Auto accident?

Question

My sister was just in an auto accident today. We believe the car to be beyond repair. We do not have insurance to cover our cars for damage we do to them (our cars are mainly paid off, hand-me-downs). We would be relying on the other drivers' insurance to cover the damage (he ran the red and hit her front bumper, driver side...eye witness verification). He was not drunk...merely looking for something on his passenger seat and didn't notice the light change. Any tips on dealing with the other guy's auto insurance to cover the damage and get it repaired? She is only 18 and doesn't have the money to pay for another car and she is a very good driver, clean record and all.

** Note: my sister is home safe and sound: no fatalities, all limbs attached. She'll have some major bruises and neck pain from possible whiplash. She hit her head when the car spun out of control, so we've been told to check up on her during the night. Police report is filed, doctor's been seen, Mom's calmed down.

Answer 1

OK, well, if her car is TOTALLED, the MOST the other insurance company has to pay is the LESSER of cost to repair, or actual cash value.  So if it is totalled, you're not going to get what it costs to fix the car - you aren't entitled.  But you COULD be entitled to rental coverage until you buy the new car, up to two weeks (a reasonable amount of time, IMO).

Keep in mind also, the other company isn't going to pay more than the property damage limit on the policy.   You're going to have to wait to hear from them before you can go further, but it should be today or tomorrow.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

The best advice I can tell you is to keep the lines of communication open with the adjuster.

The adjuster will walk you through the process. Be sure to ask any questions that you have or let the adjuster know if you don't understand something.

The adjuster will have to do an investigation. Get a recorded interview from your sister. Also from their insured and the witness. May need to photograph the scene.  The adjuster will also get photos of the car.

If they provide you with a rental car, they will pay the daily rate and tax. If you have to take out the additional insurance, they will not pay for that.

If the car is a total (and if it's older it probably is) - they will make you an offer on the car. The insurance companies use the NADA to value a car. Don't waste your time looking at the Kelly Blue Book. Those values are inflated and no company I know of uses it. The banks and insurance companies use the NADA. The adjusters will be able to tell you how they got the number.

Now a bunch of folks are going to tell you to get a lawyer. I'll tell you now-- a lawyer takes 1/3 of your settlement as his fee. And the adjuster is not going to raise the amount of the settlement just to cover that fee. Having a lawyer does not make your claim worth more. The value of the claim is based on the damages/injuries. It's your choice to hire a lawyer and its your responsibility to pay him. I usually recommend that you try to work directly with the adjuster. If you decide you and the adjuster just can't get things worked out- then go hire a lawyer and give him a huge chunk of your settlement.

Also, your sister will probably get a little more sore before she gets better. The day after the accident is bad and the day after that is worse and then it starts to get better. (At least that's been my experience).