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About Rob Painter, Ase, CFEI, CAFATE
Expertise
Please remember. I am not an attorney and cannot legal advice. My answers are based on my experience due to litigation I have been involved in as an expert, for both insurance companies and while oposing them opposing them. I deal with only comprehensive claims on autos related to fire and theft. I have even had the opportunity to rewrite policy coverage language as it relates to vehicle theft and forced entry for insurance defense attorneys.

Experience
Experience in the area: Working with insurance companies and attorneys on these issues for over 20 years. It is very common to have a reported stolen car with a so-called factory anti-theft system to have the theft claim denied. I have served successfully as an expert witness in the courts across the US representing the insured and their attorney revealing that the insurance expert did not take all known theories into consideration before rendering their "Forensic" conclusion. Many insurance carriers us independent "Forensic" experts to examine reported stolen vehicles commonly using flawed methodology implicating the innocent insured with the theft. My job is to determine if the insurance expert reached his conclusions based on accepted scientific principals or just net opinion with no basis other than opinion. My case record against such experts is very compelling.My resume can be seen at the catagory "Auto Theft and Prevention." In "Forensics" the scientific method must be employed. In the forensic locksmith field determining how a reported stolen vehicle was last operated, many processes cannot be duplicated and are conveniently not addressed. If they were, juries would have the opportunity to make a fair and impartial opinion at least about what the expert could or could not prove. There is a purported process determining the last key used. The chances of determining such is very rare uless the key is found in the ignition lock. Experts commonly destroy evidence as well and are rarely questioned on this event. I reveal the weakness in their testimony on such instances.

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Auto Insurance Claims - Bad name

Expert: Rob Painter, Ase, CFEI, CAFATE - 11/6/2009

Question

Please see response below from Richard Hixenbaugh, particularly his comment that "...Insurance companies are well known for low-balling the value of, well, everything..." and "...You should never trust any claims adjuster to pay what is owed..."

The above is simply not true. I've been an insurance adjuster for 24 years and I've worked for three different companies. I can state with conviction that we always tried to pay what we owed, no more and no less, and that we didn't "low-ball everything". We certainly negotiated but I wouldn't construe it as "low-balling" as we don't live in a vacuum and the value of anything is always subject to someone's opinion, bias, etc.

Obviously, there are insurance companies who operate as Mr. Hixenbaugh contends but its very disconcerting that he paints all insurance companies and adjusters with the same brush as this is very unprofessional for a man of his stature. He lowers himself to the call 1-800 attorneys who give our industry a bad name.

Thank you for your time. I needed to vent and Mr. Hixenbaugh wasn't available.

Hi Cat,

Unless there is a provision in your policy for the payment of lost income they will not pay it. Insurance companies are well known for low-balling the value of, well, everything. Their job is to pay out as little as possible while at the same time making you think that they did you a favor by paying anything at all. Regardless if you are dealing with your own insurance company or not. You should never trust any claims adjuster to pay what is owed.

Once an insurance company has made an offer that you disagree with, it is your responsibility to prove them wrong and negotiate a better settlement. You can request a copy of the repair estimate but since they have declared the vehicle to be a total loss they do not have to give it to you. The way most policies are written the decision to repair or total a vehicle is totally up to the insurance company. If there is $100.00 in damage and you file a claim with your insurance company they have the right to declare it a total loss and there is nothing the vehicle owner can do about it.

You can research the value of your vehicle your self. Locate similar vehicles for sale on the internet or in "Trader" magazines or websites such as www.trucktrader.com . Find the closest matches to your vehicle you can based on year, make, model, options, mileage, ets. Find 5 to 10 matches and average the value. This will give you a good average value. Then you can use this information to try to negotiate a fair settlement. You may want to hire an independent appraiser to assist you in appraising your truck. If you do this be sure it is someone that specialized in heavy equipment and/or big trucks and be sure that they do not regularly do work for the insurance company you are dealing with so there is no conflict of interest.

Uliimately, if you stand your ground you should achieve a better settlement.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh

Answer
I really have no clue as to why this was sent to me. It isn't even a question.

It appears Richard Hixenbaugh is somewhat biased and his information is stated as factual with a general tone that may only relate to his limited experience dealing with insurance claims.

This is about as general as a statement about car not being stolen because it wasn't found stripped.

Everything is relative. I could make the same inferences in which Progressive refuses to pay all theft claims (example only and not stating as fact). If I stated this, it would be the same as Richard making his statements about low-balling. Just because this is his experience does not make it fact on the totality of all claims in the US. Unfortunately, there are some people that listen to goofs like this.

I have found in my 20+ years of claims experience across the US, it is case by case. Depends on the protocol of the region, depends on the company, depends on the adjuster etc. and there is no common denominator of one size fits all.

I feel it is irresponsible to make a factual statement painting everyone with the same brush in regards to claims settlement.

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