Month: May 2012

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Grateful For My Little Pink Phone

I’ve never never had much use for phones, except when they act as a modem to get on the internet. I’ve been very lackadaisical about keeping an active cell phone unless I have a very specific reason for needing it on (eg. my PR person at the RV show needed to be able to keep in touch with me). I lived most of my life without 24/7 access to a phone and I just don’t rely on the technology that much. When I’ve needed a phone in an emergency, it was just a matter of minutes to get it reactivated. I don’t remember missing access to a phone when I was traveling through the US last year.

On this trip, I wanted to have internet access, so I was very grateful that Donna gave me her LG phone that can be tethered to your computer and act as a cellular modem:

I was irked that I had to buy a voice plan so that I could get the data plan, but jumped through the hoops and got the smallest phone plan, 450 nationwide minutes. A few days later, I decided to pay the extra $20 and get the nationwide+Canada plan. This means that I can make calls to anywhere in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada, and receive calls from anywhere in these locations, without being billed beyond my monthly amount as long as I don’t use up more than 450 minutes.

Needless to say, I have been very grateful for my phone since the accident! I haven’t had to worry about being able to reach people or to be reached. I do only have about 120 minutes left, but at least I will have used up all my minutes, making the expense worthwhile.

I did find it fussy for going online, but suspected the cable was bad. I spent all of $2.50 on Amazon for a genuine LG cable with a cell phone port at one and and a USB port at the other and, voila!, problem solved.

This phone has a touch screen and QWERTY keypad (the phone opens up like a book to reveal the keyboard), which is useful for texting, although I have to pay for each text (it was $10 to add a texting plan). I will confess that I have used the phone to check my email and to do internet research! The phone also has a pretty decent little camera.

I love my easy-to-remember North Dakota number and am thinking about keeping the voice plan active when I get back to Canada, although I will be turning off the data plan to avoid incurring huge charges. I am amused that I am considering keeping a $70 cell phone plan active when I’ve resented paying the $17 minimum fee to keep my Virgin mobile phone active. I think that part of it is that I will be able to use this phone everywhere I travel and that I’d need it active anyway in the US to get the data plan. Might as well keep it going all the time.

Verizon seems like an okay company to deal with, but they are a little clingy. I just made a payment online using my credit card and I immediately got both a text and an email thanking me! I won’t even get into the mountain of paperwork they sent me thanking me for signing up, for changing my plan, for switching to paperless billing (as my friend says, oh, irony, it burns!). Hopefully, that will calm down a little.

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Call From the 330 Area Code

The 330 area code serves northeast Ohio. The person on the other end was the insurance adjuster for the moron who rear ended me. She sounded very pleasant, apologizing for taking so long to get back to me and promised to get in touch with my adjusters today.

We began with my going over the details of the accident and she says that my story lines up with her client’s. We briefly discussed the damage to both the car and the motorhome as well as to my contents.

The first bit of good news was that she wanted to know if there is a place she can send me my $1,000 in deductibles soon as she gets confirmation from my adjusters that I have them. Hell, ya. Thank you. One less stress.

Next, I told her about the axle issue and she said that she will listen to both the mechanic and the appraiser regarding the damage. I think they will both go to bat for me on this issue. Moreover, I had a thought last night. Why is the appraiser coming back out again? Whatever he first saw wasn’t enough to decide either way, but it was enough to make it worth him coming back out.

Finally, she asked me if I had any comments and I let her know that her client completely screwed up my life and that I am concerned about the axle damage being covered. I have consulted a lawyer, but I am hoping that we can resolve this through the insurance. She said that he does have sufficient coverage and if it looks like the axle could have been caused by the impact, they’ll cover it. Her tone changed after I mentioned the word lawyer. It was really subtle, but I could feel a definite chill. I remained pleasant and cheery, thanking her for her time, but something definitely changed. For better or worse, we’ll soon find out.

 

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Motorhome Claim Update

I just hung with my adjuster at Aviva. I have made the decision to get started on the repairs without knowing if I will be on the hook for them or not because this was deadlocking us. Aviva can’t make a decision as to coverage until the appraiser has a chance to look at the guts of the damage. That is going to happen sometime tomorrow. I have given the mechanic the green light to do whatever work needs to be done to get me back on the road lickety split.

The adjuster seems to have changed her tune regarding whether or not I’ll get covered for this or maybe she just boiled it down to the nitty gritty. Basically, the appraiser needs to be confident that the damage could be related to the accident and that there are no wear and tear issues. If that’s the case, then I’m covered, and all is good. But if there is even the slightest hint of a wear and tear issue, I’m out of luck.

I also decided to advise the adjuster about the buzz online about this issue. I made it clear that I don’t expect that to get me any special consideration, but that Aviva needs to know that people are talking. She said that I’m free to say what I want but that they have policies and procedures to adhere to. She seemed to think that I was trying to muscle her, which is exactly why I wanted to avoid bringing up the ‘do you know who I am?’ card. But I think it was courteous of me to do so.

So I just want to go on the record to say that I think that Aviva is handling the claim, complicated as it has become, competently, if not fast enough for my needs, and that I don’t feel like a valued customer. This is my first time dealing with an insurance company where I feel like a number. I’ve never had an at-fault claim and have always been treated for my not-at-fault claims beyond the stated policies and procedures as a victim who needs special care. Call me spoiled. Entitled even.

I think my adjuster and I are still on okay terms. She brought up the appraiser’s estimate versus the mechanic’s and our conversation soon sounded, in my opinion, like an argument. I was horrified! She and I have more than enough to discuss without arguing over something that neither one of us has any control over! I quickly put the lid on that and told her that it would cost what it costs and that the appraiser and mechanic can hash it out themselves and that we don’t need to worry about that at this point.

At this point, I don’t expect any further updates from Aviva before Thursday, and I could be back on the road Saturday as planned, but surely no later than next Tuesday.

I’m heading back to the hotel. I’m nowhere near my $1,000 allowance on it, so I might as well take advantage of the facilities. They have an onsite laundry, so I’m off to drag my very neglected and overflowing laundry basket into the trunk of the rental car. 🙂

As for the rental car, my Intact adjuster says that they’re still paying for it, and will for a couple more days!

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Appraisal on the Car Damage and Value!

I had just hit post on the last update when my phone rang. It was the appraiser for the car.

I’d been advised to not accept anything he said until I could mull it over, but there was no reason not to.

Damage to the rear end of the car is valued at $7,400. Value of the damage on the front end, $5,000. Total cost to repair the car: $12,400. I paid about $15,000 for that car; there’s no way those kinds of repairs aren’t a total loss!

The appraiser called around Lethbridge and got an estimate of $2,200 to have a new car set up for towing. He can’t go any higher than that. However, he is putting a note in the file that he recommends I be paid that much, but that I can come back with a bill later and get reimbursed if it costs more. That’s a compromise I can live with.

Now, the value of the car. I did some market research and determined that, depending on the condition and options, the car was worth $7,500 to $9,000. I was willing to settle for an appraised value of $8,500 because of the good condition and low mileage. The appraiser came back with a figure of $9,432.

Moreover, should I have to pay GST on the next car I buy, I can submit a GST bill of up to $471.60 (5% of $9,432). So I don’t want to hear anyone say that I should have hemmed and hawed before accepting. 🙂

I still owe about $4,200 on the car. So I should be getting about $5,000 once the loan is paid out and the paperwork is completed. I am so happy that I paid the ‘cash’ price for the car and got it financed at 0% otherwise there is a likely chance I would have still been on the wrong side of the loan at this point or that the car would have just been worth what I owe on it.

I’m not sure yet what I’ll be buying to replace the car, but I want something sturdier than an Accent and not brand new. That $5,000 should go a long enough way to getting something decent.

So now, I’m focused on getting this claim resolved and money in the bank in time to get me back on the road by next Thursday. Please keep all your appendages crossed!

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A Smidgen of Progress on the Car Insurance Claim

I just spoke with my adjuster at Intact, the car insurer. Wow, this one is going a lot more smoothly. She says that the appraiser will get back to me when he has a report and that I will probably hear from him before she does!

She did say that judging by the pictures, she’s expecting a report of total loss. She also said that there is absolutely no question of my being at fault for anything.

Once she gets the report of total loss, it takes about a week for the money to land in the bank account through direct deposit. So if they can have an answer by today, which she says is likely, I could have that money by the end of next week. If it looks like that will be the case, I will have the work started on the motorhome and be ready to pay it from the auto claim when the payment comes true. It’s stupid that I have to do it that way, but I know I am in for a long battle for with Aviva.

I really need a lawyer, but the ones I have spoken to are gun shy about taking an auto case without injuries (note to self: the next time someone rear ends me, go see a doctor for whiplash). I’ve gotten a lot of advice and I know I should be dealing with Aviva through a lawyer, but that’s easier said than done. There are jurisdiction issues, too. The lawyers I’ve spoken to are located in Ohio, where the guy who rear ended me is insured, and that seems to be the right location.

The tow bar claim is under review. I will be covered; the question is for how much and whether it will be paid separately or as part of the car evaluation. I have valued the tow system at about $4,000, including parts and installation. I have receipts for everything except the tow bar itself (the cost of which is verifiable online), but the work was done by a family friend who gave me a discount on labour and part costs, so those invoices do not accurately reflect what it is going to cost me to get set up again for towing. The adjuster said she is keeping that in mind.

The mechanic came by to show me an invoice for similar work to what Miranda needs on a 2004 Ford truck on an E450 chassis (just like Miranda). The amount is $3,000. Closer to $2,000, I could have just squeaked through the payment amount. But $3,000, plus a $250 towing bill is just not possible.

Not counting the welding costs, the bulk of this invoice is for parts that I replaced very recently. No one is going to get me to believe that these troubles are not related to the accident. That said, I have been researching automotive claim laws and it’s apparently up to me to prove that the accident caused the damage. What I can prove for certain is that Miranda was operating perfectly (no trouble with her until after the accident), all her maintenance was up to date, and she was not overloaded. We’ll see what Aviva says but I still maintain that it would be cheaper for the other company to pay to shut me up than to take this to court.