I attended what our government insurer calls the CEF or the Central Estimating Facility (communist name kinda fits). I was allowed to go over the vehicle inside and out with an estimator who informed me that, in his opinion, it was not going to be written off. All major damage photos can be found here.
The official estimate (based off cosmetics only) is still outstanding, but it is time to set out my view on things. As a current claims adjuster and previous “claims advocate” (professional beggar) you just want to ensure they know your position and you are not going away while trying not to look like a mental case.
I wrote this email to my adjuster:
“Hi (redacted),
I attended the CEF and spoke with the estimator today. I also gained access to the interior of the vehicle and it smells very strongly of smoke (as expected) and shows evidence of extreme use and corresponding damage. It appears that it may have been used in the theft and transportation of a large, heavy item or items.
Although the Audatex estimate has not been completed, it is clear that the estimator’s initial opinion is that the vehicle is repairable based just off of the cosmetic damage.
While I will wait for the official Audatex dollar estimate to come in before considering further options, I’d like to point out the following and request it be sent to both the CEF estimator team lead and your adjusting team lead. Note that we would have this vehicle inspected, at my expense, for mechanical damage prior to cosmetic work beginning and pursue ICBC for reimbursement.
- All front panels are severely misaligned. Supplemental repair expenses are highly likely. Subframe damage and mechanical damage are quite likely. Reprogramming of vehicle including two new keys from Mazda will need to be included if repaired. We also are concerned about the impact on the remaining warranty (5-year, unlimited kilometer) that this theft and resultant damage/repairs may have. Based on the likely presence of mechanical damage, heavy cosmetic/structural damage to the front of the vehicle and heavy cosmetic damage to the remainder of the exterior and interior of the vehicle, this vehicle would be better suited to a salvage and/or rebuilt title than a “clean” title with a substantial amount of repair and a theft declaration. If the vehicle is rebuilt and returned to us, we will immediately resell and pursue ICBC for the accelerated depreciation (ACV less sale amount). Our Roadstar Plus LOU has elapsed. Further delays will cause further financial losses. As a purchaser of Roadstar Plus, we expect that ICBC would act in good faith to expedite the settlement process to minimize financial loss to the insured by theft as intended by the Roadstar Plus Optional coverage. Further delays will cause our remaining LOU from the basic theft coverage to elapse causing substantial financial loss. From my inquiry to dial a claim this morning, I already am aware that the estimation process is behind ICBC’s own internal CEF estimation queue times.We have always placed our optional business with ICBC due to a perception of competitiveness with private insurers. In 2018, we spent $7,298.40 across our three vehicles with ICBC including basic (my truck’s optional cover is placed privately). Assuming and subtracting $1200 per year per car for basic rates, that leaves $4898.40 in optional premium to ICBC in 2018 alone. We will be reviewing our optional provider based on a mid-September renewal. We expect that ICBC, as they look to continue remaining competitive in this space, adopt and maintain settlement guidelines and service similar to a private provider.
I trust that ICBC will take all financial factors into consideration before making a decision on the viability of repairing this vehicle, I believe the ACV to be $25,500 based on the spreadsheet previously sent (and re-attached to this email). I believe that this will fall within the Autosource ACV range.
As an adjuster, I wouldn’t expect or ask for anything that I wouldn’t offer to an insured or a third party as fair settlement on a total loss. As car enthusiast, driving enthusiast and detailing enthusiast I take exceedingly good care of all four of my vehicles, maintaining the interior/exterior cleanliness at all times as well as caring for the physical health of the interior/exterior materials. All four vehicles are in perfect condition despite one being 34 years old and another having 120,000km.
I look forward to working with ICBC towards a fair and equitable settlement.”
So yeah. That’s where we are at 3 weeks since the vehicle was stolen and still in limbo.
Now for the interior photos, this is the most visible stuff, some other broken or scuffed pieces exist. I washed/detailed this hours before it was stolen.
Also, blood and white liquid on the passenger seat. Fantastic. I think the spots are from blood that has seeped into the suede.
