Dealing with Insurance Companies..

Don't be afraid to negotiate a settlement with them. We had a similar situation with my mom. She was driving a 10 year old car that literally looked brand new inside and out and had very low miles (about 49K as I recall) for year car. The initial offer was right at average value. I contacted the adjuster and found out that he had not actually seen the car in person, but only utilized photos of the damage. I described the car to him and requested that he review the case and take a look at the car in person. I met him and the yard where the car was towed to and he agreed that it was in much better shape than average and adjusted the quote accordingly. We were happy with the amount and all was well. Since it was totaled, we were dealing with diminished value, but I would include it although depending on the age of the truck, it is much harder to get them to agree to diminished value the older the vehicle gets.

As was stated above, be professional and polite. While this may be personal for you, it is just business to them.