My mom taught me that you always get what you pay for. Except in this case, we've been paying a lot but we are receiving so very little.
FACT: The other driver in this accident was at fault and ticketed. At the scene, he told me that his brakes locked up and he couldn't stop. He said his tires were nearly bald which likely contributed.
The other driver may have been negligent driving around on bald tires, or he may have been going too fast, or he may have been distracted. Yet my anger isn't really directed at him either.
Liberty Mutual is the source of my ongoing frustration. They're our automobile insurance company and per the recommendation of the other party's insurance company (Geico), Liberty Mutual they've been handling the claim process.
Over the years, we've been pretty good customers. We have multiple vehicles and our house on the policy. I've never paid a premium late and prior to this experience, I've never filed a claim.
Unfortunately, Liberty Mutual hasn't been treating us nearly as well as we've treat them.
After experiencing many delays and getting the run-around (details below), and despite complaining to supervisors, Liberty Mutual continues to be horribly unresponsive and uncooperative. Worse, when I asked about previous complaints regarding the same issue, the supervisor told me there was no record of any complaints in my file.in other words, they are NOT documenting the series of delays and resulting complaints in their internal files.
My experiences thus far dealing with Liberty Mutual:
4 days to get a rental car.
1 full week before Liberty Mutual sent an adjuster to evaluate the damage to my car. The excuse: Everyone was attending a meeting (seriously). Maybe they were counting their yet to vest stock options in the upcoming IPO.
Several days, and repeated phone calls and emails to get a tow authorization. The excuse: My claims adjuster went on vacation (but the supervisor confirmed he was in the office for a full day and half after I sent email and left voice messages).
Liberty Mutual's initial estimate was about $7,500. The body shop evaluated the car, found additional damage, but and it took another week for Liberty Mutual to have the additional work approved.
I told Liberty Mutual that I was concerned about the fact that when I sell or trade in the car, the CarFax will show it's been in an accident. My claims adjuster told me I could file a diminished value claim against the other driver's insurance (Geico), but not to be surprised when Geico offers very little. Translation: Too bad about your loss but it's your problem, we aren't responsible nor will we be helpful to you.
As of Dec 1st, we no longer have a rental car. Liberty Mutual decided that despite directly causing the delays in having the car fixed, despite the legal responsibility of Geico to reimburse them, to pull the rental car. The cost of the rental car was only $20/day. My car won't be ready for another 5-7 days. This would only cost them $100-$140, which the Colorado DIvision of Insurance states should be collectable from Geico. Unfortunately, LIberty Mutual doesn't see it this way.
The saga continues...
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