Hire an attorney if you need help with an insurance claim. I am not an attorney. I am certain there are procedural or legal errors in the story below. I am sharing to bring some awareness to the community on what I did, how I did it, and the results I achieved. I haven't seen too many threads or help on the internet for this topic. Hope it helps!
Accident Details:
So, a few months back, I took the STO out to go for coffee with one of my good friends. My friend left and then I decided to hit the coffee shop one more time before heading home. While I was in the coffee shop, somebody crashed into the STO (front passenger side impact) while it was parked.
Called the cops via their non-emergency line. They wouldn't come out because there were no injuries. Called tow truck and towed the Lambo home.
Dealing with the Insurance Company:
Collected insurance info from the other driver and called their insurance company the next day. The other driver already set up a claim. I attached my repair claim to their existing claim number.
Insurance company first recommended some shop that wasn't Lamborghini certified. I denied that and let them know that I'd be taking it to a certified shop. A few days later I got the car towed to a certified Lamborghini repair facility near my home. They were professional and seemed to run a tight ship. I was comfortable that they could handle the job. I figured I was in good hands with a shop that repairs Bugattis. They get started and return their report that reflected over $120k in damages.
After some additional inspections and back and forth, the total came to $135k in damages. Cofango replacement, new headlight, new rim, new lower control arm, new power steering rack, new wheel hub, etc. It was quite extraordinary that this much damage could be done in a parking lot. Insurance company came back and said the adjuster "reviewed the file" and said that everything could be handled for $40k. I insisted on the full amount recommended by the shop and let them know that I would pursue legal action if required. They came back after some back and forth and agreed to the $135k in repairs. This back and forth took a few weeks. Repairs started about a month after the STO arrived at the shop.
During the back and forth and for about two or three months, the insurance claim adjuster was constantly trying to offer me a $70 daily stipend for a rental car, and said that per policy, that's all I was entitled to. Denied those offers and let the adjuster know that I'd be handling my own rental situation.
After about two months, I started doing some research into Diminished Value Claims and Loss of use in California. I started the search for a Diminished Value and Loss of Use Professional. There are many out there but I do highly recommend Main Page | theautoappraiser-lsc. I gave them a call and it was quite informative. I sent in some info and received my report about a week later. We calculated loss of use with the estimated return date of my vehicle, as stated by the repair shop. Reports reflected $280k in Diminished Value and Loss of Use (calculated at 120 days, based on the shop's estimate). After a few edits, I accepted the report. Note, there are many auto appraisers that do this sort of thing. Do a web search and find someone competent that can handle your DV and LOU report.
A week after receiving my report, I submitted the claim to the claims agent. I used ChatGPT to generate a Loss of Use Demand and a Diminished Value Demand letter. I made some edits and sent both demand letters via email with the DV/DIV report and Loss of Use report and other evidence (STO rental car values) in the email. In the demand, I gave them 10 days to pay via certified check(s) or else I would consider using all legal avenues to achieve a "prompt, fair, and equitable settlement." I went for the full amount in both reports, so that I could set my negotiation anchor at the highest point. The insurance company asked for more time and asked that we start the clock after the car was in my possession. It was a reasonable ask, so I let them know that I expected payment 10 days after my car was returned.
The day after I got my car back, I contacted the claims agent and let them know that I expected payment within 10 days. They got back to me shortly thereafter and came back with an offer of $100k and some change. I told them that I "could not accept their offer" and they came back with another offer. They responded with a $120k offer a week later. Rinse and repeat. I told them that I "could not accept their offer" and at this point, in the interests of avoiding further legal escalation, I would give them a 5% discount on the Diminished Value settlement and a 30% discount on the Loss of Use settlement. They came back with an offer a little north of $200k. I accepted their offer and they sent a check within about 8 days. 3 rounds of negotiation. Case closed.
Claim 1: Repair claim of $135k paid to the body shop. Got my car back after 120 days.
Claim 2: Diminished Value Claim with a settlement of around $80k.
Claim 3: Loss of Use Claim with a settlement of around $120k.
Did I Leave Money on the Table? Probably, sure. But I'd rather get $200k settlement now rather than whatever the settlement might be after paying lawyer fees, etc.
Lessons I Learned:
1. Only communicate via email. Save all communication. Never agree to anything or make any statements to insurance claims agents over the phone. Better to let them know at the very beginning that they may not call, text, or leave any messages on your phone. Insurance claims agents cannot be trusted.
a. Pulling underhanded tactics via email is much harder than via the phone.
b. The insurance claims agent might do something that is contrary to insurance law in your state, and you'll want to keep that for your lawyer, if you end up having to make a complaint to the Insurance Commissioner, or if it escalates to court.
2. Always read insurance law docs in your state to make yourself aware of your rights. Apparently some states have no recourse for DV/DIV or LOU.
3. Always be professional, and never bring emotion into your negotiations. Be prepared to take it to court if you have to. Communicate your demands in a professional manner. Use Chat GPT if you are not good at writing.
4. Never get a rental car through the insurance company. Instead, get ready to file a loss of use claim about a month before your car is ready. If you get a rental car and it is reimbursed by the insurance company, you can't file a loss of use claim.
5. Hire a diminished value claims (and loss of use) professional to write up your DV/DIV report and LOU report. If anything, it lets the insurance company know that you are willing to spend money to get the result that you want and deserve.
6. Hire a property damage attorney to handle all this for you if you don't have the time or if you require some professional help with getting your claim handled. None of the "accident attorneys" would handle my claim if there was no bodily damage associated with the accident.
7. Submit your DV/DIV and LOU claim a few weeks before you get your car back in your possession. Although the insurance company that I dealt with wouldn't process it until I got my car back, I wanted to get both claims in the system ahead of time. The insurance company will come in and provide a bogus report that diminishes the value associated your claim (Both LOU and DV/DIV). Their bogus report used some random, proprietary calculation. Analyze and pick apart their report.
8. Process the claim through the insured's insurance company. I don't see a reason to process the claim through your insurance company if the other person is at fault (and you have their info).
9. Insurance companies will rarely offer you a fair settlement the first time around. Some insurance companies or claims agents are better to work with than others. Negotiations are a back and forth kind of thing. My negotiations took about two months or so. Figure out if you have any leverage (DV/DIV and LOU report) and be strategic about your communications and negotiations. They will try to get you to provide even more information or justification after submitting your DV/DIV and LOU reports. Always refer them back to the reports that you sent. They don't require any other info than what is in the DV/DIV and LOU reports.
10. The insurance claims agent lied to me a few times, so you should expect that your assigned insurance claims agent will lie to you as well.
11. Insurance company will use some national rent-a-car service to drop the value of your (Lamborghini) rental car's daily rate. In reality, there will be no cars available at that ultra-low price.
12. Use ChatGPT or some other LLM platform to formulate your responses. Made things pretty easy for me. Also used ChatGPT to weigh pros and cons at different points in the negotiation.
13. Even though much of the delay will be the insurance company's fault (time to get an adjuster to look at your car, their review process, etc) they will say that the shop is delaying and that they will not pay loss of use for the entire time that your vehicle was not in your possession. (more underhanded tactics)
14. Stay strong and always be ready to use the nuclear option of hiring an attorney.
References That Might Help in CA:
www.insurance.ca.gov
govt.westlaw.com
View Document - California Code of Regulations
List of Techniques the Insurance Company Used to Attempt to Lower Their Liability or Lower my Settlement:
Offered $70 per day for rental car, when rentals for a STO cost $2,499 a day in OC
Offered $90k less than what was required for repairs, also lied and said that the shop agreed to the lower amount when they had not
Tried to use their own tow truck company. My tow truck company had race ramps and a low profile ramp. My tow truck company costs more.
Tried to have me source parts from a third party dealer/reseller (not Lamborghini)
Tried to have me use a non-Lamborghini certified body shop
Tried to use a bogus diminished value report with proprietary calculations that artificially lowered the value of my DV/DIV claim
Told me to use my insurance instead of their insurance because it would be "faster"
Brought up a bogus quote at $1,250 a day for a "high performance vehicle" when they had no Lamborghini Huracans or STOs available
Came in at 1/3 of the full value DV/DIV and LOU for their initial settlement offer
Tried to say that the shop delayed the return of my vehicle, thus they would only cover me for half the days my car was gone, more underhanded tactics
Would not let me know what the liability limits were for the policy (I don't know if I was entitled to know this info, but it would have been nice to know for negotiations sake.)
Accident Details:
So, a few months back, I took the STO out to go for coffee with one of my good friends. My friend left and then I decided to hit the coffee shop one more time before heading home. While I was in the coffee shop, somebody crashed into the STO (front passenger side impact) while it was parked.
Called the cops via their non-emergency line. They wouldn't come out because there were no injuries. Called tow truck and towed the Lambo home.
Dealing with the Insurance Company:
Collected insurance info from the other driver and called their insurance company the next day. The other driver already set up a claim. I attached my repair claim to their existing claim number.
Insurance company first recommended some shop that wasn't Lamborghini certified. I denied that and let them know that I'd be taking it to a certified shop. A few days later I got the car towed to a certified Lamborghini repair facility near my home. They were professional and seemed to run a tight ship. I was comfortable that they could handle the job. I figured I was in good hands with a shop that repairs Bugattis. They get started and return their report that reflected over $120k in damages.
After some additional inspections and back and forth, the total came to $135k in damages. Cofango replacement, new headlight, new rim, new lower control arm, new power steering rack, new wheel hub, etc. It was quite extraordinary that this much damage could be done in a parking lot. Insurance company came back and said the adjuster "reviewed the file" and said that everything could be handled for $40k. I insisted on the full amount recommended by the shop and let them know that I would pursue legal action if required. They came back after some back and forth and agreed to the $135k in repairs. This back and forth took a few weeks. Repairs started about a month after the STO arrived at the shop.
During the back and forth and for about two or three months, the insurance claim adjuster was constantly trying to offer me a $70 daily stipend for a rental car, and said that per policy, that's all I was entitled to. Denied those offers and let the adjuster know that I'd be handling my own rental situation.
After about two months, I started doing some research into Diminished Value Claims and Loss of use in California. I started the search for a Diminished Value and Loss of Use Professional. There are many out there but I do highly recommend Main Page | theautoappraiser-lsc. I gave them a call and it was quite informative. I sent in some info and received my report about a week later. We calculated loss of use with the estimated return date of my vehicle, as stated by the repair shop. Reports reflected $280k in Diminished Value and Loss of Use (calculated at 120 days, based on the shop's estimate). After a few edits, I accepted the report. Note, there are many auto appraisers that do this sort of thing. Do a web search and find someone competent that can handle your DV and LOU report.
A week after receiving my report, I submitted the claim to the claims agent. I used ChatGPT to generate a Loss of Use Demand and a Diminished Value Demand letter. I made some edits and sent both demand letters via email with the DV/DIV report and Loss of Use report and other evidence (STO rental car values) in the email. In the demand, I gave them 10 days to pay via certified check(s) or else I would consider using all legal avenues to achieve a "prompt, fair, and equitable settlement." I went for the full amount in both reports, so that I could set my negotiation anchor at the highest point. The insurance company asked for more time and asked that we start the clock after the car was in my possession. It was a reasonable ask, so I let them know that I expected payment 10 days after my car was returned.
The day after I got my car back, I contacted the claims agent and let them know that I expected payment within 10 days. They got back to me shortly thereafter and came back with an offer of $100k and some change. I told them that I "could not accept their offer" and they came back with another offer. They responded with a $120k offer a week later. Rinse and repeat. I told them that I "could not accept their offer" and at this point, in the interests of avoiding further legal escalation, I would give them a 5% discount on the Diminished Value settlement and a 30% discount on the Loss of Use settlement. They came back with an offer a little north of $200k. I accepted their offer and they sent a check within about 8 days. 3 rounds of negotiation. Case closed.
Claim 1: Repair claim of $135k paid to the body shop. Got my car back after 120 days.
Claim 2: Diminished Value Claim with a settlement of around $80k.
Claim 3: Loss of Use Claim with a settlement of around $120k.
Did I Leave Money on the Table? Probably, sure. But I'd rather get $200k settlement now rather than whatever the settlement might be after paying lawyer fees, etc.
Lessons I Learned:
1. Only communicate via email. Save all communication. Never agree to anything or make any statements to insurance claims agents over the phone. Better to let them know at the very beginning that they may not call, text, or leave any messages on your phone. Insurance claims agents cannot be trusted.
a. Pulling underhanded tactics via email is much harder than via the phone.
b. The insurance claims agent might do something that is contrary to insurance law in your state, and you'll want to keep that for your lawyer, if you end up having to make a complaint to the Insurance Commissioner, or if it escalates to court.
2. Always read insurance law docs in your state to make yourself aware of your rights. Apparently some states have no recourse for DV/DIV or LOU.
3. Always be professional, and never bring emotion into your negotiations. Be prepared to take it to court if you have to. Communicate your demands in a professional manner. Use Chat GPT if you are not good at writing.
4. Never get a rental car through the insurance company. Instead, get ready to file a loss of use claim about a month before your car is ready. If you get a rental car and it is reimbursed by the insurance company, you can't file a loss of use claim.
5. Hire a diminished value claims (and loss of use) professional to write up your DV/DIV report and LOU report. If anything, it lets the insurance company know that you are willing to spend money to get the result that you want and deserve.
6. Hire a property damage attorney to handle all this for you if you don't have the time or if you require some professional help with getting your claim handled. None of the "accident attorneys" would handle my claim if there was no bodily damage associated with the accident.
7. Submit your DV/DIV and LOU claim a few weeks before you get your car back in your possession. Although the insurance company that I dealt with wouldn't process it until I got my car back, I wanted to get both claims in the system ahead of time. The insurance company will come in and provide a bogus report that diminishes the value associated your claim (Both LOU and DV/DIV). Their bogus report used some random, proprietary calculation. Analyze and pick apart their report.
8. Process the claim through the insured's insurance company. I don't see a reason to process the claim through your insurance company if the other person is at fault (and you have their info).
9. Insurance companies will rarely offer you a fair settlement the first time around. Some insurance companies or claims agents are better to work with than others. Negotiations are a back and forth kind of thing. My negotiations took about two months or so. Figure out if you have any leverage (DV/DIV and LOU report) and be strategic about your communications and negotiations. They will try to get you to provide even more information or justification after submitting your DV/DIV and LOU reports. Always refer them back to the reports that you sent. They don't require any other info than what is in the DV/DIV and LOU reports.
10. The insurance claims agent lied to me a few times, so you should expect that your assigned insurance claims agent will lie to you as well.
11. Insurance company will use some national rent-a-car service to drop the value of your (Lamborghini) rental car's daily rate. In reality, there will be no cars available at that ultra-low price.
12. Use ChatGPT or some other LLM platform to formulate your responses. Made things pretty easy for me. Also used ChatGPT to weigh pros and cons at different points in the negotiation.
13. Even though much of the delay will be the insurance company's fault (time to get an adjuster to look at your car, their review process, etc) they will say that the shop is delaying and that they will not pay loss of use for the entire time that your vehicle was not in your possession. (more underhanded tactics)
14. Stay strong and always be ready to use the nuclear option of hiring an attorney.
References That Might Help in CA:
Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations
www.insurance.ca.gov
View Document - California Code of Regulations
View Document - California Code of Regulations
List of Techniques the Insurance Company Used to Attempt to Lower Their Liability or Lower my Settlement:
Offered $70 per day for rental car, when rentals for a STO cost $2,499 a day in OC
Offered $90k less than what was required for repairs, also lied and said that the shop agreed to the lower amount when they had not
Tried to use their own tow truck company. My tow truck company had race ramps and a low profile ramp. My tow truck company costs more.
Tried to have me source parts from a third party dealer/reseller (not Lamborghini)
Tried to have me use a non-Lamborghini certified body shop
Tried to use a bogus diminished value report with proprietary calculations that artificially lowered the value of my DV/DIV claim
Told me to use my insurance instead of their insurance because it would be "faster"
Brought up a bogus quote at $1,250 a day for a "high performance vehicle" when they had no Lamborghini Huracans or STOs available
Came in at 1/3 of the full value DV/DIV and LOU for their initial settlement offer
Tried to say that the shop delayed the return of my vehicle, thus they would only cover me for half the days my car was gone, more underhanded tactics
Would not let me know what the liability limits were for the policy (I don't know if I was entitled to know this info, but it would have been nice to know for negotiations sake.)
