Alberta man's insurance company offers just $5,500 for stolen truck valued at over $40,000
Robert Booth of Camrose, AB is finding out the hard way that an insurance company's assessment of a claim situation doesn't always line up with the driver's. And in his case, it's no small disparity.
On the morning of February 12, Booth's Dodge Ram truck was stolen from outside his home and later found to be completely destroyed as a result of fire damage. Though it was a 20-year-old model that he had bought for a mere $5,000, that total was well under its actual value at the time of the incident.
Booth had invested a great deal of time and resources into souping up the vehicle. Once he was through with everything, it was essentially fully restored. Despite its age, it looked and ran like a totally new vehicle. In fact, Booth was using it as an off-road recovery vehicle (for rescuing trapped cars from adverse driving situations like ditches or swamps) to bring in some extra money.
But then it was gone; and with it, all the money Booth had invested into its restoration.
An appraisal estimated its value at the time of the theft to be over $40,000. His insurer, The Co-operators, initially offered him $5,500 for his claim. After Booth rejected the company's initial offer, they returned with a figure of $9,000; better, but still nowhere close to where he expected it to be.
From Booth's perspective it made no sense that his insurer wasn't accepting the full claim. He had already been paying higher premiums as a result of the improvements he had made, and that the policy indicated he should be repaid $43,000 in the event of a total loss. But once the incident actually occurred, the company pivoted and said that the work he had done was necessary maintenance, rather than a restoration.
What happens now is that Booth's appraiser and one hired by the company will try to come to a resolution based on their individual opinions. If further mediation is still necessary, then an 'umpire' will be brought in to provide a final say.