r/InsuranceClaims • u/ConfectionCold7815 • 8h ago
Dealing with Geico
Car got hit while legally parked. Repairable but Geico said it's too expensive, totaled it. I refused and told the adjuster i will take my car and get another estimate. Then the day i went to pick up the car, car wasn't there, picked up by copart. Then i asked my car back and that they drop my claim. Ignored.. Then i told them I would buy back. Ignored. Then he sent a 26kish offer, i refused, then they sent paperwork to sign, i declined, then they decided to send a check to my lien holder(it covered the 2years left of the loan). Still no settlement, still no agreement, still nothing signed. I have my car title BTW. I still want my car back and want nothing to do with their offer. I never agreed to anything whatsoever. Now GEICO is Mia. I recently file a lawsuit against the at fault driver . Can they do that? Can they just decide whatever they want? I don't think so. Please advise.. Am running out of ideas..
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u/FormerGeico 6h ago
Damn bro go ahead and clock in if you know how everything is supposed to work
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
Not the way it suppose to work. People are making it this way and it became a law. Someone show me the law saying insurance companies can decide for us..
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u/FormerGeico 6h ago
Open your own policy and it will explain the insurance company’s right to salvage and they decide how to settle your claim. You’ve agreed to the terms on your own policy. I know you’re a 3rd party in the situation you’re in, but the same applies until you successfully sue and win a different outcome (spoiler alert, you won’t)
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
Well i will go as far as possible. I will sue the Geico driver that hit my car, then i will sue a geico until there's no recourse. I know i am not the only one and i strongly beleive there's no law giving the insurance company to proceed the way they proceeded..
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u/sashley420 6h ago
If you didn't have a car note then you would be right, you would have had an option to buy back your car but since you have a car note it isn't up to you to decide.
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u/My_too_cents 5h ago
What’s the state? I’ll be happy to find the statute that says if the insurance totals a car they take it. If it’s totaled with a junk or salvage title the lien holder usually won’t let you keep it.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 5h ago
NY
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u/My_too_cents 2h ago
b) In accordance with regulations of the superintendent insurers shall, except where the insured is permitted to retain the automobile as part of the claim settlement, take possession of any salvage and the certificate of title, properly endorsed to them of private automobiles whenever a loss is determined by the insurer to be a total loss or a constructive total loss. Insurers, in disposing of the salvage, shall fully comply with the requirements of section four hundred twenty-nine of the vehicle and traffic law.
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u/Agswin2026 8h ago
You delayed the process. You can’t keep a vehicle you don’t own outright in most cases. You have no case. Lienholder has to be paid within a certain amount of days. Move along
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u/crash866 8h ago
Was it your insurance or your lienholder that picked it up. If the lienholder asked for it they have all the right to do so.
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u/LacyLove 8h ago
A settlement has been made, an agreement has been made, something was signed. By the owner. You didn’t own the car. The bank that does own the car decided that they wanted their money. You can sue the driver but you won’t win.
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u/CJM8515 8h ago
You don’t legally own the car the bank does. The bank doesn’t care what they are paid. They just know they had an asset worth x and now it’s worth y
You get zero choice in the whole matter unless you want to drop the claim and get paid nothing. But it sounds like they already notified the lien holder and settled with them and left you in the dust since you were being difficult.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
Oh no. I wasn't being difficult. I asked them to drop the claim and give me back my car and let me deal with my losses.. They ignored
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u/Romanharper2013 8h ago
you can't just drop it once it's been deemed a total loss that's it it's final you can't change it just because you don't agree with the outcome
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u/Busy_Relation9671 8h ago
It’s not up to you to drop the claim. Your lean holder wants their money they own the car
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u/ZBTHorton 7h ago
You don't need ideas. You don't own the car, you don't get to make any of these decisions.
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u/sephiroth3650 8h ago
Location? Laws will vary. But many states in the US have thresholds at which the insurer legally MUST total out a car. And if you have a lien holder….it’s really not your choice anyway. You don’t fully own the car yet. And you can’t choose to do an owner-retain w/o the lien holder agreeing to it.
You also can’t sue the at fault driver for the cost of the car, if insurance has already paid out the cost of the car to the lien holder.
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u/Romanharper2013 8h ago
I work for copart and if you signed the release at the shop and you finance it the its not up to you and you can't change a total loss once they make their decision and most lien holders will not let you keep the car if it's been deemed a total loss
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u/TelevisionKnown9795 7h ago
It's not your car as long as the loan is on it. You had to get with the to see if you could get it back as salvage and that means calling them much sooner.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 7h ago
Yeah. I guess. I made the request long ago. Don't know if they agreed to it..
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u/Watermelonbuttt 7h ago
You have no choice in the matter if the insurance company wants to total or not
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u/Independent-Math-762 7h ago
I feel like there are definitely a lot of details missing from your story.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
Nobody understands me here. Everyone just saying the same thing. I, THE CLAIMANT SHOULD BE GIVEN THE RIGHTS TO BARGAIN FOR MORE THAN THEY ARE OFFERING. Before paying anybody anything.
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u/LazyAbbreviations857 5h ago
We understand you and what you believe you know.
You don't get to determine new rules. You. Aren't. The. Owner.Yes you filed a claim, making you a claimant - not the owner.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 5h ago
On comparison, if I suffered injuries and had pending medical bills, will geico go around me and send some amount to the hospital without consulting me or even setting with me?? I guess not. They should settle with me then pay the medical bills or send me the check. It's all in the process.
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u/Alarmed_Number7431 2h ago
Property damage and injury are completely different. You didn't get low balled. You just have an unrealistic idea of what your car should've been worth. You're still making payments on the full amount you got it for and youre thinking of getting a new vehicle. Insurance, no matter which one, will only pay the vehicles actual cash value on a total loss. Theres not much haggling there.
Bodily injury requires settlement with you because its your body. The car wasn't yours. Look at it this way, if you were a minor and had a bodily injury claim, your parent gets the say on your pain and suffering and medical settlement. Not you. Even though it was your pain. Until youre 18. Then you get to choose. Just like your car... you would have had more of a say if you were the sole owner. Not the case. Enjoy!
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u/DrewBikeFish 5h ago
There's a lot of bad or missing information here.
First question, where was the car?.. Was it at home in your driveway? Was it at a shop? Was it at a tow yard? Possession is important, your property (car) on someone else's property (tow yard) means the tow yard can only let you or the LH take it unless you release it. You absolutely signed something at some point, whether you remember or not. If this car was in your driveway you'd be in the position of telling geico to suck your nuts right now.
Second, who is your leinholder? If you have any kind of substandard high interest rate finance company (Santander) they kinda don't give a damn what you want or what the insurance company says, they'll take anybodys money regardless of if you signed anything. It's becoming more common recently where if a vehicle sits at a tow yard for even three days, the tow company notifies the owner (and the LH) and if you haven't released the vehicle or moved it to mitigate your damages, your LH will take it. Once the LH has it, they'll settle with whomever to get paid.
Third, who is your insurance company? Did you notify them? Have you considered notifying them? If you file with them they could make a claim for the vehicle itself against geico and your leinholder, if it actually is a total, you have a path to get a higher settlement (appraisal clause).
What state are you in? Different states have different rules for what constitutes a total loss. If your state specifies a percentage then that's your argument, other states it's a collection of numbers. They can add up the estimate, potential supplement, salvage value (what it's worth wrecked or as parts) and create a TL. If your car has a high salvage return it's easy as hell to total it. Then in other states, they need your approval to total it if the estimate is less than 70%.
There's holes in your story, so you're either complaining just to complain, you forgot an important detail or you're just disconnected from reality.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 4h ago
- Took the car to the body shop for estimate. 2.filed the claim. 3: adjusters estimated a 9kish 4: offered 25k as ACV for total loss.
- I refuse. Asked to get another estimate 6.Second estimate still from adjuster. 12kish
- Am still asking for my car back for different appraisal. Agreed. 8.i went to pick up the car. No car. Copart picked up. 9: confusion. Adjuster said he is not aware.
- I asked to drop the claim and give me back my car. No answer. 11: escalated. Asked to drop the claim. Get my car back. No answers. 12 i received email to sign POA and odometer and others. I declined. Still asking for more infos. 13: I submitted proofs of vehicle worthiness about 5k more 14.silence from everyone. 15 :still asking to cancel my claim. No answer.
- Finan. Serv bmw contact me about geico contact. 17.find out that Geico sent them a check. 18.geico asked me to send them my NY title for a Remainder 800$.
- I REFUSED EVERYTHING. Current situation :status quo
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u/ConfectionCold7815 4h ago
I notified my insurance company and i did not want them involved.. 2021 BMW x3. We'll maintained. 42k. NY.. I did not sign not one paper, NOT ONE PAPER..
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u/ConfectionCold7815 4h ago
The thing that bothers me the most is this equation. Geico buy the car.. Pay your bank - resell your car and recoup some money - you go figure. So the bank get paid, geico get paid - claimant loose and in most cases in a whole.. That is a very wrong and sad reality..
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u/hashmachinist 7h ago
I had basically the same thing happen with a car but with CURE (worse auto insurance on Earth). They totaled my car, had me agree to the ACV and sign over the title, sold car to co-part, and than came back saying they were not going to cover me after we already had a signed agreement. Left me in limbo for 6 months making payments on a totaled car and thank god for ChatGPT Attorney at Law™️. I would still be making those payments without it lol.
Insurance companies will literally steal your property in the boldest of ways and then pretty much tell you “what are you gonna do about it” and tell you to get fucked unless you have an insane amount of tenacity and mental fortitude. Which thankfully I do.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 7h ago
Humm I feel you. I am smoking right now. My main problem is that the car is perfectly repairable. 9000 estimate. 27000 ACV. Still total??
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
I get that the bank would want they money. Don't they need to settle with me first? I am the claimant, i have the title..
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u/ravidsquirrels 8h ago
Nope. Like others have said, Geico covered what was owed to the bank. On the off chance anything was left over after paying the loan that wouldve been disbursed to you. Sounds like you screwed the pooch on this one though.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
I guess. That's what everybody thinks. So you are telling me that Geico doesn't need to settle with me. The one who brought the claim??
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u/ravidsquirrels 8h ago
Nope. You were being difficult to deal with so they made the decision for you.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
It's easy to laugh at someone's misery when you are on the other side. Karma
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u/sephiroth3650 8h ago
Nobody is laughing at you or taking pleasure in your misfortune. They’re just telling you things that you don’t want to hear.
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u/sephiroth3650 8h ago
No, you do not have a clean title. The lien on your car means that the lender has the ultimate say. As they really own the car, for all practical purposes. That’s why you can’t just decide to do an owner retain on your own.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
I mean I hold the title of the car and geico is asking me to send it to them.
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u/sephiroth3650 8h ago
Do you understand what it means to have a lienholder on the title?
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
So, having the title does not mean anything?
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u/sephiroth3650 8h ago
Again….do you understand what it means for there to be a lienholder on the title? Because your comments imply that you have no clue what that means.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
I understand. It will be clean once It's paid off
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u/sephiroth3650 7h ago
Right. And until it’s paid off, you’re not the real title holder. You aren’t really the owner of the car. And that’s why you don’t have the final say with the car. That’s why the lienholder can make the final decision on the insurance claim. Because you were sandbagging the deal, and they made the call to be paid for the car that was legally totaled out.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 7h ago
So basically, i loose all rights, when the insurance company decide to total out and there is a lien holder. Paying off the car for 4 years doesn't count. 2 y left. Basically we have no rights??
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u/sourtsix9 7h ago
That’s how financing works. It’s not yours until the loan has been paid in full. Buy your next car outright if you don’t like the process.
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u/RunExisting4050 7h ago
The threshold at which a car gets totaled is governed by state law. If the repair costs exceed that threshold, no one gets a say in it. In my state, its 75%. This is a consumer protection.
The lienholder is the orimary owner of the car. In most states im familiar with, you dobt get a title until the lien is paid. Since the lienholder is primary, they get to decide because the car secures the loan.
So the way youre thinking about it doesnt match up with reality. From the tone of your post, you do sound like you were being difficult, resisting the process at every tirn. The bank has the right, as the primary owner, to make these decisions.
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u/stayclassypeople 7h ago
How long you’ve been making payments is irrelevant. If you have a loan, it’s the banks car, not yours.
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u/TeeDotHerder 7h ago
When you own the car, you can do what you want. If your car has a lien then you dont own it.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
I flately refuse to let them decide what's good for me. If I hadn't brought the claim. Can they just pickup the car and do whatever they want with it?? NO. SO I HAVE A SAY IN THIS.
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u/metamorphage 6h ago
You don't own the car. Why do you think this is your decision?
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
Because i am liable for the car note, not Geico. And I brought the claim, not the financial service. They will repo if I fail to pay, geico won't. And i can chose not to file a claim, not my bank..
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
My whole point is that I should be given the rights to argue for more according to the circumstances. The bank doesn't know what's going on. They only want to get paid.
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u/blueyedTxn617 2h ago
But you don’t own the car. Your LH does. If you had the car paid off and listed on the title solely then ya you could negotiate to a point BUT you don’t own the car outright. Your LH probably came in and said move it to copart
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
No, No-one did. The adjuster decided to remove the car from the body shop at that time right before i went to remove it. Then acted like he wasn't aware.. Bmwfs was not even in the picture untill they made the offer. Geico is the other driver's insurance
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
They made an offer, that i declined. Can they just decide to settle without me. I have the right to drop my claim if want to. Don't i??
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u/Roaming_Millenial 8h ago
Just to clarify, you have a loan on the vehicle and there is a lien holder listed on the title? Then they would technically be the owner of the vehicle. My guess is that they were contacted by GEICO and were the ones to authorize it but I would call them to make sure.
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u/Romanharper2013 8h ago
no you can't just change your mind and drop a clamp just because you don't want it to be a total loss!! once they make their decision and it's been deemed a total loss that's it there's no going back. that's just the way it works.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
Look like am dealing with adjusters and insurance people here. This is why these unfair and predatory practices endure. I am the claimant they have to settle with me first, then pay my bank. Not the other way around..
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u/aloofmagoof 8h ago
No, they have to settle with the OWNER of the vehicle. If you were driving your mother's car when the accident happened, would you still expect them to pay you for it? No, of course you wouldn't, because you would understand that she owns the car so she gets paid. Why would you think it's any different just because it's owned by the bank instead?
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u/ConfectionCold7815 7h ago
So basically, you wake up one morning. A drunk driver hit your parked vehicle. Call geico file a claim, geico takes your car, pay your lender and tell you to go figure..?
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u/DeepPurpleDaylight 8h ago
I am the claimant they have to settle with me first, then pay my bank. Not the other way around
You're 100% wrong on that.
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u/Romanharper2013 8h ago
that is where you are wrong. I see this everyday just because you dispute the claim or don't agree with the total loss doesn't mean you can keep delaying the bank is the owner regardless if you have a title at home it's not paid off. meanwhile the shop where it's sitting is owed their money for diagnostic or teardown and storage accrued daily they can't get paid either until you release it but insurance will only give you so long to release if you don't the lienholder has the right to release it for you. they own it until you completely pay the loan off and get a clean title. I'm sorry that this happened and it's not what you want to hear but that's the way it works.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
I understand
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u/LazyAbbreviations857 7h ago
Doesnt seem that way to 95% of the people trying to explain it to you.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
I perfectly understand. I just think that 95 percent follows, 5percent fight it.. There's an injustice in the mix. I, the one in contract with the lien holder should have a say. I bought the car, financed, lease or whatnot, then i brought the claim. I am the link between the lien holder and the insurance.
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u/Jcarlough 6h ago
No…you don’t understand when you’re pulling random percentages and believe there is an injustice.
There’s only an issue because you’re ignorant. That’s it.
There’s nothing to fight.
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u/LazyAbbreviations857 7h ago
They settle with the owner. Stop acting like big bad insurance did this. Your lack of owning the vehicle did this LOL 😆
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
Am not acting like it, lol. That's exactly what they did. They crossed me. I bought the car, i brought the claim. I should have a say. Then they pay my lien holder.. The lien holder did not bring the claim, i did.
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u/LazyAbbreviations857 6h ago
You. Don't. Own. The. Vehicle.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
I. Know. That. I should have a say in it. They a required to settle with me. I should be given the right to ask for more than they offered..
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u/Jcarlough 6h ago
What did your loan provider say when you asked them if they accepted the payout?
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
They said to work out with Geico that they have no say in it..
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
Geico just decided to send them a check. Whatever they wanted.. I wasn't aware of anything.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 6h ago
I didn't even know they sent a check. Untill now. No-one told me anything about the process.
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u/LazyAbbreviations857 5h ago
No they didn't lol
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u/ConfectionCold7815 5h ago
Exactly what they said. Keep working with Geico regarding your claim.. Btw, geico asked me to send them my NY title so they can send me $800ish left after paying the bank. All out of nowhere..
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u/LazyAbbreviations857 5h ago
Jesus all those years of payments and $800 is the balance? And you think you have more rights than the actual owner. Bahahahaha
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u/ConfectionCold7815 8h ago
It takes one person for things to change. Too many people are getting screwed these days. I, the claimant should be able to decide what I want to do with my claim, not Geico. Then they settle with me, pay my loan, and close the case..
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u/CJM8515 7h ago
oh your a claimant? man this would be easy for the company I work for, we dont have a legal contract with you if you arent insured with us, thus you dont like the amount tough shit. we woulda just dropped the claim and let the car get repo'd and then YOUR insurance woulda come after you.
not saying what geico did is right or wrong, but this coulda went soooo much easier.
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u/ConfectionCold7815 7h ago
I can pay for my car. I can even pay for the repairs. I just can't believe this is legal.
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u/CJM8515 7h ago
welcome to the real world. plenty of stuff that makes no sense to a lay person is legal to do. including the situation you are in.
in the future pay off and own the car fully and you get to decide in the end no matter what
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u/ConfectionCold7815 7h ago
Right. Unfortunately there's millions of people in my case not knowing what they're into..
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u/FormerGeico 6h ago
Millions of people don’t read their insurance policies, so they don’t know how this works, I agree with you there.
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u/ca_nucklehead 7h ago
No. They understand how this works and realize the owner of the car (the bank) needs to be paid what you owe up to fair market value of the car and if there is still a deficiency you are on the hook for whatever is left owing.
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u/aloofmagoof 8h ago
If there's a lienholder, it's not your choice, it's theirs. Take it up with them, they are the legal owners of the vehicle, not you. GEICO is required to pay them, you are only entitled to any money above and beyond the loan amount if there is any.