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Insurance Company Deducting Storage Fees from Total Loss Settlement

After the insurance company says a car is a total loss, they will often try to deduct storage fees from your total loss settlement, or the insurance company will try to deduct repair fees paid to the collision repair shop out of your total loss settlement.

A common example we see is the insurance company first says the vehicle is repairable. They write a very low estimate, if they even write an estimate at all. The insurance company never sends an adjuster to inspect the car. The adjuster only looks at photographs to write their estimate. The collision repair shop starts to break the vehicle down, order parts, and begin repairs. The shop submits supplements to the insurance company and then after weeks of delay (or months) the insurance company says the vehicle is totaled.

Insurance Company takes too long to make an offer

After the insurance company totals the car, then the delays continue as it becomes difficult getting an offer from the insurance company for the value of the car. Or, if the insurance company makes an offer, they delaying in explaining the number or sending you the valuation report.

If you’re lucky, the insurance company will negotiate with you and review comparables you send them. But most times, despite the errors in their total loss valuation, the insurance will refuse to negotiate with you.

At this point, sometimes months after the car accident, you finally give up and just accept the amount the insurance company is offering.

Then, a bad deal gets worse.

For the first time, the insurance company tells you they aren’t going to pay for some of the charges the collision repair shop incurred – writing the estimate, breaking down the vehicle, taking photographs for the insurance company, ordering parts, and storing the car.

Now the insurance company is subtracting the charges from the collision repair shop out of your total loss settlement.

Excess Storage Fee Deduction

A Florida auto insurance policy requires the insurance company to pay you the actual cash value of your vehicle.

By deducting storage fees from your total loss settlement, or by deducting repair fees from your total loss settlement, the insurance company is not fulfilling the requirement under the policy to pay you the actual cash value.

Insurance companies are slow. Since COVID, their response times have been slower than ever. Then they want to blame you, their insured, for incurring fees that help them do their jobs.

Generally, insurance companies cannot deduct storage fees from your total loss settlement. We have helped others who did not receive the full value of their vehicle from their insurance company.

Call us at (407) 848-5800

Our law firm always offers a free consultation. We may be able to help you without having to hire us.

We represent clients on a contingency fee arrangement. That means we don’t get paid unless we make a recovery for you.

If we are successful, your insurance company has to pay your attorneys’ fees and court costs in addition to the amount they owe you for your total loss claim.

Unsure how to evaluate your insurance company’s total loss valuation? Read our article on How to Dispute a CCCOne Total Loss Report.

Jose Marti
Jose Marti
22:26 24 Sep 20
Last year I was involved in a bad car accident and the owner of the body shop recommended I call Attorney Andrew Irvin as the insurance company was not paying the total loss claim. The best advise ever.From the moment you meet him he is very attentive and walks you through the entire process.After filling the lawsuit against the Insurance company and battling them for almost 6 months, we received notice that the Ins Company had gone under and closed its doors. That meant that now we had to go through the state insurance program. That resulted in Andrew not being able to claim his fees.Regardless of those news, Andrew told me that he was going to continue the case until it was finished even when he was not getting paid. I offered emphatically to pay him out my pocket, but he strongly refused.Today, one year later, we got the settlement from the State and the case is resolved, and all along Andrew stood by me, advising me, fighting the leasing company and pushing the state to pay.This is something you don't see any more. Needless to say that Andrew has forever gained my trust, respect and friendship.If you are reading this, and find yourself in need of a true devoted Attorney, just call Andrew, he will take good care of you as he did with me and my family. I am forever in his debt.Thank you Andrew
mark sharek
mark sharek
20:03 26 Sep 19
Irvin & Irvin took great care of my family when our insurance company refused to pay the total bill to our collision repair center. This was almost a $4,000.00 bill. Mr. Andrew Irvin took our case and gor us every penny back. He kept us in the loop of what was going on, and handled the situation in a timely manner. Thank You Andrew for your help and advice.
Itzme Orozco
Itzme Orozco
19:06 03 Jun 19
Andrew is such a great attorney I just loved how fast he worked out my case. I had so much trouble with my insurance adjuster to pay for my total lost. Adjuster would not even aswer my calls. I was so worried that I would be stuck with a loan and no car. Andrew always help me he answered my questions calls, & email asap. I would definitly recommend this Great attorney . He is so profesional.
Paul Freeman
Paul Freeman
14:57 14 Sep 18
I worked with attorney Andrew Irvin to reach a fair settlement for the total loss of my vehicle in an accident. The insurance adjusters gave me a difficult time, but Mr. Irvin shared his knowledge and expertise and helped me fight their dishonest negotiation tactics each step of the way. I would recommend him to anyone dealing with similar property damage claims.
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