Negotiating total loss settlement on truck with mods

I had a 2019 Tacoma TRD Off Road w/ manual transmission and a bunch of mods totaling >$11k. I was hit by a driver who ran a red last month and the truck is a total loss. Anyone have experience negotiating a total loss settlement on a truck with aftermarket upgrades? I’m screwed trying to find a comparable vehicle or starting from square 1 in this market

 

Unless you have an aftermarket parts binder added to your policy there's not gonna be much of a negotiation.

 

Just make a list of each mod and what you paid for it. Try to get copies of receipts. I am sure insurance companies deal with that all the time. You may not recover your labor. Good luck and glad you survived to worry about this problem.

 

That's a very good point. One I don't know the answer too.

 

Print out all your receipts and submit them to their insurance. Your agent may help but I would do it on my own.

 

^this

Submit all the invoices you can find and you should get it covered. It might not be 100% value but it’s better than $0

 

My kids both work for insurance companies. You could probably expect 30-40% value.

 

Yep, unless your insurance policy has a clause, or writer that it covers the loss of your additional items your sol.

 

I worked in insurance as an adjuster and claims manager for close to 10 years. Most policies are going to pay ACV. That is the value of that truck on the open market. You will have a hard time proving that many mods increase the value of the truck. As others have mentioned, unless your policy has an endorsement that will provide additional coverage, it will be tough to get much if anything. We would provide some weight to certain mods if it was clear it significantly increased value, but that was pretty rare.

 

Exactly this. We know the value of the mods if done right, but the Overall Market is what is looked at. A smaller population (TW folks) will pay a premium for our trucks, but the average person who needs a daily driver or work truck could care less about paying more for an upgraded suspension. It is what the general population will pay, then an adjustment from there.

This is why I endorsed everything I have done onto my policy and kept records. Anything happens my fault or not, I go thru my policy to get the additional equipment endorsement coverage I am paying for. Even then be careful because some endorsements will still say acv

 

Strip whatever parts that can be salvaged. I did that with my 2018 that was totaled--mud flaps, tool box, bed mat, floor liners, Diode Dynamics fog lights, etc.

 

You don’t negotiate with the other party’s insurance. You deal with your own insurance and your insurance will go after the other party’s insurance.

 

If you didnt tell your insurance provider about the mods, buy coverage for those mods, you will be at the mercy of their default add on coverage. for most providers that is 1000.00 MAX. if they dont collect a premium for it, they dont owe you for coverage. you can however take off your mods unless they render the vehicle undriveable. you cant remove the stereo, without replacing with stock, (it will be valued at option delete). you cant remove the battery without a replacement (doesnt have to hold a charge, just has to have one in there, you cant take the wheels and tires, and leave it on blocks. it is like you are selling the vehicle to a perspective buyer. good luck to you! Ski

 

I don’t think everyone fully read the post. The other person is at fault, not the OP.

I had a vehicle I owned several years ago hit and I was not at fault. It was not totaled, however aftermarket accessories were damaged.

I went thru my own insurance so they went after at fault parties. However I gathered all invoices that I could. I also got invoices for replacement with labor and submitted them to my insurance. They cut me a check to have my vehicle repaired and everything replaced with labor. I got my vehicle fixed and then they went and got their money from the at fault parties insurance.

Someome can correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe it’s the at fault parties insurance responsibility to replace what the at fault party destroyed or damaged. However this is based off their insurance policies cap. The policy doesn’t say “only if vehicle is stock”. You can go after the individual if damage exceeds their insurance coverage with a lawsuit.

 

Most wreck yards will let you pull parts so long as you replace them with the stock ones. Anything damaged claim. Anything undamaged if you are going to get the same model truck try and pull the parts and put back the stock. I did this with stereo systems multiple times. I didn't even re-install the stock stuff I just set stuff back into the dash/doors and the insurance didn't care since it goes to scrap anyway.

 

Ideally you'd have all your aftermarket extras insured on your policy. I've got a chunk of my aftermarket mods on my policy, but not all of them.

Since this appears to be the other driver's fault I would think you'd submit your receipts to their insurance and they'd either cut a check for the amount or a percentage of it and you could sue the driver in small claims for the rest and possibly diminished value or collect diminished value from their insurance.

Option 2 is to turn it in on your own insurance, pay your deductible and let your insurance fight the other insurance. If you "win" you should get your deductible back. (not necessarily a bad idea either as you'll have some muscle during negotiations). Your rate shouldn't increase as long as they can collect from the at fault party's insurance company. Of course aftermarket mods will require receipts and again you might have to go after the driver in small claims for the difference of aftermarket value parts vs. what they collect and or diminished value. Double check with your claims adjuster though.

 

I had this happen, my insurance company covered all my cool shit/add ons and sued the other persons insurance company for the money. I wasn't involved other than talking to my provider about what was messed up and needed replaced.

 

Start talking about personal injury (neck/back/shoulders/head aches)

Let them know about your scheduled doctors appointments...

I'll bet that 30-40% number changes a bit.

 

I was told by a malpractice lawyer recently, id have been bettwr off had the doc that fucked me up, rear ended me in my car, than fucked up my surgery. If the law is on your side, run w it. I got FUCKED. Its a joke what people can get away with.