saying "There are no local comps" and disregarding the non local ones is a E36 M3 answer

Keyboard hero, find something better to do.  

In a case like this, yes you may need to search nationally. Even then, sometimes you come up empty. There's nothing wrong with using a car on BAT or C&B if it's sold fairly recently.

Look up a few posts. They told him it needs to be within 100 miles and they don't use auctions. You say search nationally and recent auctions are ok, so which is it? Based on your post, them saying 100 miles and no auctions is a E36 M3 answer no?
 

They offered him $6k. He can't replace it for $6k, so what are his options? I'm not the insurance expert, you are, so what's your advice? 
 

As far as "attacking" when you "help" you always take the companies side, that's not help. Me questioning the company is not an attack. 

alphahotel said:

but I think this particular car should be worth at least a little bit more. 

Said every person whose car I totaled, ever.  Not picking on you personally; this is just a reality. Everyone's car is worth more to them because they know what they have. It doesn't make it so in the marketplace. If you haven't tried selling a m/t car recently I can tell you that 'feature' is pretty much not a positive.