My car is a total loss...What now...Help!

I have a 3 year old solara convertible that was just declared totaled this week. My accident happened 3 months ago. I had to go 5 days with no rental when I brought my car back the first time & return my car to the body shop 6 times. I have frame damage from what I was told this week. allstate pushed for me to give in, and do a diminished value claim for the last 3 months, and that my car was as good as it was going to get. They pushed to repair the vehicle.

I was yelled at by a supervisor of appraisers, and was truely insulted by this man. I had visable issues as severe as a hole in my carpet (my high heel penetrated the carpet upon impact), water leaking into my car, mildew on the carpet, a tire that was quickly wearing due to something that wasn't right on the car, and much more. After the third time of bringing the car in, allstate would not even allow for body shops to check the complaints.

The last time I brought it in, I was desperate to try and work with them. I agreed to bring it to their repair facility, and let them check it. Out of 15 complaints on the car, only the water leak was allowed to be checked. And the sad part is, the water leak was found, and allstate denied fixing it. What are my rights in Louisiana?

Can I go for loss of use against them? I must say that yes, the last guy who came out and totaled my car was extremely nice. He was genuine, and empathetic towards my concerns. He agreed that yes, there was definitely something majorly wrong with the car, and concluded that it was frame damage. My car will be picked up this week. I've had to make car payments on this car in June, July, and August (Almost 500.00 a month).

I did not even have the car! This car was my dream car, and now my credit is not the best because I had trouble making the payments on time since the accident because I still can not work due to injuries. Can I sue them for what I had to pay monthly on my car when I shouldn't have being the car should have been totaled from day 1?

I've priced other cars like mine, and they are considerably lower than what I owe. Is there a way to sue them for a new vehicle, or do I have to go with a replacement car?

I would hate to keep paying this much on a car when I am unable to work right now, but I really want another one like I had. I feel safe in the solara, as I could have been a lot more injured. I am just so mad right now because before this guy came out, it was 3 months of pure hell and stress with all state. And the fact that they pushed me to consider the car fixed, when it actually had frame damage makes me even more mad. This is uncalled for. I would love nothing more for them to have to pay, so that they will think of this next time they try to put someone in a not so safe car. I know insurance companies are bad about all of this, but you know, I would never put anyone in a vehicle that is not safe, even if it were my job to do so.


Answer:


Hello,

We are sorry to hear about your issues. Allstate can be very difficult to deal with. You ask if you can sue an insurance company, and the answer is yes, you can sue anyone for anything.

Are you claims going to be successful? They are very difficult to win. The insurance company is not responsible for your monthly payments and or financial loss. It's unlikely that they would be held liable for the delay getting the car to be a total loss. Most states allow 30 days for an insurance company to investigate the loss, and whether a car is a total loss or not is within that time frame.

Please see our section about total loss here:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/totaling-a-vehicle.html

And our section about diminish value here:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/diminished-value-claim.html

I hope this helps


Good Luck,
Auto Insurance Claim Advice