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 was allowed $2,200, an amount I only agreed to if I could be reimbursed the difference. The estimator got this number by making one phone call to one shop in his area. Then, and still now, I do not believe that amount included the tow bar and all the other little adjustments that come with setting up a vehicle for towing. Moreover, his estimate was based on 5% sales tax when it was known that I would be getting my replacements in Quebec, which has 9.95% sales tax.
Since the estimator only called one place, so did I, choosing the most convenient and reputable place to have the work done.
The installation of the baseplate and electrical wiring on the tow vehicle was $1,600, plus tax. This amount is so close to the amount allotted me that it serves as evidence that the amount allotted did not include the tow bar nor other required adjustments. This amount is also very close to the amount I paid in 2008 to have my baseplate installed, serving as yet more evidence that the estimator’s number was way off.
I’m sure he will remember our discussion about this and how certain I was that the amount he offered was grossly inadequate. The extra costs come from electrical wiring that had to be added to my towed vehicle to make it match the setup on my old car so that the battery would remain charged while towing, fixing the electrical outlet on the motorhome, and grinding the tow bar to fit the hitch (hitches have apparently changed in the last few years and nothing on the market today would have fit as is in the receiver).
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! 🙂
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