Florida loss of use (auto) q's: Liable for repair time only or actual loss until repaired? / Initially reported car as drivable

[bobf1009]

My girlfriend's car was hit 20 days ago in Florida. I told other driver's ins co at the time I thought car was drivable, but by the next day it was clear tire would not hold air.

A few days later, their appraiser took pics of badly cracked rim, said tire and rim needed replacing, and noted that I mentioned tire would not hold air.

I have had to drive her everywhere since then as she cannot drive her car or afford rental. I recently read they are liable for loss of use for what a rental car would have cost for same class of car had she rented one.

This brings up 2 q's:

1) Are they ONLY liable for loss of use for the 6 days they quoted for repair, or are they liable for the ACTUAL loss of use which even if they cut a check today is 20 days PLUS the 6 days to repair? If they are liable for the actual loss of use, and since their offer included no reimbursement for loss of use, dos that continue to accrue as I reject their offer and provide my estimates?

2) I have not yet responded by demanding they cover loss of use, so is there something I should know first about any complications caused by my initially telling them I thought the car was driveable? Their appraisal mentioning tire would not hold air was several days after initial damage report filed).

 

[andiluvs]

@bobf1009

1) Are they ONLY liable for loss of use for the 6 days they quoted for repair, or are they liable for the ACTUAL loss of use which even if they cut a check today is 20 days PLUS the 6 days to repair?

They owe for the total loss of use of the damaged vehicle. If you purchase a tire and wheel, is the car then safely drivable until the repairs begin? Your GF has a duty to mitigate the loss, so if that's an option, keep the receipts and give them to the AD adjuster.

They are not obligated to solicit a rental, so your GF needs to ask for it if temporary repairs won't make it safe to drive.

2) I have not yet responded by demanding they cover loss of use, so is there something I should know first about any complications caused by my initially telling them I thought the car was driveable?

Who owns and insures the car that's damaged? You GF just needs to explain the car can't be made safe to drive until the repairs begin, explain why, and request a rental reservation.

 

[bobf1009]

@andiluvs How extensive is her duty to mitigate the loss? I waited nearly 3 weeks for the insurance company to offer anything at all with most of my calls unanswered. When they did, the offer was not olnly 40% lower than my lowest estimate, but as for the leak, they quoted a price that's less than HALF of the cheapest replacement wheel I could find, and then took a 1/3 betterment deduction for a tire that's maybe 3 months old with over 90% of its warranty remaining.

At this point, I'm so fed up with them that I'm more concerned about making them pay for the 3 weeks I've already had to rearrange my life to drive her around than for the much shorter period of 6 days to finally fix the car (assuming they ever pay enough to do so).

GF owns the car. Insurance company is not hers, but the one representing the company fleet vehicle that hit her.

 

[andiluvs]

@bobf1009 Mitigation of damages is codified into state law so Google is your friend.

What the other carrier does or doesn't do has no bearing on her duty to protect the car from suffering further loss or take reasonable steps to make a non-drivale car, drivable. i.e. putting on a spare.

While they do owe for loss of use, if she didn't incur any expense for that, any payment will be minimal (think $10/day). If she wants a rental now, then they should set up a direct bill reservation from now until the repairs are complete but only if the replacement tire doesn't render it safe to drive.

As for the depreciation/betterment for the wheel and tire, that's standard.

All this can also be avoided by filing through her Collision coverage and using her own rental coverage.

 

[a43]

@bobf1009 If you have receipts to justify payments for loss of use then submit them, you’re going to have a hard time receiving money through LOU for being the person that’s been driving her around as you likely can’t produce a receipt for cost incurred like you could a rental receipt from renting a vehicle.

 

[bobf1009]

@a43 I had read that FL law says loss of use must be compensayed regardless of whether the driver rented a car.

I've gotten mixed messages beyond that though like going rental rate for class of car vs some fixed lower per diem.