To Whom it May Concern:
In February 2007, I retained Terry at Autoloss to represent my interests regarding an unsatisfactory proposed insurance company auto damage settlement for a claim I had submitted for my rare 1988 BMW M5 equipped with the high output Dinan Engineering engine and many other upgrades.
There were only 1,250 BMW M5s built in 1988 and less than 20 of them were later retrofitted with the uprated Dinan engine. My insurance company, USAA, researched the available data and informed me that it could only justify a Total Loss valuation of $9,500. for the car. This value was raised to $10,000 when the USAA claims representative called to inform me of their decision. I think my shocked silence might have had something to do with this slight increase.
I was shocked because the value of the Dinan engine alone was over $19,000 and it had just finished being rebuilt. The value of other upgradings, such as a lowered suspension, a bigger and more powerful brake system, larger wheels and new performance tires were not even addressed. I protested to USAA but they were indifferent.
At this point I talked to Terry about this mess and he promptly developed a strategy to convince USAA to take a second look. Throughout the entire process, which took several months, Terry was consistently upbeat, proactive and was able to rely upon his considerable knowledge of how insurance companies processed auto claims and how to reach the right people to press home my claim. He and his staff carefully did the research and developed a formal appraisal for my rare BMW which stated a Total Loss valuation of just over $30,000. A considerable change from the pennies on the dollar offered by USAA!
Terry then contacted, discussed with and prodded USAA into the need to take another look at my claim. To USAA's credit, they arranged for an independent auto appraiser to evaluate my BMW and his total valuation came in at between $23,000-$26,000. We finally settled for slightly over $24,000.
I'm convinced that if I had not enlisted the very skilled help of Terry that I would have had to retain an attorney and step by step force USAA to agree to pay the proper value for my car. Such a step would have taken months more and would have been quite costly.
I can not praise or recommend Terry and Autoloss enough. They did excellent work for me and I can now see why it is not a good idea to assume that your insurance company will treat you fairly: USAA certainly did not and it took the knowledgeable and skill expertise of Terry to convince them to do so.
I can be reached at 503 244-0934 if anyone would like to discuss how Terry and Autoloss did such great work on my behalf.
Langton Richards - Atlanta, Georgia
