Stolen Vehicle

by Nicole
(West Palm Beach, FL)

My truck was stolen over a month ago. The police recovered the vehicle about 4 or 5 days later somewhere in another county. They said I would not get the vehicle back because it was non-drivable and basically destroyed.

They told me they would be conducting their investigation and from there they would hand the vehicle over to my insurance company.

My vehicle was stolen sometime between the evening of April 30th 2009 and the morning of May 1st 2009. To date, my insurance company still does not have my vehicle.

The police department stated they had to pull a "secret" number from my engine and send it to Toyota to try and verify whether or not the vehicle they found is in fact my vehicle. I have been getting told this for over a month now!

There is no progress. My insurance adjuster is stating she cant help until the police finish with their investigation and the detective I have been working with keeps telling me the cant release my vehicle until they are sure it really is mine??

How long do these things usually take? I have been without a vehicle now for going on 2 months.



Answer:

Hello Nicole,

I am very sorry you are in this situation. I can see your frustration. When I was adjusting claims, I ran into this scenario before and it's very complicated.

The adjuster is really bound by the police investigation and often time, police departments will not release the information regarding the investigation or the vehicle.

If the insurance company cannot inspect and verify this is your car, they cannot determined if the vehicle is a total loss or it can be fixed. So you are left waiting. You asked for how long? Until the police department can conclude the investigation.

Your best approach is to talk to an attorney and have her to the police department and see what information they can find. Contact a lawyer to see what you can do.

I hope this helps,
Good Luck