Just thinking today what birthday means to me. I have been struggling with this thought for the last several years. There are lots of ideas that keep cropping up but to be honest, I have not been able to implement any one of these with commitment. I always wanted to do something on my birthday that returns my gratitude to the larger society of what I received. Looks high sounding words but I have been very fortunate to live the life that I am living and remain every grateful to Almighty to give me so much more than millions of other people.
If you have any suggestion, please do let me know and if your suggestion catches my imagination then I will dedicate all my future Birthday work to you. Here are some random thoughts that keep crossing my mind
1. Volunteer
a. To spend some time with people who have no one by their side during their last days.
b. To teach students the concepts in Maths and eliminate the fear of mathematics.
2. Sponsor
a. some needs of the family of soldiers who die in non combat role.
b. some needs of the families who have lost their earning member in senseless violence like terrorism.
3. Adopt
a. A few children who have been abused and help them to regain their confidence to become productive member of society.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
26/11
It has been close to one year of the dreaded terrorist attack in Mumbai. In addition to more than 5 dozen life getting lost, billions in property damage and India coming to standstill for almost one full day, India also lost the life of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan from NSG. One of the members in Major Unnikrishnan’s team lost one eye and will gradually lose the other eye as well. One another person in that team is still carrying a piece of shrapnel in his head.
I recently read that the prosecution has given a list of 230 eye witness to the defense lawyer for cross examination. I am not sure why we are working on a long trial for Kasab and even asking Pakistan to do something. Kasab and his friends butchered ordinary folks with a smile on their face.
I am sure the intelligence agencies have extracted all the important information long back and any further delay in executing Kasab is making him a hero for the so called jihadis. It’s befitting to the fallen men and women that we hang Kasab without any further delay from the tallest building in India so that the entire world knows that even in world biggest democracy, justice can be swift and appropriate. This is not revenge but a message to those who still want to cast an evil eye towards India.
My heart goes out to each and every fallen men and women because of this senseless act. I am sure it would be heart breaking if someone chronicles the life of families who lost their near and dear ones last year during 26/11. While the Govt. of India has taken some preventive measures like stationing NSG commandos at all the four metros for a faster and effective response a lot more visionary policies are desired to keep our borders and our citizens safe.
I sincerely hope that no Indians ever forget this barbaric act. I wish each one of us keep our own vigil to make India safer for its entire citizen.
I recently read that the prosecution has given a list of 230 eye witness to the defense lawyer for cross examination. I am not sure why we are working on a long trial for Kasab and even asking Pakistan to do something. Kasab and his friends butchered ordinary folks with a smile on their face.
I am sure the intelligence agencies have extracted all the important information long back and any further delay in executing Kasab is making him a hero for the so called jihadis. It’s befitting to the fallen men and women that we hang Kasab without any further delay from the tallest building in India so that the entire world knows that even in world biggest democracy, justice can be swift and appropriate. This is not revenge but a message to those who still want to cast an evil eye towards India.
My heart goes out to each and every fallen men and women because of this senseless act. I am sure it would be heart breaking if someone chronicles the life of families who lost their near and dear ones last year during 26/11. While the Govt. of India has taken some preventive measures like stationing NSG commandos at all the four metros for a faster and effective response a lot more visionary policies are desired to keep our borders and our citizens safe.
I sincerely hope that no Indians ever forget this barbaric act. I wish each one of us keep our own vigil to make India safer for its entire citizen.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Case # 60000425006
This is a running chronology of my experience dealing with my insurance company, AMICA for settling an accident claim that happened on Nov 10th 2009. Over the last 5-6 years, I have assumed a very good impression of AMICA service but I would like to test this assumption to fire and see how well this assumption withstand a real life test.
Dec 3rd
1. I received the cheque of $216 in the mail as promised.
2. I hope to buy the car this weekend
Dec 2nd
1. I am not expecting anything today. I believe the cheque for $216 will come tomorrow
Dec 1st
1. AMICA rep called me and informed me that they have added additional $216.00 towards the value of my car. She informed that they have agreed to value my car at my suggested price of $4950 and then deducted $824 towards the previous damage and finally added $216 towards the less mileage that my car had.
2. I still believe that I was given as additional amount because of less transparent way to determine the price / mile driven less compared to similar other vehicles.
2. My calculation was entirely different following a different logic. I proposed $4950 as my car valuation minus $500 as my deductible. I wanted to get $4400 whereas AMICA finally paid me $4200.
3. I decided to take this offer as I saw some genuiness on part of AMICA rep to help me get a better offer than initially offered
4. My AMICA rep told me that the cheque of $216 will be sent to me by tomorrow.
5. She also agreed to extend my rental car through Dec 7th by when I thought I will be able to buy the new car.
Nov 30th
1. My AMICA rep called me today after receiving in the email that I decided to dispute the price. I had one strong reason to dispute - AMICA paid me 1.5 cents/mile for a total of around 43000 miles that they thought I drove less than a typical 10 years old car. It seems a typical 10 year old car in Fremont is driven around 137,000 miles whereas my car was driven only 94800 miles.
2. I asked for the rationale that they applied in arriving at 1.5 cents / mile for driving less. AMICA rep told me that it was based on an average of around 250 cars for the make and model fo my car. This sounds quite illogical to me as a sample of 250 cars from a pool of let's say a million car is statistically insignificant.
3. I also wanted to find the Median and Mode price in addition to the average. Average can give a very skewed value at times.
4. My AMICA rep finally told me that she will get this reviewed by someone else and get back to me the next day.
5. I am quite confident that the price that AMICA attaches to the mileage that is driven less compared to others is very subjective. People must contest this part in case you land up in my situation.
Nov 26th – Nov 29th
1. It is Thanksgiving day and long weekend ahea. I am trying to finalize my new car which is another tiring process.
2. I have also read the documents sent by AMICA rep carefully and am convinced that a lower valuation has been applied. I have sent an email to the AMICA rep suggesting to increase the valuation to $4950 which I think is fair and reasonable.
3. I have sent another email to AMICA rep asking her to allow me to re-rent a car for next 10 days during which I am certain I will get a new vehicle.
Nov 25th
1. Someone from a company called COPART (not sure if I spell this correct), a partner of AMICA came around 11:00 AM to pick up the car.
2. For sure this was heart aching as I was keeping the car for my daughter to drive when she becomes eligible. Having emotions and attachment to a non living thing was quite strange but we had lot of family memories with this car and that was making it very painful to part ways. Who says you cannot get attached to a non living object?
Nov 24th
1. I returned the rental car today to save some money for AMICA because the schools for my kids are closed this week for Thanksgiving. I have the second car and I can somehow manage with one car
2. I intend to again rent the car starting next Monday because I have not yet got the approval for my auto loan from NWF credit Union. Not sure if I can get any approval this week because of the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays.
Nov 23rd
1. AMICA rep called me up in the morning. I had sent her yesterday night my decision to sell off the car
2. She asked me to reove all my personal belonging from the car. We also agreed that COVAD, AMICA towing partner will come and pick up the car on Tuesday, Nov. 24th.
3. To my surprise, she told me that I can only get $3910 and some change for selling the damaged vechile. If you see I had earlier noted in point # 5 in my Nov 19th dispatch that the increase of $382 will be applied to both the options. However, the AMICA rep today denied that she ever comitted to such thing and gave me an explanation as to why she added $382 to only the option of owner retained vechile. This is where this whole things goes in a kind of "you said / me said". My whole objective of writing this experienc in my blog was to accurately capture the discussions so that we don't have any confusion at the end. I know it's difficult to fight an insurance company but I stick to my opinion that I was told that $383 would be added for both the options and that is what I noted in my dispatch of Nov 19th.
4. I have asked $4950 as the fair market valuation of my car. AMICA rep asked me documentation that shows the fair market price is $4950. I have very little resources to actually do that. The resources that AMICA has at its disposal is no match to my KBB.com listings. The AMICA rep also disputed my logic that a delaer serviced vechile commands more value. I argued back that if you go to a delaer trade-in and if you cannot show upto date maintenance record then the dealer will actually deduct some amount from your price. Why can't then AMICA honor my reasoning that a delaer serviced vechile needs a better price and AMICA has not even factored that in their pricing calculation.
5. I have a day to get back to AMICA with whatever document I can arrange to support my claim for a valuation of $4950. I don't think I will ever be able to come up with a supporting document but then a average consumer will ever be at disdvantage with the Insurance company. I would certainly contest this unfair valuation of my car where dealer serviced vechile have no advantage over others. Why then anyone needs to go to delar for servicing their vechile and keep it in top shape?
Nov 21st & Nov 22nd
1. This is weekend and I assume no one in AMICA will work and hence I will send my decision on Sunday night
Nov 20th :
1. I received the email about the car valuation and other related documents today in my email. I have gone through the document and I would like to contest the valuation for a TOTAL loss. It seems I need to get a reasonable valuation and not just based out on any statistics. AMICA claims to arrive at my car value based on a database that adds some 30,000 cars information annualy. How will you justify that I have religiously got the car serviced at Toyota Dealer at the recommended interval. How will you monetize such things and has AMICA considered such aspects. I doubt!
2. I intend to respond to the settlement offer on Monday.
Nov 19th :
1. AMICA representative called me in the morning and told me that she is increasing the value of the car by approximate $387. I don't know why she did that but was certainly helpful for me. I feel that my car should be valued around $4800. We will discuss this later
2. The AMICA partner who was supposed to deliver my damaged car called and told me that they will deliver the car in the evening.
3. The car was delivered in the evening and parked in my driveway as per the promise.
4. AMICA representative called up my wife at home in my absence and said that she is sending a cheque for approx. $3200 next day.
5. When I spoke to the AMICA rep; she clarified that she is sending that amount knowing that keeping the car was my first preference. I got her committed to say that in case I would go ahead and accept the loss as "TOTAL" then I will be paid approx $1000 more as promised earlier. she said - yes!However, I didn't expect AMICA to send me a cheque until I decide.
6. AMICA rep also asked me to call her back on Nov 25th if I intend to continue with my renatl car. Sounds a bit strange to me as I am entitled to keep the renatl car for 30 days. However, I chose to ignore this question for the time being.
7. So far so good..I have my damaged car in my drive way, I am getting around $3200 in my mail considering if I chose to keep the damaged car and have an option of getting additional $1000 in case I decide to sell the car back to AMICA for a "TOTAL" loss
Nov 18th :
1. AMICA rep, my adjuster from Amica called me around 3:30 PM. I was driving back from work and hence requested her if I can give her a call back within half an hour. AMICA rep told me that she will call it a day at 5:00 PM and hence suggested I should call her back ASAP.
2. I called her back at 4:30 PM as I have to meet someone else in between and apologized for calling a bit late.
3. AMICA rep shared with me that in case I give the car back to AMICA as part of the total loss then I will get around $3900 and some change. In case I would like to keep the car then I will be paid $2800 and some change. She also gave me the option of taking some more time to think about it and then decide.
4. I requested AMICA rep to allow me to take my car back home from the Pan American Collision Center so that the repair shop don’t end up charging for any storage fee as they got me to sign a bunch of papers while dropping off the car. I expected that AMICA rep may not allow me to take my car back to my home but to my surprise she said yes, I can take my car back.
5. After around 5 minutes of my previous call, I again got a call back from AMICA rep suggesting that I cannot take the car back home because the repair shop is citing some liability reasons and saying that the car is not drivable
6. I expected some push back from the repair shop. It was doing all it can to keep my car in their garage and then either charge me or the insurance company some storage fee for doing nothing but still making money or pressurize me to get the repair done in their facilities should I chose not to “Total” my car. This thought is just my assumption but I need some solid proof to refute my assumptions. Meanwhile, I suggest my readers to ensure that they keep their damaged car at their own house and go to garage only when you decide to salvage your car. This way you may avoid some pressure tactics from the repair shop and you will be freer to arrive at the right conclusion.
7. I told AMICA rep that I know the exact damage of my car and consider it perfectly safe to drive the car back whatever the repair shop may say. It’s very funny how in capitalist economy the repair shop is trying to exercise some right in the name of liability. While for everything else in America, you are liable for your action if you are an adult then why can’t I take my car back home when in fact I have driven it to the repair shop in the first place. The Insurance company should take a note of this and the readers should also decide appropriately, in case they get into any similar situation.
8. AMICA rep was nice enough to give me another option to get my car pick up from the repair shop and then deliver it our home. She also said that I will not get charged for this. In fact she also gave me the option to pick the car back from my home if I decide to “Total” the car and once again will not charge me. While I think I have some towing provision in my insurance coverage (and readers should keep this provision in their coverage) but I still give some credit to AMICA rep for arranging this alternate option.
9. AMICA rep asked me to call the repair shop back and give them my approval to help AMICA pick up my car and then deliver it to our house.
10. I gladly complied and called Pan American Collision and gave my approval for AMICA to pick up the car. Daniel from the Pan America Collision took my Driver’s license and then said that he will release the car tomorrow to AMICA.
11. I now have to decide between two options of whether I take the money from Insurance for the TOTAL loss or claim the vehicle as Salvage.
12. I have a week or so to decide. Meanwhile, I extended my rental car today for another 4-5 days. AMICA rep also confirmed to me that even if I remain under my overall limit of $900/month, AMICA will not allow me to keep the renatl car for more than 30 days. This sounds a bad policy to me or AMICA must guarantee the settlement within a given number of days for consumer like me to decide whether to buy a new car or an used car and also actually implement it within 30 days of taking the rental option after the accident.
13. I am waiting for some documents that AMICA rep promised me to send that gives an indication of how the valuation was done based on which I need to pick between the two options.
Nov 17th:
1. Called the adjuster, AMICA rep in the morning but could only leave a voice message
2. Called yet again the adjuster, AMICA rep in the afternoon but again could only leave a voice message
3. Finally got a call back from the adjuster but did not hear any regret of not returning my earlier calls; my image of Amica took the first beating
4. AMICA rep told me that the cost of repair is higher than the value of the vechile
5. She promised me to get back the next day with options for me to consider
Nov 16th:
1. Tried Calling the adjuster, AMICA rep but instead could only leave a voice message
2. She did not return my call
Nov 15th & Nov 14th
1. Being weekend, assumed that there would be no progress
Nov 13th:
1. Logged into my online Amica Account to see any progress
2. Found the claim has been opened and some elementary information included
3. My case assigned to an adjuster. For the sake of privacy of the adjuster, I will refer to her as AMICA rep
Nov 12th :
1. No progress; I didn’t get any call back from Amica
Nov 11th :
1. Took the damaged car to Pan American Collision per Amica’s recommendation
2. Left the car with Pan American Collision after getting the repair estimate
3. The repair estimate is $3886.16 that includes my $500 as deductible payment
4. Picked a rental car, Wrangler Jeep for the next one week
5. The rental car is being billed directly to Amica as I had a policy of getting a replacement vehicle for $900/month restricted to $30/day.
Nov 10th :
1. Accident Happened
2. Reported to Amica, my auto and home insurer for last 6 years
3. Got a case number 60000425006 that I assume will stay with me till the resolution of this claim
4. Got the option to either take the car for a repair estimate to a repair center of my choice or what Amica recommends
Dec 3rd
1. I received the cheque of $216 in the mail as promised.
2. I hope to buy the car this weekend
Dec 2nd
1. I am not expecting anything today. I believe the cheque for $216 will come tomorrow
Dec 1st
1. AMICA rep called me and informed me that they have added additional $216.00 towards the value of my car. She informed that they have agreed to value my car at my suggested price of $4950 and then deducted $824 towards the previous damage and finally added $216 towards the less mileage that my car had.
2. I still believe that I was given as additional amount because of less transparent way to determine the price / mile driven less compared to similar other vehicles.
2. My calculation was entirely different following a different logic. I proposed $4950 as my car valuation minus $500 as my deductible. I wanted to get $4400 whereas AMICA finally paid me $4200.
3. I decided to take this offer as I saw some genuiness on part of AMICA rep to help me get a better offer than initially offered
4. My AMICA rep told me that the cheque of $216 will be sent to me by tomorrow.
5. She also agreed to extend my rental car through Dec 7th by when I thought I will be able to buy the new car.
Nov 30th
1. My AMICA rep called me today after receiving in the email that I decided to dispute the price. I had one strong reason to dispute - AMICA paid me 1.5 cents/mile for a total of around 43000 miles that they thought I drove less than a typical 10 years old car. It seems a typical 10 year old car in Fremont is driven around 137,000 miles whereas my car was driven only 94800 miles.
2. I asked for the rationale that they applied in arriving at 1.5 cents / mile for driving less. AMICA rep told me that it was based on an average of around 250 cars for the make and model fo my car. This sounds quite illogical to me as a sample of 250 cars from a pool of let's say a million car is statistically insignificant.
3. I also wanted to find the Median and Mode price in addition to the average. Average can give a very skewed value at times.
4. My AMICA rep finally told me that she will get this reviewed by someone else and get back to me the next day.
5. I am quite confident that the price that AMICA attaches to the mileage that is driven less compared to others is very subjective. People must contest this part in case you land up in my situation.
Nov 26th – Nov 29th
1. It is Thanksgiving day and long weekend ahea. I am trying to finalize my new car which is another tiring process.
2. I have also read the documents sent by AMICA rep carefully and am convinced that a lower valuation has been applied. I have sent an email to the AMICA rep suggesting to increase the valuation to $4950 which I think is fair and reasonable.
3. I have sent another email to AMICA rep asking her to allow me to re-rent a car for next 10 days during which I am certain I will get a new vehicle.
Nov 25th
1. Someone from a company called COPART (not sure if I spell this correct), a partner of AMICA came around 11:00 AM to pick up the car.
2. For sure this was heart aching as I was keeping the car for my daughter to drive when she becomes eligible. Having emotions and attachment to a non living thing was quite strange but we had lot of family memories with this car and that was making it very painful to part ways. Who says you cannot get attached to a non living object?
Nov 24th
1. I returned the rental car today to save some money for AMICA because the schools for my kids are closed this week for Thanksgiving. I have the second car and I can somehow manage with one car
2. I intend to again rent the car starting next Monday because I have not yet got the approval for my auto loan from NWF credit Union. Not sure if I can get any approval this week because of the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays.
Nov 23rd
1. AMICA rep called me up in the morning. I had sent her yesterday night my decision to sell off the car
2. She asked me to reove all my personal belonging from the car. We also agreed that COVAD, AMICA towing partner will come and pick up the car on Tuesday, Nov. 24th.
3. To my surprise, she told me that I can only get $3910 and some change for selling the damaged vechile. If you see I had earlier noted in point # 5 in my Nov 19th dispatch that the increase of $382 will be applied to both the options. However, the AMICA rep today denied that she ever comitted to such thing and gave me an explanation as to why she added $382 to only the option of owner retained vechile. This is where this whole things goes in a kind of "you said / me said". My whole objective of writing this experienc in my blog was to accurately capture the discussions so that we don't have any confusion at the end. I know it's difficult to fight an insurance company but I stick to my opinion that I was told that $383 would be added for both the options and that is what I noted in my dispatch of Nov 19th.
4. I have asked $4950 as the fair market valuation of my car. AMICA rep asked me documentation that shows the fair market price is $4950. I have very little resources to actually do that. The resources that AMICA has at its disposal is no match to my KBB.com listings. The AMICA rep also disputed my logic that a delaer serviced vechile commands more value. I argued back that if you go to a delaer trade-in and if you cannot show upto date maintenance record then the dealer will actually deduct some amount from your price. Why can't then AMICA honor my reasoning that a delaer serviced vechile needs a better price and AMICA has not even factored that in their pricing calculation.
5. I have a day to get back to AMICA with whatever document I can arrange to support my claim for a valuation of $4950. I don't think I will ever be able to come up with a supporting document but then a average consumer will ever be at disdvantage with the Insurance company. I would certainly contest this unfair valuation of my car where dealer serviced vechile have no advantage over others. Why then anyone needs to go to delar for servicing their vechile and keep it in top shape?
Nov 21st & Nov 22nd
1. This is weekend and I assume no one in AMICA will work and hence I will send my decision on Sunday night
Nov 20th :
1. I received the email about the car valuation and other related documents today in my email. I have gone through the document and I would like to contest the valuation for a TOTAL loss. It seems I need to get a reasonable valuation and not just based out on any statistics. AMICA claims to arrive at my car value based on a database that adds some 30,000 cars information annualy. How will you justify that I have religiously got the car serviced at Toyota Dealer at the recommended interval. How will you monetize such things and has AMICA considered such aspects. I doubt!
2. I intend to respond to the settlement offer on Monday.
Nov 19th :
1. AMICA representative called me in the morning and told me that she is increasing the value of the car by approximate $387. I don't know why she did that but was certainly helpful for me. I feel that my car should be valued around $4800. We will discuss this later
2. The AMICA partner who was supposed to deliver my damaged car called and told me that they will deliver the car in the evening.
3. The car was delivered in the evening and parked in my driveway as per the promise.
4. AMICA representative called up my wife at home in my absence and said that she is sending a cheque for approx. $3200 next day.
5. When I spoke to the AMICA rep; she clarified that she is sending that amount knowing that keeping the car was my first preference. I got her committed to say that in case I would go ahead and accept the loss as "TOTAL" then I will be paid approx $1000 more as promised earlier. she said - yes!However, I didn't expect AMICA to send me a cheque until I decide.
6. AMICA rep also asked me to call her back on Nov 25th if I intend to continue with my renatl car. Sounds a bit strange to me as I am entitled to keep the renatl car for 30 days. However, I chose to ignore this question for the time being.
7. So far so good..I have my damaged car in my drive way, I am getting around $3200 in my mail considering if I chose to keep the damaged car and have an option of getting additional $1000 in case I decide to sell the car back to AMICA for a "TOTAL" loss
Nov 18th :
1. AMICA rep, my adjuster from Amica called me around 3:30 PM. I was driving back from work and hence requested her if I can give her a call back within half an hour. AMICA rep told me that she will call it a day at 5:00 PM and hence suggested I should call her back ASAP.
2. I called her back at 4:30 PM as I have to meet someone else in between and apologized for calling a bit late.
3. AMICA rep shared with me that in case I give the car back to AMICA as part of the total loss then I will get around $3900 and some change. In case I would like to keep the car then I will be paid $2800 and some change. She also gave me the option of taking some more time to think about it and then decide.
4. I requested AMICA rep to allow me to take my car back home from the Pan American Collision Center so that the repair shop don’t end up charging for any storage fee as they got me to sign a bunch of papers while dropping off the car. I expected that AMICA rep may not allow me to take my car back to my home but to my surprise she said yes, I can take my car back.
5. After around 5 minutes of my previous call, I again got a call back from AMICA rep suggesting that I cannot take the car back home because the repair shop is citing some liability reasons and saying that the car is not drivable
6. I expected some push back from the repair shop. It was doing all it can to keep my car in their garage and then either charge me or the insurance company some storage fee for doing nothing but still making money or pressurize me to get the repair done in their facilities should I chose not to “Total” my car. This thought is just my assumption but I need some solid proof to refute my assumptions. Meanwhile, I suggest my readers to ensure that they keep their damaged car at their own house and go to garage only when you decide to salvage your car. This way you may avoid some pressure tactics from the repair shop and you will be freer to arrive at the right conclusion.
7. I told AMICA rep that I know the exact damage of my car and consider it perfectly safe to drive the car back whatever the repair shop may say. It’s very funny how in capitalist economy the repair shop is trying to exercise some right in the name of liability. While for everything else in America, you are liable for your action if you are an adult then why can’t I take my car back home when in fact I have driven it to the repair shop in the first place. The Insurance company should take a note of this and the readers should also decide appropriately, in case they get into any similar situation.
8. AMICA rep was nice enough to give me another option to get my car pick up from the repair shop and then deliver it our home. She also said that I will not get charged for this. In fact she also gave me the option to pick the car back from my home if I decide to “Total” the car and once again will not charge me. While I think I have some towing provision in my insurance coverage (and readers should keep this provision in their coverage) but I still give some credit to AMICA rep for arranging this alternate option.
9. AMICA rep asked me to call the repair shop back and give them my approval to help AMICA pick up my car and then deliver it to our house.
10. I gladly complied and called Pan American Collision and gave my approval for AMICA to pick up the car. Daniel from the Pan America Collision took my Driver’s license and then said that he will release the car tomorrow to AMICA.
11. I now have to decide between two options of whether I take the money from Insurance for the TOTAL loss or claim the vehicle as Salvage.
12. I have a week or so to decide. Meanwhile, I extended my rental car today for another 4-5 days. AMICA rep also confirmed to me that even if I remain under my overall limit of $900/month, AMICA will not allow me to keep the renatl car for more than 30 days. This sounds a bad policy to me or AMICA must guarantee the settlement within a given number of days for consumer like me to decide whether to buy a new car or an used car and also actually implement it within 30 days of taking the rental option after the accident.
13. I am waiting for some documents that AMICA rep promised me to send that gives an indication of how the valuation was done based on which I need to pick between the two options.
Nov 17th:
1. Called the adjuster, AMICA rep in the morning but could only leave a voice message
2. Called yet again the adjuster, AMICA rep in the afternoon but again could only leave a voice message
3. Finally got a call back from the adjuster but did not hear any regret of not returning my earlier calls; my image of Amica took the first beating
4. AMICA rep told me that the cost of repair is higher than the value of the vechile
5. She promised me to get back the next day with options for me to consider
Nov 16th:
1. Tried Calling the adjuster, AMICA rep but instead could only leave a voice message
2. She did not return my call
Nov 15th & Nov 14th
1. Being weekend, assumed that there would be no progress
Nov 13th:
1. Logged into my online Amica Account to see any progress
2. Found the claim has been opened and some elementary information included
3. My case assigned to an adjuster. For the sake of privacy of the adjuster, I will refer to her as AMICA rep
Nov 12th :
1. No progress; I didn’t get any call back from Amica
Nov 11th :
1. Took the damaged car to Pan American Collision per Amica’s recommendation
2. Left the car with Pan American Collision after getting the repair estimate
3. The repair estimate is $3886.16 that includes my $500 as deductible payment
4. Picked a rental car, Wrangler Jeep for the next one week
5. The rental car is being billed directly to Amica as I had a policy of getting a replacement vehicle for $900/month restricted to $30/day.
Nov 10th :
1. Accident Happened
2. Reported to Amica, my auto and home insurer for last 6 years
3. Got a case number 60000425006 that I assume will stay with me till the resolution of this claim
4. Got the option to either take the car for a repair estimate to a repair center of my choice or what Amica recommends
Monday, November 16, 2009
Mumbai is for all Indians
…..someone might be out of their mind to dispute the title of this article, and that’s what precisely, the ageing, rusty, moron and idiot Balasaheb Thackrey did when he threw barbs at Sachin Tendulkar on his comment for “Mumbai is for all Indian”.
Such insane political thoughts like Mumbai & Maharashtra is only for Maharastrian is to corner increasingly depleting vote banks of still illiterate, poor and emotional Indians living in Maharastra. What Thackrey is doing is to gain attention to somehow still make their presence felt.
As a nation matures, increasingly, the politicians are the focus of clean-up and that’s what is currently happening in India. The voter’s is getting educated, the percentage of literacy is climbing every year. The jungle raj of such insensitive politicians is giving way to reasonable leadership with the rise of young and educated politicians. It’s no wonder that stupid like the Thackrey’s in order to still consider themselves a force to reckon with manages to get the guts to proliferate anti-Indian sentiments allowing for regionalism.
However, their days of divisive politics are increasingly numbered. There is a proverb in Hindi that says “Vinash Kale Viprit Buddhi”. It means that during bad times the mind takes wrong action. That is precisely what Thackrey has done in the last decade trying to divide the people of India in the name of regional politics. Thackrey don’t understand that India of 21st century has moved way ahead of his feudal mentality..
These people who promotes regionalism at the cost of national unity are sick and need to be treated. The rule of the land must act and rein in such jokers. They should be told in no uncertain terms that raising any regional sentiments that has an impact on the unity of our country will be dealt with iron hand and crushed, if required.
No Indian is greater than India and no place in India is inaccessible to any Indians.
Such insane political thoughts like Mumbai & Maharashtra is only for Maharastrian is to corner increasingly depleting vote banks of still illiterate, poor and emotional Indians living in Maharastra. What Thackrey is doing is to gain attention to somehow still make their presence felt.
As a nation matures, increasingly, the politicians are the focus of clean-up and that’s what is currently happening in India. The voter’s is getting educated, the percentage of literacy is climbing every year. The jungle raj of such insensitive politicians is giving way to reasonable leadership with the rise of young and educated politicians. It’s no wonder that stupid like the Thackrey’s in order to still consider themselves a force to reckon with manages to get the guts to proliferate anti-Indian sentiments allowing for regionalism.
However, their days of divisive politics are increasingly numbered. There is a proverb in Hindi that says “Vinash Kale Viprit Buddhi”. It means that during bad times the mind takes wrong action. That is precisely what Thackrey has done in the last decade trying to divide the people of India in the name of regional politics. Thackrey don’t understand that India of 21st century has moved way ahead of his feudal mentality..
These people who promotes regionalism at the cost of national unity are sick and need to be treated. The rule of the land must act and rein in such jokers. They should be told in no uncertain terms that raising any regional sentiments that has an impact on the unity of our country will be dealt with iron hand and crushed, if required.
No Indian is greater than India and no place in India is inaccessible to any Indians.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
I met with an accident
…and I can’t believe that it happened because of my fault. I always thought myself as a superior driver and never imagined that I can rear end someone after driving for almost 25-26 years without any incident. However, while I was waiting at a body parts repair shop getting the estimate of my damage; I read an interesting article that says that 70% of US drivers consider themselves superior than others. No wonder, I was thinking myself as one of them.
I was driving very slow, may be less than 15 miles an hour on Mission Blvd in Fremont just ahead of Warm Springs Blvd intersection and was trying to merge to my left lane. Since there was too many cars coming from behind in quick succession I kept going in my lane assuming the car in front of me has already moved. That’s when I rear ended the vehicle in front of me.
It was so idiotic accident that I felt both ashamed and embarrassed. There were too may cars around me all hardly moving and here I was – slamming some one else from behind. Once I realized that I indeed caused an accident, I and the driver ahead both turned into an adjacent parking lot. I gave the other driver my license and insurance information and apologized to her. Her name was Rebecca and she lives in San Ramon. She smilingly asked to me “What Happened” giving a puzzled but smiling look. I again apologized to her and told her that for a moment I got lost in my thought and didn’t realize that she has not moved. She seemed to be a nice Chinese lady. She took it sportingly. I could harldy see the impact of the accident on her car but my car just crumpled on the right side.
After taking Rebecca’s address and other important information I started again back to office. That’s when the feeling of accident started sinking in and I became a bit nervous while driving again. Finally, after reaching office I called my insurance company, AMICA and gave them the run down of what happened. They advised me to go to their referred body shop while also giving me the option of going to any other place f my choice for repairs. The representative was very courteous and helpful. She answered all my questions patiently.
Morale of the Story: However, a good driver you might consider yourself, please don’t take your eye-off the road while driving. In addition, please pay special attention on road that you frequently drive as the mind has the tendency to relax on known roads.
I was driving very slow, may be less than 15 miles an hour on Mission Blvd in Fremont just ahead of Warm Springs Blvd intersection and was trying to merge to my left lane. Since there was too many cars coming from behind in quick succession I kept going in my lane assuming the car in front of me has already moved. That’s when I rear ended the vehicle in front of me.
It was so idiotic accident that I felt both ashamed and embarrassed. There were too may cars around me all hardly moving and here I was – slamming some one else from behind. Once I realized that I indeed caused an accident, I and the driver ahead both turned into an adjacent parking lot. I gave the other driver my license and insurance information and apologized to her. Her name was Rebecca and she lives in San Ramon. She smilingly asked to me “What Happened” giving a puzzled but smiling look. I again apologized to her and told her that for a moment I got lost in my thought and didn’t realize that she has not moved. She seemed to be a nice Chinese lady. She took it sportingly. I could harldy see the impact of the accident on her car but my car just crumpled on the right side.
After taking Rebecca’s address and other important information I started again back to office. That’s when the feeling of accident started sinking in and I became a bit nervous while driving again. Finally, after reaching office I called my insurance company, AMICA and gave them the run down of what happened. They advised me to go to their referred body shop while also giving me the option of going to any other place f my choice for repairs. The representative was very courteous and helpful. She answered all my questions patiently.
Morale of the Story: However, a good driver you might consider yourself, please don’t take your eye-off the road while driving. In addition, please pay special attention on road that you frequently drive as the mind has the tendency to relax on known roads.
I met with an accident
…and I can’t believe that it happened because of my fault. I always thought myself as a superior driver and never imagined that I can rear end someone after driving for almost 25-26 years without any incident. However, while I was waiting at a body parts repair shop getting the estimate of my damage; I read an interesting article that says that 70% of US drivers consider themselves superior than others. No wonder, I was thinking myself as one of them.
I was driving very slow, may be less than 15 miles an hour on Mission Blvd in Fremont just ahead of Warm Springs Blvd intersection and was trying to merge to my left lane. Since there was too many cars coming from behind in quick succession I kept going in my lane assuming the car in front of me has already moved. That’s when I rear ended the vehicle in front of me.
It was so idiotic accident that I felt both ashamed and embarrassed. There were too may cars around me all hardly moving and here I was – slamming some one else from behind. Once I realized that I indeed caused an accident, I and the driver ahead both turned into an adjacent parking lot. I gave the other driver my license and insurance information and apologized to her. Her name was Rebecca and she lives in San Ramon. She smilingly asked to me “What Happened” giving a puzzled but smiling look. I again apologized to her and told her that for a moment I got lost in my thought and didn’t realize that she has not moved. She seemed to be a nice Chinese lady. She took it sportingly. I could harldy see the impact of the accident on her car but my car just crumpled on the right side.
After taking Rebecca’s address and other important information I started again back to office. That’s when the feeling of accident started sinking in and I became a bit nervous while driving again. Finally, after reaching office I called my insurance company, AMICA and gave them the run down of what happened. They advised me to go to their referred body shop while also giving me the option of going to any other place f my choice for repairs. The representative was very courteous and helpful. She answered all my questions patiently.
Morale of the Story: However, a good driver you might consider yourself, please don’t take your eye-off the road while driving. In addition, please pay special attention on road that you frequently drive as the mind has the tendency to relax on known roads.
I was driving very slow, may be less than 15 miles an hour on Mission Blvd in Fremont just ahead of Warm Springs Blvd intersection and was trying to merge to my left lane. Since there was too many cars coming from behind in quick succession I kept going in my lane assuming the car in front of me has already moved. That’s when I rear ended the vehicle in front of me.
It was so idiotic accident that I felt both ashamed and embarrassed. There were too may cars around me all hardly moving and here I was – slamming some one else from behind. Once I realized that I indeed caused an accident, I and the driver ahead both turned into an adjacent parking lot. I gave the other driver my license and insurance information and apologized to her. Her name was Rebecca and she lives in San Ramon. She smilingly asked to me “What Happened” giving a puzzled but smiling look. I again apologized to her and told her that for a moment I got lost in my thought and didn’t realize that she has not moved. She seemed to be a nice Chinese lady. She took it sportingly. I could harldy see the impact of the accident on her car but my car just crumpled on the right side.
After taking Rebecca’s address and other important information I started again back to office. That’s when the feeling of accident started sinking in and I became a bit nervous while driving again. Finally, after reaching office I called my insurance company, AMICA and gave them the run down of what happened. They advised me to go to their referred body shop while also giving me the option of going to any other place f my choice for repairs. The representative was very courteous and helpful. She answered all my questions patiently.
Morale of the Story: However, a good driver you might consider yourself, please don’t take your eye-off the road while driving. In addition, please pay special attention on road that you frequently drive as the mind has the tendency to relax on known roads.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Shalmali Ke Pushp
This is the title of the prose written by Smt Shashi Kala Srivastava that she recited for all of us here at our home yesterday night. It was our pleasure to host such a talent at our home. I am sure whoever attended this recital will agree with me that it was our privilege to hear such a high quality composition of Hindi Literature and that too live.
My personal Hindi Literature study like most of the folks has been till 10th grade wherein we learnt about the writings of great Hindi scholars like Dinkar, Nirala, Premchand etc However, it was more of an academic study than it was something that I personally enjoyed. The senses and understanding capabilities at young age also inhibits enjoyment of such work. But with age and after adding quite a few number of years since my school days, I think I have developed a strong sense of purpose in listening to such writings and all other similar things that I don’t have the capabilities to do. I enjoy the flow of a story in terms of prose / poetry. I am sure the person who writes such deep philosophy and expresses in terms of a poetry has profound impact on the upbringing of his/her family and people around him / her.
Smt Shashi Kala Srivastava is “Nanni” of Anshi, my daughter Tanya’s best friend. She is visiting her daughter Rachna and her husband Ajay here in Fremont. She is with her husband who is an accomplished teacher of Mathematics himself. Both Tanya and Anshi has been learning Geometry from Sri Srivasatva and I have no hesitation to accept that he has been a force behind continuously improving grades of both Tanya and Anshi in freshmen year of their High School.
Smt Srivasatava a month ago narrated her recent work called “Asmita” on a lazy Saturday afternoon after a brief Puja at my home. I was so touched by her feelings expressed in her book that I decided to request for a second sitting to which she graciously agreed.
"Shalmali Ke Pushp "is a story about the imaginary interaction of the writer with a lady Buddhist monk who has been discarded by her biological mother in a very young age and has been raised by a untouchable family in Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and an ancient city of Varanasi. The writer has vividly described the struggle of her main character throughout the story and also highlighted the social stigma and other non sensical age old tradition and customs that have plagued India throughout 20th century and surprisingly even today has not been eliminated. The writer has openly expressed her sentiments about the hypocrisy of religion which has taught most of us to hate people of a particular caste who are stigmatized as “untouchables”. The writer’s characterization about burning the house of the Buddhist Monk mother (who was untouchable) because she used the well of the village to get some water touches raw nerves. The writer’s characterization of Buddhism as a religion is something that I have never thought of earlier. She argues that Buddha has long been silent and his commandment has been reduced to mere words.
While the sensitivity of the writer towards mindless age old customs is laudable, equally impressive is the writer’s grasp of Hindi literature. Coming from the heart of Hindi land in India, I could see how shallow my understanding of the Indian language is. In fact I am personally very impressed about the verbal communication abilities of most of the Americans and especially their choice of words to accurately describe any emotions or feelings. I thought Hindi lacks words that describe very accurately our emotions, sentiments and feelings. However, I am now convinced that Hindi has more precise words to accurately describe the emotions and feelings. It’s just that mortals like I has not been exposed to the right literature that helps develops those qualities. We have been grounded so much into science and engineering that we more than not keep fumbling with words that accurately describes a situation, or emotion or feelings. I am sure it is because of people like Smt Shashi Kala Srivastava that Hindi literature is so rich. As a generation, we need to keep the passion of Hindi literature alive so that our children also gets blessed with such literary figure like Smt Srivastava in future and enjoy high quality Hindi literature.
I would like to thank all those who came together inspite of their punishing schedule. Iru and Gagan; Sarita and Sanjay; Nitu and Anil; Rachna and Ajay; Mitu & Pradeep; Rohit, Bimal, Girish & Gyan – Thank You very much for gracing the recital. Without each one of you we would have been able to enjoy so much. I am sure the writer also expresses her gratitude to all of you to come and listen to her work. I completely understand that Friday evening is one of the only time during the week where we want to just relax. I am certain you all have relaxed & enjoyed the session as much as I did. For some of the spouses who could not make it, I am sure you like such events as much as we all do and there are pressing reasons to not being able to make it. We understand and hope you will join us for a similar event next time. For all others who could not make it – let’s join at the next opportune time and event.
To Rachna and Ajay – you both are blessed to have such a rare combination of talent in your parents and in-laws respectively. I am sure you and your children cherish the time spent together during last 5-6 months of their stay here.
Finally I would like to say a big Thank You to Simmi to conceptualize and execute the get-together. As usual, I was out most of the time spending in sorting out things for living. I was just a few minutes ahead of some of the early arrivers. Even after 16 years of marriage, Simmi continues to positively surprise me with her thought process and execution capabilities.
Once again thank you all and from all of us here in US - wishing Sri and Smt Srivastava a very happy and safe journey back to India. Pls. do keep in touch.
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