The car saved my life and my decisions saved the lives of the teenagers texting on the phone causing the driver to lose control and stall SIDEWAYS on the Interstate where the speed limit was 70 mph at night.

The insurance company offered me $1,500.00 for my car, which made me mad for the insurance company to value my life at $375.00 when you consider their offer of $1,500.00 divided by four; my life, two passengers lives in the other car that I hit nearly head on in her gas tank area and hit 2 feet from driving directly into the driver and $375.00 for my car for a total of $1,500.00 .

It insulted me greatly to say the least. Anyway, I went to find the LAW that insurance companies operate under in the State of Alabama. LO and BEHOLD the car insurance law is found in the DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE. It was unbelievable. Drivers are required to carry a minimum of approximately $25,000.00 liability insurance to drive ANY car including beaters. But when an accident occurs, the insurance company can total the car if the value of damage is 75% of the "RETAIL" value of a similar car. UNBELIVABLE! I had gotten estimates from Mercedes Benz on what it would cost to repair my car and the cost exceeded $41,000.00 with $1,500.00 just for the HOOD, unpainted. The insurance lobbies have the law written in Alabama where the actual costs to repair your car is NOT in the equation. A quote from a KBB or NADA or some other entity SELLING cars is what is used to establish the value of the car. I was furious. If you use NADA to determine value then NADA should be used to determining how much liability coverage a driver needs to buy from an insurance company. Most cars on the road, I would guess 63% are not even valued at $25,000.00, the minimum liability a driver needs. In other words, the insurance company sells $100,000.00 policies, BUT expect to value my car that WAS NOT FOR SALE on the night it was totaled based on what somebody else's car SOLD for, which had nothing to do with my wreck and property damage and especially had nothing to do with what I valued my Mercedes Benz car for: its safety record and for the fact that some can go one million miles or more.

Anyway, I told the insurance company I would talk to them NEXT YEAR (a whole year later) about the wreck that their driver caused, since they COULDN'T be serious in their offer to me. I even told them that my car cost almost $40,000.00 in 1980's dollars. They increased their offer each time I spoke to them, but their offer wouldn't even fix MY ENGINE that their driver destroyed. Plus, the TOW YARD made more money on the deal than they offered to pay me and all the TOW YARD did was let the car sit on their lot at $15.00 per day after charging $150.00 to tow my car 6 miles or less.

Anyway, I told the insurance company they could keep their ridiculous offer if that was the best they could do. If I was driving a $15,000.00 late model Chevy; I would be dead about now or at least had a good chance to be dead after the crash. I thought the insurance folks were stupid or something to even offer me such an insulting offer, when selling $25,000.00 minimum policies in Alabama, which I told the insurance company I wanted the whole $25,000.00 for my car (the minimum liability coverage their driver purchased), since their driver had coverage of a minimum of $25,000.00 and the girl's mother said they had $100,000.00 coverage. Suppose the same applied to buying LAND? Ridiculous!

I will be working on my State representatives and ask them how can they sell out the PEOPLE to companies in this manner. Hopefully when I call them to ask for their next offer; they will pay me in accordance to what insurance coverage is in existence or based on what it COST to repair my car and NOT based on what somebody else sold their car for who may have sold their car just to buy some crack as far as I know for why they sold their Mercedes so CHEAPLY, which I thought the insurance people handling my case must have been smoking crack what with the low offer they offered me, when I was driving a car that saved my life as well as saved their passengers lives.

I also noted in the law that insurance companies have to pay for OTHER costs like rental car fees, tow yard fees, medical fees and other associated fees. I was so frustrated that I stopped reading the law and will have to go back and re-read everything just in case I have to explain the scenario to a lawyer if the insurance company can't do better toward making me whole, when I could have been dead if it weren't for me driving that $40,000.00 when bought new Mercedes Benz car.

BenzDiesel