i hate stupid people

[Irving]

How do you know? I represent about 6 different companies (including the big name guys like Progressive and Travelers) and they usually don't defer judgement in a claim to an attorney unless the claimant or victim (like Irv said) calls a lawyer who in turn contacts the Ins. Co and then they say "you'll have to speak to our attorney." So far we really haven't had to deal with that at our agency, but then again, my dad has been slinging insurance for over 30 years and we keep our clients pretty well informed and satisfied.

I was a claims adjuster for a few years (handling claims exactly like this one) and have handled a few thousand (but not as many as 4,000) claims. If we were talking about death or serious injury, then it'd be more appropriate to hire an attorney. I'm not saying that it would be wrong, just not necessary.

Spencercherry: The insurance company isn't calling you back because they want you to take care of it yourself; it is because that claims adjuster is shitty (I'd call you back). It is NOT an excuse, but they do have other claims to deal with. He/She should have at least made an attempt to call you back though. Phone tag is better than not even trying. So while it gets you the same result, they haven't called you back due to incompetence, not maliciousness.

Used parts can be OEM. They aren't going to give you brand new anything, because you weren't driving a brand new anything. Your truck is a 2005. They will call junk yards and look for a truck as close to 2005 as possible, that was totaled in the rear and take parts off of that; if such a truck is available.

As far as your $1,000 deductible, you'll need to pay it to go through your own insurance company, but more likely than not, your insurance company will give the other driver 100% of fault, and send a bill for all the money they spent fixing your truck (including your deductible) to the other insurance company. This is called subrogation. I also feel like the other insurance company will accept full liability. It may not be tomorrow though.

Concerning the rafting and other miscellaneous towing, you can't really blame that on the insurance company. The entire purpose of insurance is to indemnify you. That is to return you to where you were before the accident. That does not include putting brand new parts on your used truck. Also, it is unrealistic to expect that everything will be fixed over night. There will always be a certain level of inconvenience to any type of loss, whether insurance is involved or not. So basically, don't waste your breath explaining how you can't go rafting while they fix your truck, because that will fall on deaf ears.

I tell you all this to set some realistic expectations for what you can expect. Who is the claimant driver's insurance company? You won't/can't get into trouble telling us, this isn't a criminal case or anything.

As far as the value of your truck, you can put together a report of it's value. You can compile a list of all the after market parts that are permanently attached, and even include new prices, but everything will be reduced because it is used. Unless you have something that isn't made anymore, don't expect to get new (replacement) cost for anything on the truck. It is always frustrating to deal with the devaluation of a vehicle, and I feel for you. I just totaled my own car, and wouldn't have been able to get into anything for the price they gave me either. Be thankful that your truck actually has a value, my car didn't.

Keep us updated on this thread about how your claim is going. If the other company (or even your own company) tries to pull anything shady, like assigning you any percentage of the fault, you can (and should) always file a DOI (Department of Insurance) complaint. DOI complaints are the real deal and are REQUIRED to be addressed by the insurance company. The DOI is not some toothless agency like the BBB (Better Business Bureau). The DOI decides which insurance companies can operate in each state. When an insurance company gets a DOI complaint, they aren't going to get shut down by ignoring it. It WILL be addressed.

Who is the other insurance company?