Dairyland Insurance Nightmare

[Yamifj1200]

Dairyland Insurance Nightmare

 I was all jacked to take my western states trip this August. Frank and I were to meet up in Roanoke Va. to begin our tow west to Colorado.  No sooner did I get out of my neighborhood and my bike died for no apparent reason.  At the moment I suspected a fuel pump it began to rain and ended up pouring down on me in the middle of a very busy intersection close to home. I quickly unpacked the bike, broke out some tools and bypassed the dead pump and made my way home on gravity fed fuel. I quickly located another pump and in just two hours was packed up and heading out of town to meet up with Frank.

  I remember thinking ok every bike trip has a problem and mine just happened as I was leaving town. The bike was running great, the roads heading west out of town were drying and my adventure was just beginning.

  I was making good time and knew I would be on time to catch up with Frank. We began to unload the bike when out of nowhere a young woman (Tasha S Doyle) driving a minivan decided not to see my bike as she was driving across the parking lot.  She clipped the right hand rear corner of my FJ breaking the turn signal and knocking the bike over hard on its left had side. The fall broke my upper fairing, scuffed the left mirror, bent the clutch lever, tore up the bumper on the air scoop, roughed up the rev tech engine bars and did some damage on the left Yoshimura can.

 Things only get better from here as she did not have insurance, her driver's license or a current registration for the van. She was crying and so sorry for hitting my bike. Trying to be nice I did not call the state police because in Virginia on private property they would not even fill out an accident report. She agreed to help me pay for the damage when I returned from my trip. The bike was fine other than the cosmetic damage and I decided to take off with Frank. I did have Frank take a couple pictures of her van and a couple of her as well. We drove off and enjoyed the trip.

 When I returned I gave Tasha a call letting her know much it would cost to repair my bike. She told me she was busy at the moment and to call her back later in the week. I tried to call back several times over the next two weeks but she refused to take my calls or return them.

  I only carry Liability insurance on my bikes and found out that in Virginia it is mandatory to also carry Uninsured motorist coverage which I do pay for. I called my local agent and reported the claim. Naturally he had me call the national claims number, I made my claim thinking certainly with the information I had from the scene and a witness I would be covered and be able to replace the damaged parts and make my bike well again.  

The claim was turned over to one of their agents named Karla, a woman who was rude and less than helpful in fact told me I would most likely be denied coverage due to not having a police report. A couple days later she returned my call and informed me that I would need to prove the driver who hit me did not have insurance. I was told the agent had sent Tasha a letter from the company trying to get some information about her previous insurance. Tasha was not returning my calls so why would she return them from Dairyland or answer the letter from Dairyland. After a couple weeks going back and forth with Dairyland I received a denial letter from the company stating my collision claim because I did not have collision coverage. No shit..... I made an Uninsured motorist claim....of which I do pay for coverage.  After a few phone calls reminding Dairyland of the proper claim they decided to send out an estimator to give me a quote for the damage. A few days later I was told they had turned the claim over to their total loss department. The following week I got a call from Bonnie a total loss agent informing me of my total loss.  She informed me how they would cancel my coverage because Dairyland did not cover bikes that had been totaled. They would also label my title as a salvage making it almost impossible to get insurance anywhere else.

Two days later I come home to find a letter from Dairyland Insurance asking me for my signature for power of attorney and requested my motorcycle title and the keys to my bike. At this point Dairyland had never even given me the value of my FJ. I called mad as hell and spoke with Aaron a total loss supervisor who I told I would send him my tile and keys when he sent me a signed blank check! He said I should just ignore the power of attorney form as it was a formality. I let him know that I would be turning all the paperwork over to the Virginia Insurance commission and my personal attorney. Next thing you know I get a call and an email with a value for my bike and what the company was willing to do for me. I could accept a total loss and give them my bike or take a reduced settlement and keep my bike; they also let me know they would not alter my title in any way. I decided to keep my bike, accept the lower amount and replace the damaged parts with new parts myself...

I am only posting this to inform others what can happen in uninsured situations like this... Be very persistent, save every document and stick to your guns and don't let them get over on you because they will try if you let them..

Always get a police report even if it's just to have an official record of the crash. The good news is I will get enough to repair my bike. Tasha S Doyle will lose her drivers permit, have to pay a reinstatement fine and high priced insurance for the next 3-5 years.  Dairyland will also go after her for the money for the damage to my bike. Karma can be a bitch.....

Eric M

[Harvy]

Hey Eric,  is there a company over there that issues insurance against shitty insurance companies?     

Harvy

[Yamifj1200]

Harvey, it looks like I will come out ok. Its just been a pain. I already have most of the parts to make my bike good as new...

Eric M

[Harvy]

Eric.... OEM colours mate?

Harvy

[rktmanfj]

Eric, if you think that has been a joyful experience, just try being the victim of a hit-and-run.         

Then, they won't pay on the under/uninsured coverage because "if you don't know who hit you, you can't prove they didn't have insurance".

They DID pay off on the collision coverage (1500 deductible).   

Randy T
Indy

[the fan]

I think the point here is that no matter what the situation, get a police report. If nothing else it allows you to go after the person who hit you in court and have documentation for the insurance company. Remember, not everyone is a fine upstanding citizen such as yourself and while it is commendable that you tend to see the better side of people, most do not deserve it.

VA state police may not be able to cite her on private property (act, in a parking lot they probably can, They do in KY and OH) but they will fill out an accident report.

[FJ Flyer]

Geezes, you might think the insurance company would have some idea of the service they're supposed to provided in compensation for the tons of money you send them every year.  Crooks.

Just think what would have transpired if a dog was driving the van.

[Dan Filetti]

Hey Eric,  is there a company over there that issues insurance against shitty insurance companies?     

Harvy

Harvy, you're thinking like the trouble makers that thought up the Credit Default Swaps!!!

Stop it.

Dan

[Yamifj1200]

Eric.... OEM colours mate?

Harvy

Harvy, I was able to find a brand new fairing for my 91 and so far I have puchased five of the nine parts that were damaged. So I am staying with the original colours.

Eric M

[Yamifj1200]

Geezes, you might think the insurance company would have some idea of the service they're supposed to provided in compensation for the tons of money you send them every year.  Crooks.

Just think what would have transpired if a dog was driving the van.

Yea Chris, I never really understood why the owner of the van was not liable for Andy's damage or at the very least the dog got a ticket for DUI...

Eric M

[racerman_27410]

i am happy it is working out for you bro...... dam bloodsuckin insurance company didnt know who they were dealing with did they?


KOokaloo!

[mikeholzer]

Gents,

In the first place; Eric, man, my heart goes out to you. As if it's not bad enough that some ignorant driver damages something of great value to you (might I even call it irreplacable?), but to add to it no insurance and no responsibility? How do you cope?

That being said, I have read a number of posts here bitching about insurance rates and insurance companies. Without preaching a bunch of BS to you all, I will stress to you all that I love my bike dearly, and although there are still more of them available, they are a dying breed; lost to accidents and assholes wanting to make 5/8 scale race cars out of them. I don't want anything to ever happen to it, and I hope to cross over the 100,000 mark late next year.

With that in mind, I insure my bike with State Farm. I carry full coverage with minimal deductibles on comp and collision, and high liability limits and personal injury protection. My annual policy costs me $238 per year, which I feel is reasonable when I consider that when I do need to make a claim, I can count on excellent service and no bull-stein.

I was the general manager of a towing business here in Minneapolis for 6 years, and a regular part of that gig was storing cars from accidents for a jacked up towing and storage fee for the deep pockets of the insurance companies to bail out. I'm not proud of it, but I didn't set the rules, nor did I benefit from it. Regardless, I experienced first hand how different insurers handle claims. Dairyland and Farmers were consistently the worst, with USAA close behind. Geico, Progressive, and State Farm were consistently Johnny-on-the-Spot.

My message here: you really do get what you pay for. I don't believe that most of you would cheap out on your riding gear, so why would you do so with your insurance? Regardless of your bike's age or condition, your best option, in my opinion, is to insure it fully so that when a loss happens, you are not totally hosed and back at square one. Also, select a reputable insurer. In all of my years in the auto business, the majority of the insurance company complaints I ever heard were from the customers of smaller and regional insurance companies who built their fortunes on the backs of lesser men.

My opinion. Retort away...

[Dan Filetti]

Dairyland and Farmers were consistently the worst, with USAA close behind. Geico, Progressive, and State Farm were consistently Johnny-on-the-Spot.

Mike-

Interesting that you find USAA as part of the not-so-good side of the insurance companies.  I have had USAA my entire driving life, for dozens of vehicles and really think they are better than any other.  I have had a few claims and always been treated with great respect and expediency.  Perhaps they do not deal so well with their vendors?

As an aside, you mentioned Progressive as one of those that were 'Johnny-on-the-Spot'.  It may be of some interest to know that Progressive is a wholly owned subsidiary of USAA, and was established for non-military folks from what I'm to understand.

Same company, different perspectives I guess.

Dan

[mikeholzer]

Dan,

That's probably true that it was more of a vendor issue than a claims service issue. I didn't want it to sound as if I had any particular love for any particular brand; only that in my experience that the better companies produce better results.

I have been with State Farm for 25 years, and I have made many claims over the years for things which were my fault and things that weren't. I've totalled vehicles, had things fall from the sky; I've tested all of the forms of insurance that I pay for with the exception of the personal injury protection. In every case, I have been very happy with my claims service, and anytime they have had to pay out it was always a fair value.

Perhaps my loalty has something to do with it, but I doubt it. We all must remember: insurance companies will not do business with you unless the odds are stacked drastically in their favor.

[mst3kguy]

eric,

sorry for the hassle, glad that you finally got the insurance company to wake up.  it won't recover all the stress that it gave you and the time it took out of your life.  peace and love.