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October 2, 2003
Last week I was in a car accident. (Thanks for everyone's good wishes, patience and help!!!) Although the accident was quasi-serious - I was lucky. Sore, bruised and banged up - but thanks to the seat belt and the airbag I looked much better than my car after the accident.
While I was at the hospital, my husband and Ms. Sassy dealt with getting my car towed back to our house. The tow truck driver tried his best to convince my husband to have it towed to his storage lot. His reasoning? "The insurance company will settle quicker if they're paying a daily storage fee." My husband assured the man that we had plenty of room for the car at our house, and 3 miles later it arrived - in front of my barn - looking quite pitiful.
The "helpful" tow truck driver wrote up the receipt ($130 to tow the car 3 miles?!?!?!?) and then told my husband how with just a piece of carbon paper we could easily change the receipt to read $230 instead - so that we could "get more from the insurance company."
Poor guy should have known that Ms. Sassy works for an insurance agency.
For the past couple of years I have heard of this happening more and more. People padding their insurance claims to get a little bit more money. Claiming damage not done, injuries not suffered, etc. Heck - even Ohio State's star football player from last year even admitted to doing this.
I wonder why our insurance rates keep going up?
Don't get me wrong - I don't particularly like insurance companies. In fact - I think it is one of the biggest scams going most of the time. And as much as I pay every month in insurance that I rarely if ever use - I still can't imagine doctoring a towing bill to gain an extra $100.
Would you walk into a store and put $100 worth of merchandise in your pocket and walk out? Would you walk into a bank and take $100? Would you snatch a dozen or so CDs from your friend's house at the next party? Why not? Because it is STEALING. So is lying to insurance companies about damages you didn't incur so you can get more money. So is suing someone for nothing - but telling them to just file it with their homeowner's insurance company - they'll pay - it will go away - and it won't cost you a sent. (OK - that is actually a completely different rant that I hope to get into soon....)
Sure - insurance companies are out to make money. Loads of it. They aren't easy to deal with, and they're frustrating as hell. They try their best to get out of paying as much as they can. But it still doesn't make it right to do your best to rip them off. Maybe the reason they're so hard to deal with is the fact that they are dealing with people everyday trying to rip them off. People that otherwise are honest and hardworking. People that would NEVER think to steal from a person or store.
So I talked to the adjuster today for the first time. Because I wasn't at fault I was dealing with an insurance company that I am not a customer of. I could tell she was suspicious from minute one. I can't blame her - she's sitting at a desk - didn't see the accident - and hasn't talked to the other driver yet. I know she's probably had to deal with all kinds of crooked, cracked-up, whacked-out people. It's only natural for her to have her guard up talking to anyone about a claim. Especially one that could be expensive - like paying for a totaled car.
She was nice - and the more we talked the nicer she became. But when I got off of the phone it bugged me that she automatically thought I was lying - because that is what she deals with everyday. Not that everyone is a snake - but there sure are a lot of them out there. It is just pathetic to think that there are so many dishonest people out there. Enough so insurance people are more likely to assume you're dishonest than honest.
I just hope she gets the sense that I'm not out to rip anyone off. Yes - I want the value of my car. Not a new car - just what my car is worth. I want my medical bills taken care of. Not years of therapy and loss of wages, pain and suffering, etc. - just the bills from the accident. Maybe a rental car - but right now I can't drive - so I really don't see the need for one. But I'm not ruling it out. Just until this is settled and I can get another car. I'd love to have my sunglasses replaced - the airbag was a bit hard on them - but I don't think I'll push it.
I'm just wondering - do you think it would be petty to ask for the value of the bag of Doritos that exploded in the accident? They were on sale......
~Trixie
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