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6mo old truck was likely just totaled - tips/guidance on working with insurance & FCA?

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Lsga

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Hey folks,

My intent when joining this forum was to learn more about my 2024 Ram Ltd Night Edition and all the cool mods/upgrades this community has done to their trucks - however, my parked truck was hit so hard this past Saturday night (Seattle, WA) that I'm pretty sure it'll be totaled.
  • Long story short, guy fell asleep behind the wheel and hit the driver's side rear corner likely going around 40-50mph; miraculously, nobody was hurt).

Few questions I have for folks who have gone through the experience of having a car totaled by insurance:
  • my truck was purchased new in Dec 2024 (so i've had it under 6mo, put about 4k miles on it); how do go I about ensuring I limit the ways I can get screwed on the actual cash value estimate?
  • I've been reading, things to look out for are ensuring the insurance adjuster uses local comps (not ones from other parts of the country with different price points), make sure they're using all the options I purchased, accounting for sales/licensing tax, etc.
  • it sounds like once the car is officially totaled, I should reach out to my dealership to get my Mopar extended warranty and service contracts cancelled?

Also, the other driver was significantly under-insured (25k property damage limit), so I have to go through my insurance - anything I should know/look out for?

... Hopefully back in another 5th gen soon - TIA for any tips/help you can provide!

Cheers,
Santi
 
Lsga said:
Hey folks,

My intent when joining this forum was to learn more about my 2024 Ram Ltd Night Edition and all the cool mods/upgrades this community has done to their trucks - however, my parked truck was hit so hard this past Saturday night (Seattle, WA) that I'm pretty sure it'll be totaled.
  • Long story short, guy fell asleep behind the wheel and hit the driver's side rear corner likely going around 40-50mph; miraculously, nobody was hurt).

Few questions I have for folks who have gone through the experience of having a car totaled by insurance:
  • my truck was purchased new in Dec 2024 (so i've had it under 6mo, put about 4k miles on it); how do go I about ensuring I limit the ways I can get screwed on the actual cash value estimate?
  • I've been reading, things to look out for are ensuring the insurance adjuster uses local comps (not ones from other parts of the country with different price points), make sure they're using all the options I purchased, accounting for sales/licensing tax, etc.
  • it sounds like once the car is officially totaled, I should reach out to my dealership to get my Mopar extended warranty and service contracts cancelled?

Also, the other driver was significantly under-insured (25k property damage limit), so I have to go through my insurance - anything I should know/look out for?

... Hopefully back in another 5th gen soon - TIA for any tips/help you can provide!

Cheers,
Santi
Click to expand...
Wow that is a total bummer sorry to hear about your truck.
 
If they are underinsured, sue them. Your own insurance may well do that after they pay; subrogated claim
 
You need to negotiate whatever your and their insurance come up with. You don't have to just accept their estimate. Although if you have decent insurance it will probably be fair. MAKE SURE YOU ARE PRESENT WITH THE ADJUSTER WHEN THEY LOOK AT IT TO BE SURE THEY ARE DOING IT TO YOUR SATISFACTION. After the first adjuster looks at it, if they decide it is a total loss you will be handed over to the total loss department. The process is usually horrible. I know this because mine was incorrectly declared a total loss (last September) even though it wasn't by an incompetent adjuster. After my rear window leaked in a hurricane and fried my RF Hub. The adjuster claimed I had salt water intrusion which was untrue since the vehicle was 50 miles from the coast. It took me over a month to straighten it out (Allstate). Your case is WAY different. Don't trust anyone is the moral of the story and stay on top of it no matter what.
 
This all happened in New Jersey, but in 2021 (11 days after I bought my truck) I was sideswiped by another driver who was texting while driving and aggressively speeding. ~90mph in a 65. They caused approximately $9,000 in damages to the drivers side. Insurers original estimate based on photos was $2,000, but I knew it would be way more than that and didn't accept the initial settlement. After waiting about a month for the state police report, they informed me that the other driver was clearly at fault and that their insurance would be liable (We both had the same insurer). However they had minimum coverage, $5,000. Insurance company tried to put me on the hook for a significant portion of the remaining damage as a deductible even though I had underinsured motorist coverage. Their reason for arguing this was due to the damage on my truck. Think of that opening scene from Titanic when he says the iceberg punched many small holes in the boat below the water line like morse code. Deet Deet Deet! The other vehicle hit me 3-4 separate times as they ran alongside me and caused several scrapes and large dents. They accused me of fraud because they felt the damage didn't line up with what they normally see in a typical sideswipe. They kept bringing up the word sideswipe because I said that's what happened in my recorded statement. I argued with them on the phone for 20 minutes and they finally caved and said something along the lines of, "We will bill the other driver for the deductible." They are no longer my insurer...

TLDR: Be careful what you say in your statement to the insurance company. Say as little as is necessary. They can and will use your statements against you. Perhaps even in a situation as cut and dry as yours.

Edit: Above all else, be careful, be polite, but be firm.
And 100% agree with what FastBlackRam said above^
 
Last edited:
Lsga said:
Hey folks,

My intent when joining this forum was to learn more about my 2024 Ram Ltd Night Edition and all the cool mods/upgrades this community has done to their trucks - however, my parked truck was hit so hard this past Saturday night (Seattle, WA) that I'm pretty sure it'll be totaled.
  • Long story short, guy fell asleep behind the wheel and hit the driver's side rear corner likely going around 40-50mph; miraculously, nobody was hurt).

Few questions I have for folks who have gone through the experience of having a car totaled by insurance:
  • my truck was purchased new in Dec 2024 (so i've had it under 6mo, put about 4k miles on it); how do go I about ensuring I limit the ways I can get screwed on the actual cash value estimate?
  • I've been reading, things to look out for are ensuring the insurance adjuster uses local comps (not ones from other parts of the country with different price points), make sure they're using all the options I purchased, accounting for sales/licensing tax, etc.
  • it sounds like once the car is officially totaled, I should reach out to my dealership to get my Mopar extended warranty and service contracts cancelled?

Also, the other driver was significantly under-insured (25k property damage limit), so I have to go through my insurance - anything I should know/look out for?

... Hopefully back in another 5th gen soon - TIA for any tips/help you can provide!

Cheers,
Santi
Click to expand...
My suggestion, go through your insurance company for everything . They should have your best interests in mind. Let them handle the total loss value, or repair estimate and pay you out. They will then go after the other person's insurance to to recoup their money. If their coverage wasnt enough, they will sue the other driver. You will be made whole by your insurance, and they will handle everything dealing with other insurance and other driver.
 
states law are difficult and differ... I had a DV claim under uninsured motorist portion (which I pay for) and my own insurance company paid it as a non chargeable claim against me. I wonder if it comes from a state fund under the uninsured/underisnured portion. Every state is different. confusing at best and if I didn t mention and push for DV they never even mentioned it until I did, then I got switched to another department who offered my payment.
 
- No need to deal with other party's insurance - your insurance will take care of all that after they pay you out, assuming you had collision in addition to liability insurance.
- Costs other than damage may be added to total cost of an event that will make an insurance total a vehicle, for instance supplying you with a rental during repairs. So if you prefer to have it totaled, keep that in mind.
 
Lsga said:
Hey folks,

My intent when joining this forum was to learn more about my 2024 Ram Ltd Night Edition and all the cool mods/upgrades this community has done to their trucks - however, my parked truck was hit so hard this past Saturday night (Seattle, WA) that I'm pretty sure it'll be totaled.
  • Long story short, guy fell asleep behind the wheel and hit the driver's side rear corner likely going around 40-50mph; miraculously, nobody was hurt).

Few questions I have for folks who have gone through the experience of having a car totaled by insurance:
  • my truck was purchased new in Dec 2024 (so i've had it under 6mo, put about 4k miles on it); how do go I about ensuring I limit the ways I can get screwed on the actual cash value estimate?
  • I've been reading, things to look out for are ensuring the insurance adjuster uses local comps (not ones from other parts of the country with different price points), make sure they're using all the options I purchased, accounting for sales/licensing tax, etc.
  • it sounds like once the car is officially totaled, I should reach out to my dealership to get my Mopar extended warranty and service contracts cancelled?

Also, the other driver was significantly under-insured (25k property damage limit), so I have to go through my insurance - anything I should know/look out for?

... Hopefully back in another 5th gen soon - TIA for any tips/help you can provide!

Cheers,
Santi
Click to expand...
you can cancel it yourself or the dealer make sure you get it in writing. lawyer up. may be underinsured but that has nothing to do with your damages. thats for his damages. get a lawyer his insurance will screw you
 
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