Hi Kim,
Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees.
I believe you have the right to ask that the insurance company have the
aircraft inspected and, based on that inspection, tell you what their
opinion of the salvage value is. They would rightfully be very leery
of stating an "estimate" to repair. Because of liability concerns
everything touched in the process of their inspection and repair would
have to be essentially "perfect" afterwards.
If you take the same position that they normally do, i.e. that the
aircraft would have to be disassembled completely in order to determine
that there was no damage requiring wing recovering, etc., that knife
cuts both ways. The salvage value of the wings becomes half what
"servicable" wings would bring...and so on.
There is room for negotiation. If their "final decision" as to salvage
value is deemed unreasonable, ask for a right of first refusal when
they put the remains up for bid. Unless some shennanigans are being
pulled, this costs them nothing, since the auction to get that "winning
bid" is usually one where a number of such "lots" are offered to
interested bidders.
While some insurance companies might, on occasion, jerk an owner around
they know wants their plane back at any cost, I would be extremely
surprised if that will be your experience. Anyone but an idiot will
weigh the potential adverse publicity any insurance company would incur
if they did not bend over backward to be fair and negotiate with you,
of all people, in good faith
Regards,
WRB
--
On Jan 20, 2010, at 16:02, kim Blackseth wrote:
Group...
I was hoping for some of your collective advice. Below is my insurance
company's response to my recently damaged 'coupe. Above that is my
response... I'd like some input from the group...
Kim Blackseth
This is the whole point of my wanting to see the plane. While it may
be a total loss to you ($20K), it may take $30K (or something) to fix
it. If I know "about" what this number is, I can make the
determination to "take a policyholder’s release (policy limit –
salvage value = payable amount)" and add $10K of my money and fix it.
If it's unfixable (or some $50K to fix), it makes no sense for to to
consider "the policyholders release". I'll take your settlement and
buy a different plane. However, I can't make that decision without
having some kind of idea about condition or potential repair costs.
I'd like some kind of realistic repair cost, even if those costs
exceed $20K. it will allow me to determine if keep the hull, add
some money to your settlement and repair it
Kim Blackseth, ICC, CASp
310 17th St
Oakland, CA
510-839-1760
On Jan 20, 2010, at 1:00 PM, Wolfe, Natsuno wrote:
Mr. Blacksmith:
I have made a phone call regarding the damage estimate – so far,
even without looking at the actual airplane, the prop strike itself
makes it a total loss based on the policy limit since a prop strike
means an engine teardown. Then once the teardown is done, there may
be a problem with the crankshaft, which means additional repairs.
As Dennis advised you, it will take some time before I can send
someone to inspect the aircraft, but given the obvious, I don’t see
what the physical inspection will accomplish (except more damage?).
If this was a borderline total loss, then there is a good chance we
may be able to repair the aircraft.
Another option is to take a policyholder’s release – I can perhaps
offer to pay a sum (policy limit – salvage value = payable amount),
but you will have to sign the release. This means you will be
responsible for the repairs but you get to keep the aircraft. If
this is something you will consider, then once FAA and NTSB release
their control of your aircraft, you can remove your aircraft. Any
retrieval fees and hangar fees up to the point are being paid by us.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Natsuno Wolfe | Claims Representative, California Branch Office
| Chartis Aerospace |
Mail: P.O. Box 5550 | Alpharetta, GA 30022 |
777 S. Figueroa Street | 14th Floor | Los Angeles, CA 90017 |
Direct: 213.689.2735 | Fax: 866.690.8478 | Cell: 213.280.5293 |
http://www.chartisinsurance.com
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Kim Blackseth, ICC, CASp
310 17th St
Oakland, CA
510-839-1760
