digrazia@nacho.DEC (07/01/85)
I had my first (and presumably last...) auto accident a couple of weeks ago (no injuries). I'm wondering what people do about insurance settlements. My carrier "totalled" the car and computed a payment by subtracting the deductible from the average trade-in value. The average trade-in reflects the car's worth rather poorly, compared to the open market, leaving me with substantial replacement or repair expense. (Trade = $3000. Retail = $3800. Repair = $3200.) Do "all" insurance companies in the US use the same scheme? Has anyone found an insurance policy that "totals" against retail value? Still better, has anyone found a "replacement" insurance? -- i.e. some arrangement that reduces the cost of replacing a lost vehicle with a new one, perhaps by accumulating equity with the balance insured. Bob DiGrazia