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Nationwide Corporation Complaint - Victims claims go unanswered - Car insurance claim
Car insurance claim - Complaint
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS -- Another heartless insurance company... My advice to anyone that is the victim in a traffic accident in which the responsible party is a Nationwide client would be to immediately hire an attorney.
The story follows:
My sister was recently involved in a traffic accident in which she was side-swiped by a Nationwide client. She was taken from the scene via ambulance due to injuries sustained to her shoulder during the impact, fortunately her 10 year old son emerged from the back seat relatively unscathed but shaken. The emergency crews had to use a crowbar to open the door to get her and her son out of the vehicle. Her car was towed and she was denied access to it for two days despite it still containing her purse and wallet.
At first Nationwide seemed responsive to the claim. Two separate adjusters were assigned, one for medical and one for property damage. They all appeared to be playing nice at first with the medical claims being taken care of. They offered a small settlement ($1000) for the pain and anguish and loss of wages from several days in a sling. She accepted their offer, but before she could sign any thing the property damage adjuster (under the assumption that the medical claim was signed off on) turned down right nasty. He refused to repair the car with anything other than bondo, refused to use acceptable, safe, standard parts (including the front bumper which along with everything else he wanted taken from a salvaged vehicle). Since I am an avid car enthusiast she politely informed them that that would not work, especially the bumper. With modern cars and crumple zones every major part is designed to absorb and deflect the impact of a crash.
Replacing a front bumper with one from a previously crashed vehicle would be a safety issue since it had already absorbed a certain amount of energy and was thus probably weakened. With a 10 year old in transport that was not acceptable to my sister or to me and posed too large of a risk for negligible cost savings. All told, to repair the car correctly was only going to be a $200 price difference. Nationwide refused. Her car was out of commission while being repaired so they provided a rental car from Enterprise. She had to foot $50 of the bill for the rental car upfront. Since when did the victim have to come out of pocket for an insurance client's recklessness? Then 5 days into the 7 day repair period my sister received a call from Enterprise stating that Nationwide had only paid for 4 days and she either had to return the car within an hour or she would be charged with grand theft auto. Nationwide refused to cover the remaining 3 days her car was to be in the shop.
I am writing this as the repairs are completed on my sisters car to give you an idea of how recent this travesty is. I would not recommend anyone use Nationwide that cares that things are made right and I'd recommend the immediate hiring of an attorney to represent YOUR interests should you be involved in an accident in which a Nationwide client is at fault.
The story follows:
My sister was recently involved in a traffic accident in which she was side-swiped by a Nationwide client. She was taken from the scene via ambulance due to injuries sustained to her shoulder during the impact, fortunately her 10 year old son emerged from the back seat relatively unscathed but shaken. The emergency crews had to use a crowbar to open the door to get her and her son out of the vehicle. Her car was towed and she was denied access to it for two days despite it still containing her purse and wallet.
At first Nationwide seemed responsive to the claim. Two separate adjusters were assigned, one for medical and one for property damage. They all appeared to be playing nice at first with the medical claims being taken care of. They offered a small settlement ($1000) for the pain and anguish and loss of wages from several days in a sling. She accepted their offer, but before she could sign any thing the property damage adjuster (under the assumption that the medical claim was signed off on) turned down right nasty. He refused to repair the car with anything other than bondo, refused to use acceptable, safe, standard parts (including the front bumper which along with everything else he wanted taken from a salvaged vehicle). Since I am an avid car enthusiast she politely informed them that that would not work, especially the bumper. With modern cars and crumple zones every major part is designed to absorb and deflect the impact of a crash.
Replacing a front bumper with one from a previously crashed vehicle would be a safety issue since it had already absorbed a certain amount of energy and was thus probably weakened. With a 10 year old in transport that was not acceptable to my sister or to me and posed too large of a risk for negligible cost savings. All told, to repair the car correctly was only going to be a $200 price difference. Nationwide refused. Her car was out of commission while being repaired so they provided a rental car from Enterprise. She had to foot $50 of the bill for the rental car upfront. Since when did the victim have to come out of pocket for an insurance client's recklessness? Then 5 days into the 7 day repair period my sister received a call from Enterprise stating that Nationwide had only paid for 4 days and she either had to return the car within an hour or she would be charged with grand theft auto. Nationwide refused to cover the remaining 3 days her car was to be in the shop.
I am writing this as the repairs are completed on my sisters car to give you an idea of how recent this travesty is. I would not recommend anyone use Nationwide that cares that things are made right and I'd recommend the immediate hiring of an attorney to represent YOUR interests should you be involved in an accident in which a Nationwide client is at fault.
Comments:
Posted by Slimjim on 2007-10-10:
I don't understand your argument. If the bumper they want to use has had its integrity compromised becuase of a crash, then it would have cosmetic damage and couldn't be put on her car anyway. Clearly the used bumper is probably fine but your other complaint points I do agree with.
Posted by GWbiker on 2007-10-10:
First of all, NEVER sign off on a insurance medical claim until you have spoken with at least one good doctor who reviews your injuries. Claims adjusters are paid to low ball payouts. The $50 payment to Enterprise should be just a "hold" on your credit card, to be released when the rental is returned. Nationwide was probably informed by the body shop your repairs would be completed in three days, which you should have been informed of, and if additional time was needed, Enterprise could have contacted Nationwide to authorize an additional day or two car rental. AFA the "grand theft auto" threat, Enterprise is not exactly a premier car rental company.
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