Is this being dishonest?

[alanraj]

Hello Elisabeth and welcome to Worthy!

I'm afraid I disagree with you. The vehicle belongs to the owner of it. He/She paid the insurance premiums. Per the terms of the insurance policy, the money they receive from the insurance company is not mandated to be spent on repairs. There are no laws that state it must be. The insurance company accepted the appraisal of the vehicle to be a fair one. They don't accept them blindly. They have people who examine them for fairness. Nobody is being cheated.

I appreciate your integrity and concern for what's right! But you can relax. Your friends aren't doing anything illegal or dishonest.

You have alot of Integrity Elizabeth.I like that.You actually made a decision to ask around for advice on the situation.Good On You!

[Guest Geoffrey]

Tonight I was with a group of Christian friends. One of them was telling us about a family member whose vehicle had been in an accident. The appraisal was rather high they thought, for a car that wasn't worth that much money. They said they were thinking of taking the insurance money, and rather than fixing the car, using it to pay off some debts.

I told them I thought this was being dishonest. No one else agreed with me. While I think that insurance rates premiums are ridiculous, "cheating" the system isn't the answer. Still, no one agreed.

I finally asked if they would be able to take that check and spend the money for a different purpose (than fixing the vehicle) if Jesus were standing right there with them.

Any thoughts on this? I still believe this is being dishonest and not something that God would be pleased with.

Dear Elisabeth,

You have a good heart and it's in the right place too! I was an attorney-at-law in a previous life. I am now a born again Christian in this life. I speak with authority when I say that under insurance law your friends have done nothing wrong provided that under U.S. law (I practised English common law in Singapore) and under the terms of the policy they are not bound to use the insurance monies specifically for the repair of the said damaged vehicle or to refund the excess funds should the cost of repair be less than the appraised sum.

Be that as it may, the moral issue is a different ball-game. Sometimes doing what is within our legal rights may not be morally right esp. in the eyes of GOD. HE sets a higher standard than the laws of man. Whilst different countries have different laws governing man, GOD's Law is universal.

In summary (sorry for the long-winded critique!! I'm new to Worthy too..) I agree with you and personally think what they intend to do is wrong, notwithstanding that it is within their legal rights. Many may not agree with me, but I've cut enough corners in my previous life (see my profile if you have time) and real biggies too, to know a corner when I see one.

Thinking such as yours is rare these days and should be cheered. Hip hip hooray for you. God Bless....(from fugitive-at-large)

Edited February 16, 2006 by Geoffrey

[irishcowboy]

the above post are mostly correct....

some companies have a policy that the vehicles are to be repaired and the monies go to the repair facility, and the person must pay their deductible first, then the insurance pays off....

as far as the apprasial goes, if anything, the actual value of the vehicle was under appraised.... not over appraised....

i have seen vehicles that are in top notch condition with not a single thing wrong with them, not even a scratch, but because of age, they are grossly under appraised....

from what i have seen, most of the time the appraisal goes along the lowest blue book price.... very seldom does it go above that....

insurance is a money making business, they do not loose money.... they may complain about having to pay out, but they are making more money when a claim is made. for they get to raise premiums.

seen a family paying insurance in to a company for over 20 years, for car and house... they had some wind damage two years ago, and had to have the roof repaired, (claim 1 in over 20 years), then lightening hit their garage, it burned, the garage had a couple ATV's, yard equipment and some farm tools, as well as one of the vehicles (liability insured).... with the contents and the building they were able to rebuild the building, and were not able to replace any of the contents, they still had to put out of pocket to get the garage rebuild... totall collected was about 10,000 for both the roof and the garage...

figure 20 years with the money they was putting in for the home owners.... then figure in the amount paid in for the vehicles.... who made out.....

then the insurance cancelled them.... before they paid off for the garage... right now it is up before the insurance commission.... not looking good either....

as for your friend, i would believe the insurance company under appraised that car..... and they can do with the money what they want..... even pay off other debts if they do not need the repairs done or another vehicle...

mike

[Elisabeth]

Many thanks to everyone. I have shared your info with my friend! She is a dear Christian, and wanted to do the right thing as well.