Flyin Miata

This is not a guarantee the vehicle is clear, but an easy and free way to get some peace of mind is through the NICB (National Insurance Crime Bureau). Most major insurance companies will report stolen VIN's through this database. Free VIN search: https://www.nicb.org/how-we-help/vincheck

I do not envy your commute.

I drove it this summer in the fiancé's Civic. Never been afraid of heights but knowing how close you are to the edge with no guardrail is unnerving. They tell you not to ride the brakes on the way down and to engine break but with the CVT it was tough to do. I failed the mid-way brake temp test by 7 degrees.

Agreed. If they see that you aren't scared to file in small claims court and intend to go all the way through with it, they may decide it is in their best interest to settle. You do however run the risk of it getting all the way through the small claims process and they also say it was word vs. word and you don't get any award so... all depends how much time/money you want to spend.

A lot of insurance companies now are looking into liability closer than before. For example, someone pulls out in front of you but you say you did nothing to avoid the accident (assuming you had time to react), then they may place 20% fault on you for failure to take evasive action. Could have been something as simple as your son telling the insurance company he didn't see the other car before the accident. If the police report is in his favor then I would just refer them to the report.

If it's truly a minor injury, you may not necessarily get more money going through a lawyer (remember they have to get paid too). I would say do some research online, determine what you think the value of his pain/suffering is, add in any lost wages and his medical bills and come up with a number. See what the insurance company offers, never take the first offer and try some negotiating with them. Insurance companies are ultimately in it to get a signature on a release and they will pay for it if you're reasonable. If they don't come back with a number you feel is reasonable then you can go the attorney route, but I see so many people automatically get an attorney and end up getting less of a payout after attorney fees than they would've gotten by doing some research and negotiation themselves. Also, you can use the fact that he hit/ran to bump the settlement up a little bit, along with the fact that your son is younger and I'm assuming generally active. If the injury caused him to not be able to do things he would normally do (sports, work, go out with friends, etc) that can also bump the value versus someone who is middle aged and just sits on the couch after work for 6 hours.

Just a heads up, but DAS does not own all of their own trucks (I'm not sure if that's different with enclosed ones, but I know this is true at least for open trailers). They sub quite a bit of their work out to smaller carriers. I've worked on a lot of cargo claims where they brokered loads to companies that are insured by the company I work for. Not saying they are a bad company, but as far as transport brokers go their business model is just the same as the others.

Working in insurance (and not for USAA) I can say they really do have great customer service. Whenever I've needed to contact them on any claim they've been quick and helpful. Tough to say for a lot of companies.

That I can agree with. My main point though is that there are socioeconomic factors (among other things) that can put someone at a severe disadvantage over someone born into a better situation. Not saying that it is impossible for someone to overcome those hurdles, but the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality that people think is the answer to the problems of this country is a huge oversimplification.

I understand what you're getting at, I just think it is narrow-minded to assume there is nothing preventing someone from being a billionaire and that everyone has an equal chance. Some of those reasons are self-inflicted, others are not. Maybe sociology classes gave me a biased view, who knows. Remember, plenty of lazy people become billionaires too .

If nothing is preventing anyone from it, why isn't everyone a multi-billionaire?

Also remember most companies rate on risk history they get from claims throughout the years. IE if Progressive has had a lot of claims for 27 year old males living in Sacramento driving 02 Ford Explorers then they'll charge a lot but other companies may not. Best bet is to just compare rates every year or two.

Here is a fairly quick and easy guide from the FMCSA, I'm sure there is more in depth info out there but this is a good read for anyone planning on hiring a mover: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/protect-your-move/how-to/valuation-insurance . I handle commercial cargo claims for a large insurance company and some of the stuff I've seen would blow your mind. But basically a mover is only required to be liable for 60 cents/lb and anything over that they are allowed to charge for "extra coverage". I saw a lady pay $17,000 (not a typo) for a company we insure to move everything she owned in one truck from CA to WA. The company used a rental truck and hired another company to do the unloading (both are big no-no's under our policy) and we weren't able to pay anything on the claim. She had thousands of dollars of missing jewelry and other damaged items. One of the few times I truly felt bad after denying a claim since it was no fault of her own.

Whatever you do, make sure you read the entire moving contract. Unless you specify that you want replacement cost in case something happens (damage, accident, etc) then most moving contracts limit the mover's liability to 60 cents/lb of your damaged items. I handle a lot of household moving claims and they can get messy.

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