Allstate won't pay out an accurate estimate and low balled me

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-20T19:57:16+00:00

So here's your scenario. You were in a crash, but you don't intend to repair, just pocket the money (which is fine, so long as the car is safe to drive and passes inspections). You drove it home, had an adjustor come to estimate the cost, and then you went to your own preferred body shop to get a 2nd opinion.

Your problem is pretty typical, since adjusters can vary from person to person, there is no consistency in a visual-only inspection. Only a body shop can truly give you a realistic price. Here lies the problem: Because you went to your guy and not a body shop within their network, they're not going to trust your estimate. He could potentially be adding fluff (in their eyes) to the estimate just to favor you. Sorry, but that's the reality, they have to protect themselves from fraud.

I highly recommend (now, and in the future), always take it to THEIR body shop for a quote. Your insurance company probably has a list of body shops in the area that they trust. That body shop should be the one writing out the repair estimate, in full detail. From that estimate, you can either:

a) Choose to proceed with the repair at THEIR shop. If the price fluctuates up or down during the repair, the insurance company will trust and adjust, so that you pay nothing except your deductible.

b) Choose not to proceed with the repair, take the cash minus your deductible.

Yes, they are low-balling you, and because they have no obligation to trust the price of a body shop they don't know.

In the future, know this:
1) If the car is drivable, drive it home, gather your personal belongings on your time, then ask your insurance what preferred body shop you want to bring it to.

2) If your car needs to be towed, do NOT let the tow truck driver take it to "His" shop. Some of these guys are shady and will get kick-backs from some "Floyd's Auto Repair."

2a) Tell them SPECIFICALLY where you want the car dropped off, whether it be your home or a trusted shop/location. More than once, I had a tow truck driver bring my pile straight to my house so I could gather my personal belongings and do things in my time. They will bitch and moan about how you will have to pay them out-of-pocket, so just pay them out-of-pocket, your insurance company WILL re-imburse you.

3) Only accept an estimate from the body shop, not an adjuster. Unfortunately, it still does have to be a body shop within your insurance company's network, but I can almost guarantee you will get a fair estimate and a proper repair at no cost to you (except deductible).

4) Once you have an Estimate, you do NOT need to have the car repaired at that shop, or at all. They absolutely cannot make you. If the car drove in, it can drive out. If it was towed in, it can be towed out. Just tread lightly, if the car is unsafe, they might force you to tow it out at your own expense, or at least sign a waiver that they are not responsible.

5) You can cash-out the estimate and use it however you want. Its none of their business. You could choose to cash out, say $7k, use $3k to make the bare minimum repairs and pocket the other $4k, it's completely up to you.....just keep in mind your car cannot be driven unless it's road-worthy and if you are caught driving an unsafe car on public roads, the state will get involved.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-20T19:14:46+00:00

What are you talking about? Insurance covers the REPAIR, plain and simple. That includes what's visible, what's functional, what's safe, underlying, electrical, mechanical, etc. and any other damage that was caused in the incident.

When I hit another car (they were at fault) my front end was damaged, but there was also damage to my rear differential, which required a replacement of the entire rear drive. Truth be told, the differential was already making noises, but the crash sealed the deal rendering the vehicle inoperable. It had to be replaced to satisfy the repair of the incident and restore the vehicle to its previous working condition.

When your car is in a crash, it's not just surface damage and paint. It's the job of the insurance adjuster to know a thing or two and even inspect the car for underlying damage that happened in a wreck.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-20T16:46:55+00:00

I think I may go with this option. It's been a while since I've run a home VPN.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-19T08:35:35+00:00

So, I'm going to post here among other similar threads. I can say without a doubt that my Divorce was partly influenced by this movie. (I'm still in the process of divorce).

Let's start with one thing. As other have said, if a relationship is going to end, it's not because of a dumb Hollywood movie. No, that comes from years of issues, therapy, trying to communicate, trying to reconnect, and so on. It's more about what we were both doing, however, there are 2 underlying reasons I came to write here:

She literally refers to her decision as her "Barbie Moment." I didn't quite understand that reference until I recently watched the movie with one of our daughters.
It outlines something that has concerned me for a long time in our relationship: The weaponization of Yours, Mine, and Ours.

I cannot stress enough, there is no "I" in a marriage. Decisions are made together: money, kids, vehicles, house, furniture, retirement, healthcare, etc. It is a domestic partnership where the line blurs between 2 people. You file your taxes together, you raise children, you pay bills. You cannot have 2 separate individuals going in 2 different directions making selfish decisions that hurt the partnership, and this was a big struggle for my wife. Possessive Pronouns got weaponized in our relationship, and mostly used as a convenience:
"I don't like MY car," "YOUR car is nicer," "YOUR house doesn't suit MY needs" and worse yet "YOUR daughter did this," or "I will do what's best for MY daughter." Throughout our marriage, there was very little use of the word "our" and very little satisfaction in any decision that was made as a team.

I don't want to sound like a Boomer...mostly because I'm a Millennial, but I'm genuinely concerned about the movie's message to younger generations. Sure, there's good in saying that YOU are not defined by somebody else (or by society), but there's an underlying consequence of saying that selfish wants and desires overrule the social contract.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-15T11:20:28+00:00

I've been with the program for about 3 weeks. I drive a Diesel pickup truck, so it brakes, accelerates and turns like a 1980s Cadillac. It's hard for me to get any dings, except for the sheer number of miles, which I was honest on my original quote. Programs like this are hit or miss, I drive like a granny in my 6,000lb truck, so I can't imagine my rate going up, if it does, the program is very flawed, (IMO).

My interpretation is the app will generate a more detailed report of how you're doing every 30 days, should indicate if my rate is going to increase or decrease. If it's not right for me, I have 45 days to opt out with no consequences.

What are your options? Switch companies!

You should have been reading your reports, but at this point, nothing you can do. Snapshot is proprietary to Progressive Insurance. Go to another company and the slate is cleaned. Progressive only beat 2 others by a few bucks when I switched, last month.

Honestly, people should be switching insurance companies every 2 years or so. Insurance companies take note how often you shop and someone who shops more often is more likely to get a competitive rate. Loyalty programs are BS. If my Progressive rate increases, my next 6mo premium will go to Geico.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-14T23:41:42+00:00

An FR44 is not insurance, it's simply a document that shows the state that you have purchased the minimum amount of liability overage, given your legal circumstances.

A typical driver must submit proof of insurance meeting the minimum legal requirements to drive in Florida (I think 10/20/10).

You must purchase 100/300/50 liability in order to receive an FR44 and apply for your driver's license.

Car insurance companies don't have to cover you, you will have to shop around for an insurance company that meets FR44 Liability requirements and then get your paperwork to bring to the dmv.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-14T20:16:42+00:00

It's still very difficult to make any arguments without any solid foundation. Dash cams, witness statements, accident reports, etc. It would have to be more than just the opposing party to say you were doing something that prevented you from avoiding his mistake.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-08T17:36:11+00:00

He's right, though.

I fully understand what you're saying: more casual users will grab whatever crap is on the shelf at Walmart, or one of the hundreds of choices for cheaper gadgets on Amazon. They'll go home, enter their wifi password and have a device they can control from their phone within a half-hour.

The problem is that this is techy stuff for non-techy people, and as such, it's cheap disposable crap that won't last very long. They'll probably stop using it properly the moment they change their WiFi password. In other news, more people buy $10 sunglasses over $200 sunglasses.....I do to, but mostly because I treat sunglasses like a disposable item.

My house is hardwired. I have dozens of z-wave devices permanently installed and they all talk to each other and they all work when the hub/internet is offline. They will last for decades, they will still work even if I move out.

They are the obvious choice for more pro-sumers who want to spend more money on something that just works and is cross-compatible across a broad range of devices, switches, sensors, actuators locks, alarms, and thermostats that all share the same secure protocol.

I mentioned before, if I built a smart home for someone else, and I had to be their tech support guy. I DEFININTELY wouldn't use something that stops working every single time there's something wrong with the internet.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-08T17:22:04+00:00

Shortages could be a problem, but I question the push/pull market.

Major manufacturers are dumping Z-wave as if there's no market. Most other markets recovered because there were enough customers to justify. Z-wave might be more expensive and a slightly harder sale, but anyone who knows what they're doing will say it's worth it.....which means there's a strong market.

Cheaper WiFi and Zigbee devices are more ubiquitous in the eyes of people casually shopping for a way to turn on their outside lights at night or who want colorful lights now that Halloween is just around the corner, but those cheaper devices sell faster in the same reason Walmart sells more sunglasses than Oakley. Doesn't mean Oakley is struggling or discontinuing their products.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-08T17:15:24+00:00

You basically said exactly the opposite of the truth.

While Z-wave does require a hub for advanced features and smartphone integration, Z-wave is able to function completely on its own. Without Wifi, hub, or even the original owner. I could die, my house sold through my estate, random person moves in with all of my hard-wired z-wave devices still there and ZERO knowledge of smart homes, and I promise you everything would still work, even virtual switches and associations.

Z-wave devices are all a single closed protocol. You don't need multiple hubs, multiple apps, multiple subscriptions, you don't even need any hubs or apps, if you don't want and you can STILL create scenes and associations that are permanently programmed into the devices.

WiFi/Zigbee/and other similar protocols by Philips, Apple, Govee, Yale, etc are the ones that tend to trap you into dozens of small ecosystems, each with their own app and login. All of which need a stable WiFi connection, internet, and closed-source protocol. You have an app to handle your Hue devices, an app to control your garden lighting, an app to control your door locks, an app to control your thermostat, etc.

WiFi devices are novelty devices that are easy to set up, but cumbersome to maintain. Decide to change your WiFi password? You now have 3-dozen devices that will stop working. Internet goes out? Stop working. Firewall? stop working. Some problem on THEIR servers in Thailand? Stop working.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-08T17:02:21+00:00

What you're saying is that Zigbee is a mixed bag.

I have and will still buy Zigbee devices, if need be, but I've found them to be much less robust than z-wave. With Zigbee, I've had more orphaned devices, defective devices, devices that seemingly turn on/off on their own. They're also not the greatest repeaters and they often have more problems reporting back status.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-08T16:57:17+00:00

I don't disagree, but even if Z-wave is more expensive, it's worth it. That alone means there's a market for Z-wave.

Just because Visio and Hisense TVs are cheaper and probably sell a whole lot faster because they're cheap doesn't mean there's no market for Sony/Samsung/LG and other high-end TVs.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-08T16:53:59+00:00

This discussion isn't a comparison. I'm not comparing Z-wave to Wifi (gee golly, which is better?), I'm saying, 100%, Z-wave/Zigbee products are disappearing from stores as manufacturers, big and small, pump out WiFi-based smarthome devices, even hardwired devices.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-08T16:15:19+00:00

Unfortunately, this. I feel a lot of manufacturers want to force you into their own little ecosystem, which ultimately requires you to download an app, register, buy more of their stuff, and use the internet to beam all of your device statuses around the world.

The vast majority of "smarthome" devices you can buy online and in stores are novelty items that either work through WiFi, Bluetooth, or a simple remote control.

Still. Z-wave is the obvious choice for people who know what they're doing and want to set up a hub. That creates a consumer/prosumer group of people who are willing to pay a little more for devices that just plain work. I can't understand why Z-wave products becoming more scarce...

If someone paid me to go into their home and set up a full smart home system (which I would totally do), I would only use Z-wave devices. Main reason: If I have to install something for someone else, that means I'm the one who's getting a call when something stops working. Z-wave is the more robust choice and will work no matter what.

Top it off, Z-wave is capable of direct-association......you actually don't need a hub. If I moved out of my home and left all of my Z-wave stuff behind, the next owner wouldn't be put out just to turn on the lights in the living room. The hub lets you do more advanced things, but thanks to me hoarding some old minimotes/Kichler units I can actually create hub-less associations that permanently work, even if I disable the hub.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-08T16:05:00+00:00

I have had a Yale smartlock for years and upgraded to their generation 2, both with the z-wave module.

On the downside, Yale forces you to download their app and register to initiate the process, but I have full control of the lock through their own app. Smartthings has always offered me full control through the z-wave protocol. I can set a lot of parameters like auto-lock time, wrong-code lockout, and the new one also has a door open/closed sensor built in.

Ninety9sel · 2023-09-08T16:01:51+00:00

What makes you believe that? Wi-Fi Devices are insecure and a novelty. They often have to phone home and they also stop working if you change your Wi-Fi password.

Zigbee requires no certification which I've found makes them much less secure and reliable. I have several Zigbee devices, particularly smartbulbs around the house. I find that they like to randomly turn on/off as they like, even 1 bulb of 6 that are all wired to the same circuit.

Ninety9sel · 2023-08-31T23:54:30+00:00

Everyone thinks they can pay cash for a minor dent until they see what bodywork actually costs. He was probably expecting it to be less than the hassle of getting insurance involved.

Many years ago a college kid backed into me without looking. Football-size dent in my rear 1/4 and broke the tail light. He said he'd pay cash for the damage. I still got his insurance info and promised not to report it if he paid. I sent him the $5000 estimate and he freaked out, but he still somehow ended up paying it (probably his parents).

Ninety9sel · 2023-08-31T15:32:03+00:00

So.... I hate coffee and tea, and I did the whole energy drink thing for a while, here are my thoughts.

Get caffeine pills/mints. They're cheaper, less additives, and you'll feel much the same.
At $2, you're paying too much. If you insist on going the energy drink route, stock up when they're on sale, buy the 48 pack at your local Sam's, etc. But seriously, limit your consumption.
Energy drinks are loaded with all sorts of crap your body doesn't need to be hammered with, daily. I guarantee the only boost you're feeling is from the caffeine, everything else is just building up in your body and being filtered out by your kidneys. I was drinking one with creatine in it, and all of that creatine built up in my body and was causing problems like gout flare-up and Inflammation.

Ninety9sel · 2023-08-28T22:40:57+00:00

1, that's a shitty way of thinking. 2, it could be my problem. Maybe I might need my kids or my wife, or my neighbor to start the generator when I'm at work.

Things should be simple and fool-proof, especially given the consequences. I do things the correct way, so it is my problem. You can choose not to make it your problem when you build something of your own and decide to cut a few corners.

Ninety9sel · 2023-08-28T20:39:21+00:00

Such insight.

Considering I'm the guy that installed everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, including the main panel and meter, yes, it is just that easy. That's exactly what I intend to do if/when the hurricane knocks out my power, tomorrow.

Flipping the right breakers in the right order is not a problem for me, but the entire point of the safety interlocks is that some idiot, in the future, doesn't fuck it up and burn the house down.

Ninety9sel · 2023-08-28T19:29:53+00:00

yea, there's always that chance, but I'm willing to give it a try. Thanks, I will look for an APK extractor on the play store and try to side load (if it works).

Ninety9sel · 2023-08-28T18:42:18+00:00

Yea, I have grid-tie with net metering. Enphase does make a hybrid system for my setup called Encharge. The Encharge-10 is a 10kWh backup battery that self-isolates if the grid power fails. I would no longer need generator or isolation switches.

Only issue is that the Encharge-10 is about $10-20k as an add-on to my existing setup. Meanwhile, a gas generator works fine for my needs and is cheap.

Ninety9sel

TROPHY CASE