What is the best way to handle my accident claim?

[stinkynuts]

I was in an accident today (not my fault). Basically, the car behind me was hit by a car, and that car slammed into my car. My car, in turn, hit the car in front of me.

There was extensive damage to the rear, and although there is not much visible damage in the front (just scratches on the bumper), the front slammed into the car in front, and may have resulted in more serious damage (I was told this by the tow truck driver).

The car has been towed to a lot, where it will be appraised by the insurance company.

The car is worth eight thousand dollars. However, I am financing it. My monthly payments have been $300, and I have made about 18 payments ($5100). About $3,000 of that went to the car, the rest to interest. I bought the car for $15,000 (including tax and other fees), so I still owe about $12,000 on the car.


The tow truck driver told me that if the car is written off, then the insurance company will pay off the remainder that I owe ($12,000) to the finance company. Plus, it would pay me whatever money I put into the car (the $3000). So, the insurance company would pay the finance company $12000, pay me $3,000, and then auction the car. If they did this, the would probably have to pay a net of about $11,000 or so (if the could auction the car off for $4,000).

However, if the car is repaired, then they would only pay the repair cost, which would be about $3000 to $4000.

Ideally, I would like the first option, but how likely is that going to happen?

Will the insurance company only look at the blue book value to determine if it's a write off? Or, will they look at how much I owe and use that in their calculations?

What steps should I take to ensure that they write it off, and pay off the remainder that I owe on the car, plus whatever I put into the car? I would rather by a new car at this point, instead of fixing up an older car that needs extensive repairs.

 

[stinkynuts]

So... My car depreciates in value because it's been hit... Plus, if the car is written off, I am only given the blue book value instead of what I owe.

Is there any way to come out ahead? The tow truck driver said that the body shop owner he knows can work out a deal with me. I suspect he will charge the insurance company a different sum, and let me keep the difference. But is there any legal way?

In the US, you are paid directly in cash. It's up to you where to get it fixed, so you can shop around and keep the difference. Or not get it fixed at all. I heard it's different here in Ontario, wehre the insurance company pays the body shop directly.

 

[ig-88]

welcome to the party, pal

good thing you bought a cheap car

i would get it fixed and keep it

 

[james t kirk]

When my cars get popped (and the last 2 have been hit - none my fault)

1. Get other driver's info - license, insurance, etc.

2. Go to the collision reporting centre and fill out a report.

3. Go to YOUR bodyshop of choice and they will deal with the insurance company.


Yababy is correct in how the $$ will be disbursed. Your insuranace company insures the car, not the loan that you have against it. If that was the case, a guy driving a $500.00 car would have a loan for 100k against it.

Never trust Tow-truck drivers when they tell you, "I have this friend". In fact, never trust them at all. (You're taking a big enough leap of faith when they hook up your car.) Most likely he is getting a bird-dog for any business he throws his "friend's" way. It's quite simple - does it sound like it's on the up and up? No? Well guess what - it probably isn't.

Insurance companies aren't stupid - there are checks and balances along the way to prevent any kind of shinanigans.

Your best option will be to get your car fixed and get on with it.

 

[KBear]

The tow truck drivers get a commission for referring you to a body shop. You can bet that if they are working to rip off different parties that you are on the list.

At one time you could take the cash that would have been paid by the insurance company for the repair, less a percentage, and you should get a rental car while your car is in for repairs.

 

[Hurricane Hank]

You have the right to determine who fixes the car, not the insurance company. And of course, your rates are about to rise.

 

[Dougal Short]

Sorry for your luck. I was rear-ended a few weeks ago, and while the damage wasn't extensive, it till cost $3500 to get repaired. I was sitting at a red light and was hit but a guy driving a truck who was probably texting at the time. He was still holding his BlackBerry in his hand when he got out of the cab.

For the record, you will find that the insurance company will hold you partly responsible for the accident... simply because you hit the guy in front of you. You will be responsible for his damages and likely they will hold you accountable for your deductible and your rates will go up as a result. I had this exact conversation with my adjuster the other day... Once they determined that I was unhurt, they wanted to know if I had hit the guy in front. Since I hadn't, I had zero liability, paid no deductible, and my rates won't increase.

As far as what happens to your car, the insurer will understandably take the least expensive route to settle the claim. That doesn't mean that you have to accept their decision, but if it is less expensive to fix the car, that's what they will do. You need to insure that the car is still safe to drive after this. If you don't want to write it off, then you can negotiate a cash oayment and fix the car your self. If they want to fix it and you want to write it off, good luck. The best bet will be to have them fix it, then sell it.

If you want them to write it off just because you want a different car, they won't help you there. If you have concerns that the car won't be safe after a repair, and can prove it with letters from good repair shops, then you will have an argument. An insurance company won't want you driving in an unsafe car, because ultimately, it's their liability if the rear axle falls off or something.

Part of the damage to my vehicle was to a trailer hitch. They didn't want to initially fork out the $450 for a new OE hitch until I reminded them that I towed a $100K + boat which they also insured, so they changed their tune pretty fast when I suggested a hitch failure would be a great way for me to get a new boat. (I have full replacement cost on the boat...)

Good luck, not matter how this goes, it's a pain in the ass.

 

[james t kirk]

Good luck, not matter how this goes, it's a pain in the ass.

Quoted for truth.

Anyway, to me, when I got popped, the thing I wanted to make sure of was a PROPER repair. The body shop that I frequent is a GM Dealer believe it or not. (Popham Pontiac Buick on the Queensway - though now it's something else) Anyway, they have a very good shop (and I'm a car hound).

They stood up for me. The insurance company wanted them to bondo my rear door (which was damaged) and they told me and I kicked up a fuss with the insurance company - that my original door was a factory door and I didn't want any damn bondo on my door. Popham did the arguing for me and got me a new factory door. Not just a skin, but the whole damn door. When it was done, you couldn't tell the difference with respect to the rest of the car.

 

[Malibook]

The car has been towed to a lot, where it will be appraised by the insurance company.

The car is worth eight thousand dollars. However, I am financing it. My monthly payments have been $300, and I have made about 18 payments ($5100). About $3,000 of that went to the car, the rest to interest. I bought the car for $15,000 (including tax and other fees), so I still owe about $12,000 on the car.


The tow truck driver told me that if the car is written off, then the insurance company will pay off the remainder that I owe ($12,000) to the finance company. Plus, it would pay me whatever money I put into the car (the $3000). So, the insurance company would pay the finance company $12000, pay me $3,000, and then auction the car. If they did this, the would probably have to pay a net of about $11,000 or so (if the could auction the car off for $4,000).

However, if the car is repaired, then they would only pay the repair cost, which would be about $3000 to $4000.

Ideally, I would like the first option, but how likely is that going to happen?

Will the insurance company only look at the blue book value to determine if it's a write off? Or, will they look at how much I owe and use that in their calculations?

What steps should I take to ensure that they write it off, and pay off the remainder that I owe on the car, plus whatever I put into the car? I would rather by a new car at this point, instead of fixing up an older car that needs extensive repairs.

I hope that nobody was injured.

The tow truck driver is either full of shit or he is an idiot.
Maybe he was just trying to make you happy so you wouldn't question where he took your car.

What you owe is irrelevant to the insurance company.
Book value is often way less than the cost of repairs and they write off vehicles for less than is owed on them all the time, often much less, and they won't give you the difference.

How is it that your car has depreciated almost 50% in only 18 months?
Did you over-pay or are you allowing for this serious accident?

That is a lot of interest you are paying.

 

[Ceiling Cat]

$4000 is a drop in the bucket these days when it comes to auto body repairs. Last summer I was rear ended by a fat lady. The damage was just the rear bumper cover and a metal bracket (1) holding the bumper. That alone was over $3000. The insurance companies will pay the lower amount, even if it is $50 short of the value of the car they will pay to repair it rather than pay you the money. You can try to negotiate with them and pay the difference yourself to get another car.

 

[Aardvark154]

Will the insurance company only look at the blue book value to determine if it's a write off?

The legal principle is making you whole (i.e. put you in the financal position you would have been if the collision had not occured).

Hence, they will either pay to repair the car or pay off its book value (whichever is less). That you still owe money on the car because it has depreciated faster than your payments is regretably (because in fact you are set back) of no concern to them.

 

[JohnHenry]

$4000 is a drop in the bucket these days when it comes to auto body repairs. Last summer I was rear ended by a fat lady. The damage was just the rear bumper cover and a metal bracket (1) holding the bumper. That alone was over $3000. The insurance companies will pay the lower amount, even if it is $50 short of the value of the car they will pay to repair it rather than pay you the money. You can try to negotiate with them and pay the difference yourself to get another car.

I take it that you were rear ended by a car driven by a fat lady.

 

[Ceiling Cat]

No??!???!!

 

[stinkynuts]

Sorry for your luck. I was rear-ended a few weeks ago, and while the damage wasn't extensive, it till cost $3500 to get repaired. I was sitting at a red light and was hit but a guy driving a truck who was probably texting at the time. He was still holding his BlackBerry in his hand when he got out of the cab.

For the record, you will find that the insurance company will hold you partly responsible for the accident... simply because you hit the guy in front of you. You will be responsible for his damages and likely they will hold you accountable for your deductible and your rates will go up as a result. I had this exact conversation with my adjuster the other day... Once they determined that I was unhurt, they wanted to know if I had hit the guy in front. Since I hadn't, I had zero liability, paid no deductible, and my rates won't increase.

As far as what happens to your car, the insurer will understandably take the least expensive route to settle the claim. That doesn't mean that you have to accept their decision, but if it is less expensive to fix the car, that's what they will do. You need to insure that the car is still safe to drive after this. If you don't want to write it off, then you can negotiate a cash oayment and fix the car your self. If they want to fix it and you want to write it off, good luck. The best bet will be to have them fix it, then sell it.

If you want them to write it off just because you want a different car, they won't help you there. If you have concerns that the car won't be safe after a repair, and can prove it with letters from good repair shops, then you will have an argument. An insurance company won't want you driving in an unsafe car, because ultimately, it's their liability if the rear axle falls off or something.

Part of the damage to my vehicle was to a trailer hitch. They didn't want to initially fork out the $450 for a new OE hitch until I reminded them that I towed a $100K + boat which they also insured, so they changed their tune pretty fast when I suggested a hitch failure would be a great way for me to get a new boat. (I have full replacement cost on the boat...)

Good luck, not matter how this goes, it's a pain in the ass.

Two things:

1)I will be very sad if I have to pay the deductible for hitting the car in front of me because the accident was not my fault. And on top of that, my premiums will increase?

2)Is it true that I can negotiate a cash settlement? Perhaps I can use some of it to repair my car, and the rest to pay for my above expenses.

I don't think the person who caused the accident should be the one who has to pay for all the damage caused by the accident.

 

[Moraff]

Two things:

1)I will be very sad if I have to pay the deductible for hitting the car in front of me because the accident was not my fault. And on top of that, my premiums will increase?

2)Is it true that I can negotiate a cash settlement? Perhaps I can use some of it to repair my car, and the rest to pay for my above expenses.

I don't think the person who caused the accident should be the one who has to pay for all the damage caused by the accident.

Either I'm not reading you correctly, or you are contradicting yourself... in 1) you are sad because you may have to pay for getting shoved into the car in front of you (which is likely true, happened to a friend of mine and he was told that he was partially at fault for stopping too close to the car in front of him or somesuch) and then in your last sentance you said that the person causing the accident shouldn't have to pay for all the damage. Well they wouldn't be... you're likely going to be paying some of that for getting shoved into the car in front of you.

 

[Dougal Short]

Two things:

1)I will be very sad if I have to pay the deductible for hitting the car in front of me because the accident was not my fault. And on top of that, my premiums will increase?

I don't think the person who caused the accident should be the one who has to pay for all the damage caused by the accident.

Aren't you contradicting yourself with these two comments...?

With regard to your first point, from an insurance perspective, the damage to the car in front of you was the result of your being stopped too close to him... as unbelievable as that sounds. In my situation, I could see this guy coming at me, and new he was going to hit me. I intentionally rolled forward to lessen the impact, but not so much that I would be pushed into the car ahead. I told the insurance agent this when they asked if I had hit the guy in front, and she commented that that was "the thing to do"...

Along the lines of ridiculous things insurance rules can determine: A friend of a friend (honest!) was caught in a white-out on the 401. He slowed down as best he could, then realized he was about to drive into a pile up in front of him. He hit the brakes, but slid into to the guard rail and bounced to a stop barely into the lane, but managed to miss the other cars and the people standing around. A few seconds later, another car came skidding along and hit him...

Here's the kicker... the insurance called this TWO separate accidents... #1 into the guard rail and #2 being hit by the other car. The counted it as two claims, made him pay two deductibles ($1000 each) hammered him on his rate increases. The last I heard, he was contemplating suing the insurance company...

 

[rhuarc29]

Sorry for your luck. I was rear-ended a few weeks ago, and while the damage wasn't extensive, it till cost $3500 to get repaired. I was sitting at a red light and was hit but a guy driving a truck who was probably texting at the time. He was still holding his BlackBerry in his hand when he got out of the cab.

That's makes twice the idiot, but an honest one.

 

[Dougal Short]

That's makes twice the idiot, but an honest one.

He was probably posting on Terb...