Advice Needed To Get Insurance To Declare My New Car A Total Loss

[james330i]

My question involves insurance law for the state of: TN, other party is from IL

hey guys,

Two weeks ago, I was involved in front-end collision. A guy had crossed 3 lanes of traffic and hit me head on as i was staged in the turn lane waiting to make a left turn. Anyway, police report indicates that I had "no contributing actions" in the accident and other party, due to failure to yield right of way caused it.

Well, the car is a 6month old infinity M45. 10k miles on the odometer and MSRP of $55k. The repair estimate is $28500 (with a certified infinity repair shop..most reputable in town)

I had originally placed a claim with my insurance to progress things along. However, my insurance wont' declare my car a loss, as it is $3k under their threshold. They won't put validity in my diminished value claims as well nor will they account for medical bills, lost wages, etc since my policy does not cover it. They said i could file a claim with the at-fault insurance. If the DV claims were accepted, it could have put my car over the threshold and total it, but they're acting as though this is a 1st party claim.

Well..Im tempted to deal directly with the at-fault insurance now, in the hopes they will total this car. I may have more leverage filing a 3rd party Diminished value claim, along with potential medical bills (my wife suffered neck/back pain) and lost wages(2+ days of work). Maybe they will settle and total my car.

Bottom line: I do no want this car back. An almost-new brand-new 55k car with 30k damage is HUGE. With extensive frame damage, I can't see myself paying this much for this car, even if it has been repaired. I absolutely do not want it back. Either they total the car, or repair it and pay the fess to terminate my lease early..I simply think I deserve to be given the opportunity to get out of this lease or get a new car.

What is my best strategy? Any legal action I can take if insurance company is non-copperative?

[seniorjudge]

Q: Any legal action I can take if insurance company is non-copperative?

A: Hire a lawyer.




hey guys,

I almost didn't answer since I didn't like this sexist attitude.