Mercury Ins. jerking me around (rant)
03-31-07, 10:39 AM
#16
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 1,751
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Why the f$#k should he be forced to drive a Kia Sportage when somebody else ran into him and caused his car to be damaged? He should not only be provided a car comparable to his own, he should be reimbursed for the time and hassle of having to even drive a rental car in the first place.
If I were the insurance agent and using your 'comparable' as a policy, I would say the Kia is more than adequate as a rental car in term of the car's value. It is likely worth more than the used LS
03-31-07, 10:45 AM
#17
Was hoping for smooth proceedings, it teeters 50-50 so far. We'll see how it all irons out. The Mercury adjuster just called me and relayed the car will be inspected today. I figure approval for repairs should come on Monday. 4 day turn-around from the shop, maybe next Saturday I'll have the car back.
I first debated just paying out-pocket then having the insurance co reimburse me but that may have been an even larger PITA.
I first debated just paying out-pocket then having the insurance co reimburse me but that may have been an even larger PITA.
03-31-07, 10:51 AM
#18
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 1,751
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Why are you dealing with Mercury Ins an not your own AAA insurance? You should be dealing directly with your own insurance and not the other's party insurance. Your own AAA Ins will take care of you but you have to pay the deductible. Once they found and determined that the other party is at false then you get your deductible back. I know it's a pain in the A$$ when accident happens.. Good Luck.!
03-31-07, 11:02 AM
#20
Lead Lap
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: MA
Posts: 740
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
He is/was compensated. He's getting the car repaired, and is driving a rental in the meantime.
Things happen. You have to be a man about it, and move on. Part of your responsibility of driving, is accepting the fact that accidents happen. And next time, it might very well be your fault, whether you intended it or not.
Yes, there is a reason. The reason is the fact that the additional premium that he paid to have access to a rental car in instances like this, was enough to cover something reasonable. Not something extravagant. If you want to work out some deal with your insurance company, and pay higher premiums, just so you wouldn't have to be seen in a car that a lesser person might own (whatever...), then have at it.
Things happen. You have to be a man about it, and move on. Part of your responsibility of driving, is accepting the fact that accidents happen. And next time, it might very well be your fault, whether you intended it or not.
Yes, there is a reason. The reason is the fact that the additional premium that he paid to have access to a rental car in instances like this, was enough to cover something reasonable. Not something extravagant. If you want to work out some deal with your insurance company, and pay higher premiums, just so you wouldn't have to be seen in a car that a lesser person might own (whatever...), then have at it.
03-31-07, 11:43 AM
#21
Lexus Champion
Join Date: May 2006
Location: FL
Posts: 1,600
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Why the f#&k should HE have to pay an additional premium when the accident WAS NOT HIS FAULT?! Does that make any sense to you? He paid the 'premium' when he bought his LS, if somebody deprives you of use of your car for any period of time, that person, or their insurance should have to compensate you. That's the ENTIRE POINT of insurance. It's not about being seen in a lesser car, it's about being compensated for somebody else's mistake. This should be common sense, I don't see why it's so hard for you to understand
I suppose RA40 is entitled to a massage at the other guy's expense to "wash away" any traces of the stress this has caused him? Or maybe a week-long vacation to the Bahama's so he can unwind and forget about what happened? Or even better, the other guy can be RA40's butler for a year, and repay the remainder of his debt that way?
03-31-07, 12:45 PM
#22
Lead Lap
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: MA
Posts: 740
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
LOL, ok...
I suppose RA40 is entitled to a massage at the other guy's expense to "wash away" any traces of the stress this has caused him? Or maybe a week-long vacation to the Bahama's so he can unwind and forget about what happened? Or even better, the other guy can be RA40's butler for a year, and repay the remainder of his debt that way?
I suppose RA40 is entitled to a massage at the other guy's expense to "wash away" any traces of the stress this has caused him? Or maybe a week-long vacation to the Bahama's so he can unwind and forget about what happened? Or even better, the other guy can be RA40's butler for a year, and repay the remainder of his debt that way?
Suppose a person hits your car and doesn't have insurance, but does have enough money to pay for your damages. If you go to court you almost certainly will be able to obtain money for damages, as well as being fairly compensated for the loss of use of your Lexus. If the other party or their insurance does not wish to pay for such damages, I would suggest that the other party learn to pay better attention while driving
It's just common sense, if somebody hits my Lexus LS, why do I deserve to have to drive around in a Kia while my car gets fixed? Think about it.
I don't understand why this idea is so far fetched to you. My Lexus GS was hit by a woman in a Subaru trying to turn right from the left lane (while I was still in the right lane
), and I was able to get a car 'comparable to my own' while my car was being repaired. I surely hope her insurance premium increased substantially as a result of having to rent me a GS-comparable car for a few weeks. Maybe next time she will be more careful about who she hits (or maybe even...gasp! Not hit anybody at all!)
03-31-07, 05:57 PM
#23
This was a lesson learned. I talked with my AAA associate about this incident and decided to proceed on my own. Figuring how much difficultly would it be to get it taken care of. Well...har-har on me.
The time to get some estimates and inspect the prospective shops. That worked out to be about 4 hours of time used and associated gas to reach these shops. All within my local area so it came in at about 60 miles or ~3 gallons. Then the drop-off arrangements and multiple voice messages to the adjuster.
Getting a ride from the shop. While Enterprise will pick-up, it's hard to say exact scheduling, so I called a family member to help. I've now involved another person and have to be flexible of their time. (My comfort there.)
The drive from my place to shop on normal days is 10 minutes...we left my house at 20 till anticipating bad traffic. And it was bad for a stretch of 2 miles at 5 MPH. After the car drop-off we drove over to the rental agency and did the paper work. About 1 hour.
Given the time taken to get this far, I'm in for about 10 hours. Certainly there are other productive things to do. Inconvenience...yes. When I had a prior collision, not my fault, the insured insurance company compensated $500 for the headaches. When the wife had hers, she was compensated $14K. (Her's was more involved, obviously proportional to the level of PITA.)
My thanks to several CL members who've helped me out in this. Regardless, handling these are simple but time involved tasks.
The time to get some estimates and inspect the prospective shops. That worked out to be about 4 hours of time used and associated gas to reach these shops. All within my local area so it came in at about 60 miles or ~3 gallons. Then the drop-off arrangements and multiple voice messages to the adjuster.
Getting a ride from the shop. While Enterprise will pick-up, it's hard to say exact scheduling, so I called a family member to help. I've now involved another person and have to be flexible of their time. (My comfort there.)
The drive from my place to shop on normal days is 10 minutes...we left my house at 20 till anticipating bad traffic. And it was bad for a stretch of 2 miles at 5 MPH. After the car drop-off we drove over to the rental agency and did the paper work. About 1 hour.
Given the time taken to get this far, I'm in for about 10 hours. Certainly there are other productive things to do. Inconvenience...yes. When I had a prior collision, not my fault, the insured insurance company compensated $500 for the headaches. When the wife had hers, she was compensated $14K. (Her's was more involved, obviously proportional to the level of PITA.)
My thanks to several CL members who've helped me out in this. Regardless, handling these are simple but time involved tasks.
04-01-07, 03:19 AM
#24
did you not want to deal with paying your deductible? or do you not have full coverage on your LS400? It seems like you were dealing with the other party's insurance directly to save a little time/money. Next time, deal with your own insurance company. You do pay them every month for a reason. It's always better for the insurance company to handle it anyways, that way they know the story already, rather than having to hear it second hand from you.
If you have rental reimbursement from AAA anyways ( I do, it's worth it) they will get all that taken care of for you. it's a rental, who cares what it looks like!
AAA will also put up a damned good fight. They are #1 for a reason.
You'll save time, money, and all this stress if you just let them handle it.
If you have rental reimbursement from AAA anyways ( I do, it's worth it) they will get all that taken care of for you. it's a rental, who cares what it looks like!
AAA will also put up a damned good fight. They are #1 for a reason.
You'll save time, money, and all this stress if you just let them handle it.
04-03-07, 11:12 AM
#25
Yeah, was avoiding paying the deductible.
Newest wrinkle. Talked with the body shop and he relays the feild adjuster wrote the estimate up as an ES300. The shop ordered the correct parts initially so it doesn't look to be a delay. Once again, paperwork and whomever the adjuster is, is I suppose a 97 ES300 and LS400 look pretty similar. 
Another vehicle inspection is necessary to verify.
Newest wrinkle. Talked with the body shop and he relays the feild adjuster wrote the estimate up as an ES300. The shop ordered the correct parts initially so it doesn't look to be a delay. Once again, paperwork and whomever the adjuster is, is
I suppose a 97 ES300 and LS400 look pretty similar. Another vehicle inspection is necessary to verify.
Last edited by RA40; 04-03-07 at 11:16 AM.
04-18-07, 02:53 PM
#26
With the car wrapped up, I made a call some days back about a bit of compensation for the PITA of this ordeal. Ironically the delays came from the Ins dragging their feet. Funny how the tune changes...they are nice prior and during but now, it's like a light switch...complete rudeness.
The adjuster seems to view this as no inconvenience on my part...having to take time to find a body shop which was ~8 hours of my time. Delays in getting the actual work on the car started...can you believe that to change the bumper, I was in a rental for 13 days?!
Certainly I understand they want to hang onto their money. I'm not looking for mega $$. Just a bit to cover the whole day it took for me to chase down a body shop and the associated gas. This adjuster won't even hear of it...they paid the rental fees and the rest I'm expected to put up with.
The aggravation in itself of dealing with some adjusters is enough to make me want to
(Stating it nicely) It could be so easy with a minimal amount to have made me go away happy. The rudeness irks me more. I'll fire off a letter stating my intentions and see what becomes.
The adjuster seems to view this as no inconvenience on my part...having to take time to find a body shop which was ~8 hours of my time. Delays in getting the actual work on the car started...can you believe that to change the bumper, I was in a rental for 13 days?!
Certainly I understand they want to hang onto their money. I'm not looking for mega $$. Just a bit to cover the whole day it took for me to chase down a body shop and the associated gas. This adjuster won't even hear of it...they paid the rental fees and the rest I'm expected to put up with.
The aggravation in itself of dealing with some adjusters is enough to make me want to
(Stating it nicely) It could be so easy with a minimal amount to have made me go away happy. The rudeness irks me more. I'll fire off a letter stating my intentions and see what becomes.
04-18-07, 08:31 PM
#28
Lexus Connoisseur
Mercury Insurance is the worst to deal with in terms of claims settlements. It's true you get what you pay for. There are a lot of incompetant people handling claims for that company sadly. In the industry I work in, they are one of the least favorite to deal with along with the other smaller companies.
Hope your claim gets expedited quickly Mike. But you're doing the right thing by staying on top of them. I hate to hear stories like this. They have BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair) and DOI (Dept of Insurance) for a reason. Utilize them if necessary. Because they wrote a sheet for the wrong car, you are entitled to file a claim against them to DOI for delay of claim/repairs. Trust me, once you file that complaint, that will light a fire under Mercury's bottom to complete it quickly. If it's a justified complaint, they get fined for it.
Hope your claim gets expedited quickly Mike. But you're doing the right thing by staying on top of them. I hate to hear stories like this. They have BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair) and DOI (Dept of Insurance) for a reason. Utilize them if necessary. Because they wrote a sheet for the wrong car, you are entitled to file a claim against them to DOI for delay of claim/repairs. Trust me, once you file that complaint, that will light a fire under Mercury's bottom to complete it quickly. If it's a justified complaint, they get fined for it.
Last edited by flipside909; 04-18-07 at 08:38 PM.
04-18-07, 10:41 PM
#29
I just delt with Allstate, and they were actually really helpful. I didn't recieve any grief (yet *crosses fingers and knocks on wood). My folks have only bad things to say about Mercury; hence why they switched to Geico.
04-18-07, 11:34 PM
#30
Thanks for the tip Ryan. 
2 certified letters are ready to go out outlining my request for reasonable compensation. One to the adjuster and supervisor. By my eyes, it's quite conservative considering the PITA I feel it is. The body shop guys can back up the delay. I hope it doesn't reach that level because it represents more time on my part to pursue it. <sigh>
A lesson learned the hard way unfortunately. I now know.
2 certified letters are ready to go out outlining my request for reasonable compensation. One to the adjuster and supervisor. By my eyes, it's quite conservative considering the PITA I feel it is. The body shop guys can back up the delay. I hope it doesn't reach that level because it represents more time on my part to pursue it. <sigh>
A lesson learned the hard way unfortunately. I now know.