Expert: Bennie719 - 4/18/2008

Question
Hello,

My car was stollen about a year ago.  The insurance company paid a me some money.  Fortunately, the car was recovered this week.  My question is who owns the car? The money I received from the insurance comapany was far less than the value of the car.  The recovered car is in very good condition.
Kind regards,

Tricia

Answer
Hi Trica,
The car now belongs to the insurance company.  They paid you a settlement about a year ago and you signed the title over to them.
If you felt that the payment was to low, you should have fought for a higher settlement.

In most cases, when a car is recovered in good condition, the insurance company will run it through a diagnostic check, detail the car and sell it on a 'sealed bid' basis.  In most cases, the first offer is to employees of the insurance company.  If they feel that all offers received are to low, they will open the bidding to the public or sell the car at auction.

If you are interested in purchasing the car, you should let the insurance company know immediately and they will usually work with you in finding a way to sell you the car.

I hope that you have found this information to be useful.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area