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Anyone Have Experience Dealing with CAR Insurance Companies?

Gwg

I'm New Here
Hi all,

My RV had its wing-tip crunched by a car. The damage appears to be mostly limited to the wingtip with (apparently) superficial damage to the aileron.

The wingtips are the older (W-415) style with the integrated landing light shining through Plexiglas and "blister mounts" for the position light / strobe. The tip is likely not salvageable, and while Van's has the W-415s in stock, they have stopped supplying the relevant light cove kit, Plexiglas lens, and blister mount to mount position light / strobe.

Does anyone have experience dealing with car insurance companies on airplane repairs? Is anyone aware of reputable shops on the west coast (I'm in SoCal) that could provide a credible quote to the insurance company of the value of labor and parts to fix the damage?

Thanks all!
 
Hi all,


Does anyone have experience dealing with car insurance companies on airplane repairs? Is anyone aware of reputable shops on the west coast (I'm in SoCal) that could provide a credible quote to the insurance company of the value of labor and parts to fix the damage?

Thanks all!

I had a CAR run into my RV-6 19-years ago. I had to spend $11,000 in attorney fees to get the Car Insurance to pay and they did not cover legal fees. After arbitration we went to court. In the judge's chambers they finally were willing to pay 100%. (What the arbitrator said they should pay.) All repairs were done with a loan from my 401K but I eventually got reimbursed minus legal fees after 2.5 years of H E double hockey sticks.
 
I had a CAR run into my RV-6 19-years ago. I had to spend $11,000 in attorney fees to get the Car Insurance to pay and they did not cover legal fees. After arbitration we went to court. In the judge's chambers they finally were willing to pay 100%. (What the arbitrator said they should pay.) All repairs were done with a loan from my 401K but I eventually got reimbursed minus legal fees after 2.5 years of H E double hockey sticks.

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. Was the issue that you were billing for things you did vs. using a third-party shop (like auto insurance companies would be used to in auto collisions) or were they just refusing flat-out?
 
Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. Was the issue that you were billing for things you did vs. using a third-party shop (like auto insurance companies would be used to in auto collisions) or were they just refusing flat-out?

Insurance company (State Farm) is in business to make money. They do not want to pay out anything and when they do, they want to pay out as little as possible. They will drag everything out to wear you down and settle for the smallest amount possible.
 
Get a local A&P to give you a quote, then present it to the insurance company.

If they balk, it is time to involve the State Insurance Commissioner, if you have one of those.
 
But...

Can't you just go after the car owner directly? Why bother with the insurance company, unless the owner doesn't have anything of value.

-Marc
 
This may not be the *best* approach, but...isn't this what your own insurance is for? They pay for the repairs and then subrogatee to the at-fault car owner's insurance company?
 
This may not be the *best* approach, but...isn't this what your own insurance is for? They pay for the repairs and then subrogatee to the at-fault car owner's insurance company?

I'd prefer my rates not go up due to someone else's mistake?it sounds like the most practical course of action may be to get some quotes from reputable shops and go from there.
 
I'd prefer my rates not go up due to someone else's mistake?it sounds like the most practical course of action may be to get some quotes from reputable shops and go from there.

That's why I said it may not be the best idea, but it's certainly one of the options available. If the other insurance refuses to pony up, seems like you're left with just a couple of options: get a lawyer, or sic your insurance company on them. Which one is preferable? Who knows...depends on how much damage, how much the lawyer would cost vs. how much your insurance might go up and for how long, and so on.
 
Insurance company (State Farm) is in business to make money. They do not want to pay out anything and when they do, they want to pay out as little as possible. They will drag everything out to wear you down and settle for the smallest amount possible.

Thank you for sharing, I will make sure not to use State Farm for any insurance needs, though good chances are that they all follow the same philosophy, to get your money and pay as little as possible when one is in need of using the insurance.
 
Get the quotes and present them to the driver of the vehicle with a request for payment. Let him decide if he wants to involve his insurance company. If no payment sue in small claims if the amount can be covered there.
 
Neighbor

My neighbors teenage son did major damage to his F33 Bonanza with his car. His car insurance did not want to cover that large amount.
He hit the airplane in his dads hanger. The dad had lots of trouble getting it payed. Dads car, dads airplane, dads “kids” car, dads hanger, dads paying for insurance on everything.
 
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Go after the driver and file suit. It?s their responsibility. Let them deal with the insurance company(issues).
 
Get the quotes and present them to the driver of the vehicle with a request for payment. Let him decide if he wants to involve his insurance company. If no payment sue in small claims if the amount can be covered there.

This is what I would do. from your description it doesn't sound like the repair is going to be a huge number; he too may want to avoid the claim and hassle of insurance.

I would also urge you to not be combative to the best of your ability, as a previous poster showed court and lawyers are expensive and winning legal fees is rare. Your best case would be the car owner is reasonable and pays outright or is at least helpful in working with his insurance.
 
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