Travels With Miranda

Reader Gary, this post is for you!

My insurance cheques were sent to Lethbridge. Jody is home and has kindly agreed to deposit them for me for me on Monday. Intact sent me the full amount I requested!

This long nightmare is over and I can’t wait to open this tonight!

I’m going to do so outside. The last time I opened a bottle of champagne, I wound up making a hole in the ceiling (sorry, dad!).

Post edited to say that I did it!

Yeah, I could have been classy and splurged on a champagne flute, but who only drinks one glass of champagne? This glass is about a pint, or six servings, which is about right for me for champagne. *hiccup* And this stuff is good! I wasn’t expecting anything this delicious for less than $10!

On November 18th, I submitted a claim to Intact Insurance for the GST on the purchase of my truck and the difference in cost for my tow setup from what I had been previously paid.

A week later, I had not received confirmation that my adjuster got the email, so I called. She wasn’t available and there was no note on my file that the claim had been received.

On December 3rd (two weeks after I made the claim), I emailed my adjuster again. She confirmed that she had the file and it was being reviewed by the appraiser. Good enough.

First thing this morning (three weeks after I made the claim), I again emailed my adjuster to ask for a follow-up. She emailed me first thing in the morning in her time zone to let me know the cheques were in the mail.

What? Just like that?! She didn’t tell me the amounts, but, surely, I would have heard something if the full claim wasn’t being paid out; right? Regardless, they could be sending me a payout for less than I claimed and I would take it. I am just DONE with this accident and ready to move on.

I didn’t share the cost of the tow conversion when I had it done. Well, the grand total was $4,444.95. This includes all parts, rewiring the motorhome electric outlet, grinding the tow bar to fit in the hitch, passing the brake cable, the tax, the shipping and brokerage fees, and all the labour.

Intact had originally allowed me $2,200 for the tow conversion. I knew at the time that that amount wouldn’t come close to covering the actual costs. Here’s what I had to say about that in my final claim:

When I originally filed my claim for the tow system, I stated that it could cost up to $5,000 to get a new vehicle ready for towing and was able to provide evidence that a ‘family rate’, the cost for the installation of the baseplate alone was almost $2,000 (the tow bar came with the motorhome).

I paid this extra money out of pocket without knowing for certain that I would be reimbursed because I had no choice. I had to spend this money to get hooked up so I could get underway again. I even did some of running of the electrical cabling myself to save a few hours in the shop.

I also gave them some information on why I chose the tow set up I did and why the shop supplied some parts and I supplied the rest.

I finished the claim with this:

Before I was hit by the third party, I had a technically and legally sound rig with good quality heavy duty components suited to my lifestyle. The above expenses were all necessary to return me to the same state and make me whole. I trust that Intact insurance will honour its promise to reimburse me the difference between the allotted and real cost of setting up my new vehicle for towing.

It looks like they have. Reader Gary, get that champagne on ice! I’m just waiting for confirmation from my mother that the cheque has arrived to Google how to open my bottle!

I always get supplemental health coverage when I go to the States, even if it’s just for a Walmart run. I buy my coverage through CIBC since I can purchase it from their website and have them debit my chequing account. But when I looked at the cost of six months’ worth of coverage, I decided I needed to shop around.

I used Kanetix to get a few quotes, which ranged from $313 to $650. The only difference I could see between the least and most expensive was that the least expensive one had a $250 deductible. So it made sense to buy that one and only pay the difference in policy price if I actually need to use the coverage. There was also the issue that policies are non-refundable, so it made sense to pay less in case my plans change.

It’s been quiet around here this past month because I’ve been too stressed to do anything beyond working, sleeping, and eating as my truck needs work to be able to tow it behind the rig so that I can get out of here before the weather turns. Needless to say, the window of opportunity is closing very fast.

The problem is that I’m about $4,500 short in my budget this summer because of the accident since I had to return to Alberta to get the truck. Maxing out credit cards and emptying the emergency fund wouldn’t close this gap or eliminate the stress.

I was patient with the third party adjuster, waiting until September to ask how the claim was going. I agreed to settle for $3,400 with payment to be made by October 1st. That deadline came and went without any further news, beyond my representative being in touch to let me know he was pushing for me.

October 18th came around and by this point I’ll admit I had cracked. I was terribly sick the Monday and Tuesday of that week. It was probably just a little stomach bug that compounded because of the sleepless nights brought on by stress.

At 3:07PM on the 18th, I sent my representative an email with the subject, “Final request for settlement.” I then reiterated my position, where things stand, what additional costs will be added up if I don’t get a cheque immediately, that I regret not having a lawyer speak for me from the start, and that the insurance company is mistaken in their belief that I won’t sue.

At 13:17, my representative let me know that he sent my email on to the third party insurer.

At 3:20, the third party insurers let my representative know that they were cutting me a cheque for $3,400 immediately. So that’s what it takes to get things moving with a U.S. insurance company.

It’s now the 30th and the cheque has arrived in Montreal!!!!!!! I will be picking it up tomorrow morning and it will take a full week to clear, although I will have access to part of the funds.

Last week, when I took my truck out for a test drive, I stopped at a nearby RV dealership to ask if they could install the base plate on my truck. Yes. And they felt that even if there was a delay with getting the part, they could get me on the road by November 14th at the latest. So I called back today to get the ball rolling. I’ll know tomorrow when the base plate will be incoming so we can set an appointment.

Now, the big hiccup is my tow bar. After doing a lot of research, I have decided on a Ready Brute Elite tow bar as it has a braking system integrated into it, which will save me nearly $1,000. It’s a well rated and proven system that is perfect for a manual Ford Ranger. The only hiccup is that I need to get it here from the States and I can’t order it till my cheque clears. Moreover, there is a part of it that needs to be installed by professionals. The dealership said they would be willing to install that part if the bar arrives in time.

So I am going to schedule my appointment at the last possible second and will be ready to pull out the day after. They dealership says that I would have to bring my truck in first thing, then pick it up in the afternoon with the motorhome. So I would leave the dealership with my vehicles properly hooked up together, park overnight on the street, and head south the next morning.

My deadline for the appointment is the 14th because as of the night of the 15th, I can’t park on the street anymore. My mother’s driveway isn’t big enough for my rig, my truck, and her SUV, so I have to be gone. Can all of this be done in just two weeks? I’ve seen bigger miracles…

I received an email today from the adjuster hired by the moron’s insurance company to evaluate my out of coverage claims for expenses that include my trip to Calgary to buy my truck and lost income.

He has analysed my file and came up with a figure that he feels he can take to the moron’s insurers and get me a cheque. That amount is a few hundred dollars short of the one I came up with, but I am willing to settle with it if they can get the cheque to me by the end of the month (which gives them 10 business days).

If the insurance company is reasonable and agrees to settle, I will nearly be able to close the books on this ugly chapter of my life. I am waiting to install the truck’s tow package to see if I need to file an adjustment claim with Intact for the balance. At the same time, I’ll file the claim for the reimbursement of the GST I paid for the truck.

I am beyond ready to move on.