September 19, 2013 I was heading to American Family Fitness in Short Pump VA when a man by the name of Rick Holtz ran a stop sign and hit my truck. He admitted to hitting me and not stopping at the stop sign as well as not looking to see if anyone was coming before pulling out onto the road. We contacted a tow truck company and had my truck transported to Richmond Ford on Broad Street. We waited to hear something until October 2nd when my wife called EMC Insurance to find out if our truck was being fixed. That day Elaine contacted her to let her know that the truck would be totaled but she would submit it to someone else for additional review. Later that day Joe Smith contacted me to let me know that the truck would be totalled. I was extremely upset about this and had him email my wife the paperwork so that we could review the information.
At this point, I have been in an automobile accident, in the emergency room for back sprain and in a great deal of pain and now my vehicle is going to be totalled. We emailed and called the man that hit me to ask if he would be willing to help in this situation to prevent our truck from having a salvaged title. He spoke to someone at the insurance company, but it didn't change anything. We drove to Richmond Ford on October 3rd and spoke to a lady named Nancy Anderson who is the Administrative Assistant in the Collision center. She said that no one had been to get the key to our truck and had not put it on a lift to see what exactly the damages were. I have an estimate of $9,854.30 of things that need to be fixed on my Ford F150 4x4 FX4 and still don't know if that will cover everything that needs to be done to it because it hasn't been truly evaluated. However, EMC Insurance offered $3,150 SALVAGE Value and $10,475 to fix the damages or $14,180 to settle and they take the truck. We don’t know what is wrong with it because it hasn’t been on a lift to evaluate what is wrong.
On October 3rd my wife emailed Joe Smith several additional items on our truck that are not taken into consideration such as the lift, aftermarket wheels, tires, toneau cover, etc. and copied a few listings at dealers of trucks with the same mileage and year, make and model that were being sold for more money. The Insurance Company would not increase their offer. Friday October 4th, EMC Insurance Company emailed my wife and said that they would give us until October 8th (Tuesday) to keep the rental vehicle but storage and rental would discontinue on that day. We thought about the decision all weekend long and couldn’t come to a resolution because we can’t buy our vehicle for that price and we cannot determine if we should fix it because again, we don’t truly know what is wrong with it.
October 7th, my wife contacted another collision center near Richmond Ford and asked that they pick up the truck and evaluate it since Richmond Ford hadn’t done so. They gladly agreed, but of course Richmond Ford wouldn’t allow the truck to leave the parking lot until storage fees were paid which were ~$900 dollars. Joe Smith called Richmond Ford advising Nancy that check is processed and will be over nighted today.
At this point we are at a loss because as of tomorrow, we have no vehicle to get to and from work. Our vehicle is wrecked and not drivable (not our fault either) and we can’t purchase a vehicle tomorrow because we don’t have any money to do so. What do we do now? We do not have any options at this time. This is due to lack of attention on this claim by EMC insurance until my wife initiated a call to get this resolved and after that moment, it’s been “full speed ahead”. That’s not a great customer experience and not to mention TERRIBLE SERVICE. WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR TRUCK AND NO ONE WILL TELL US.
The resolution here would be to provide us with a rental vehicle until this is settled and of course to ensure that I am physically taken care of. I was hit by one of EMC’s customers and my life is turned upside down. I am not taken care of, I am being swept under the rug. No one seems to care and no one is taking care of my needs.
Thank you,
Michael F
KennedyCarrick
Virginia,#2Consumer Comment
Sat, May 10, 2014
To begin with: the auto dealership to which you initially had the auto towed may be part of the problem if they didn't get the car inspected in a reasonable amount of time. If they did not have the keys to the car, were they at fault for that or were you? EMC was not at fault for the delays at the dealership or the fact that the dealership did not have the keys.
Any time you are involved in an auto accident, even when it was clearly the other party's fault, contact your own insurance agent. Your agent will help you in dealing with the other party's insurance. (That is, after all, part of his job. The other party is responsible to report it to his agent and let them deal with their insurance company.) You can talk to your agent face to face. He has experience with insurance and insurance companies. In addition, if you have physical damage coverage (comp and collision) on your auto, he can help you get back into an auto. If you have rental reimbursement coverage he can help get a rental arranged for you without having to wait for the other party's insurance company to respond.
Understand one thing: modern cars are "totalled" very quickly due to the expensive technology incorporated in them, especially if the airbags are deployed. Risk management and claims settlement are not as simple as you may think. (I have taken some insurance studies. It isn't simple.) Depending upon the make, model, year and condition of your vehicle, the settlement that it sounds likes EMC may have been offering you may have been more reasonable than you think. (Your agent can help you understand if the offer is reasonable.
If I am not mistaken, Joe Smith* retired near this time so your case may have gotten "lost in the shuffle" for a time. Your agent would have known how much time to reasonably expect issues to be resolved and would have contacted EMC if things weren't being done in a timely manner. (*If this is the same Joe Smith from EMC, Des Moines branch, with whom I am acquainted. Leading to the question: Why weren't you dealing with someone from the Charlotte, NC, branch?)
EMC is a highly respected 103 year old insurance company. The employees are real people who have experience with real life losses: victims of car accidents, thefts, vandalism, tornadoes, hurricanes. EMC itself has experienced losses. At least two of its branches have suffered losses due to hurricane related storms and flooding in the past few years. The home office and the Des Moines branch are currently experiencing inconvenience due to the former Younkers Flagship building across the street burning down on March 29: Plywood in windows. unusuable office space; blocked entrances. Months before repairs can be completed. Years before it will be determined who is liable and will be responsible to pay for the damages and when they will be paid. That is to say nothing of the fact that the remianing structure of the former Younker's Flaghip building could collapse potentially further damage EMC buildings.