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So this happened on March 14th on a nice snowy day....
So the kid (19 years old) was driving a Dodge Dakota that had not damage to it. His insurance accepts 100% liability and they tell me not to worry, they will cover all out of pocket expenses plus a rental car. COOL...i think. I get the car estimated by a few body shops. Estimates range from about $5,400 to $8,100. Well, that seems to have been a problem for this kid's insurance. They weren't expecting a charge that high. So now their driver is "underinsured" and I have to file a claim with my insurance and my insurance will have to "go after" his insurance to get reimbursed for the damage.
I am going to be updating this as a running saga so we can all keep track of the repair costs, time frame and damage.
Last year we were hit in our Highlander by someone with no insurance. Such a pain, but luckily my insurance took care of it.
Best of luck in your repairs.
Thanks. And it does suck. I am hoping my rates don't go up
Originally Posted by er34
5400-8100 repair is "high"? Just what kind of insurance did he have?
Can the driver's door be opened? If there is any damage to the B pillar, I'd think the damage should be >10k.
The door can only be opened from the inside...which sucks. There has been documented "cosmetic" damage to the B-Pillar. The other kid has military insurance (USAA).
Not sure how insurance in the states work, but here the minimum 3rd party liability is $1million.. what's the point of insurance if it won't even cover a few thousand of damage(which is pretty much the minimum for any minor incident). I can't even imagine what would happen if there was any injury claims involved...
Somebody backed into my RC a few weeks ago and it cost over $800 to fix it. This is just repairing the bumper and respraying the whole thing. Lexus repairs aren't cheap and I brought it to a Mercedes certified shop.
Of course the driver had no insurance but I have the uninsured and underinsured coverage with deductible waiver. They returned my $500 deductible and paid for the whole thing and my rate didn't go up. Oh yeah, I asked them and a couple times and pushed them to be sure about this! Dash cam videos helped big time here too.
Thanks. And it does suck. I am hoping my rates don't go up
Hmm..I was under the impression that once you file a claim through your own insurance that your rates will go up. I was told this by a lady that worked at State Farm by day and an impound lot by night. ItzFilyO's post kind of contradicts my statement, so I don't know what to believe at this point. Insurance claims are a dark art.
Somebody backed into my RC a few weeks ago and it cost over $800 to fix it. This is just repairing the bumper and respraying the whole thing. Lexus repairs aren't cheap and I brought it to a Mercedes certified shop.
Of course the driver had no insurance but I have the uninsured and underinsured coverage with deductible waiver. They returned my $500 deductible and paid for the whole thing and my rate didn't go up. Oh yeah, I asked them and a couple times and pushed them to be sure about this! Dash cam videos helped big time here too.
Might I ask what insurance company you have? This sounds awesome haha. My dashcam didnt catch my accident because I was T Boned and the cam points forward lol.
Originally Posted by ph0bolus
Hmm..I was under the impression that once you file a claim through your own insurance that your rates will go up. I was told this by a lady that worked at State Farm by day and an impound lot by night. ItzFilyO's post kind of contradicts my statement, so I don't know what to believe at this point. Insurance claims are a dark art.
I was told that my rates "might not go up because the other insurance company claimed 100% liability. We will see. The whole insurance world is smoke and mirrors.
I have Wawanesa and if ur not found guilty then ur rates shouldn't go up. The other party admitted 100% fault right? Get that in writing and forward it to ur insurance company. But if u don't have uninsured and underinsured coverage I don't know.
Here in Cali 99.99% drivers don't have insurance, so that coverage is a must have.
Darn, that is only available in Cali. I do have uninsured insurance. The other insurance company admitted fault in my voicemail, so I have it recorded . They were like"we didn't think it would be this much money" and my response was "a $60k Lexus needs two new doors...."
If the accident is not your fault your rates should not go up just because you go through your insurance company. The other drivers company should cover 100% of the costs when it is their driver at fault. If your insurance rates went up for a accident that was not your fault then nobody would ever go through their insurance company if the other insurance company starts playing games, stalling, refusing to cover this or that, low balling you, etc which happens all the time. Your insurance company should flat out tell you if they are going to raise your rates on a accident that was totally not your fault but then again why would they raise your rates if you were of no fault, it would make no sense, once they get all the facts they will know the other driver was totally at fault and will be 100% reimbursed, sometimes they make money off of selling your totaled car/parts too.
If your insurance company raises your rates on you for going through them for a 100% not at fault accident especially when the other drivers insurance starts playing games and refusing coverage it is time to go with another insurance company after complaining of course, normally the threat of leaving will change their mind.
In the state of Kentucky, you are required by law to have the minimum in liability insurance that is $10,000 property damage and $25,000 per person bodily injury and $50,000 per accident bodily injury. His insurance, if it is the minimum required by law should easily cover your damage. If this happened in NY state, his legal minimum is also $10,000 property damage.
If the accident is 100% his fault, you should owe nothing when all is said and done. There is no deductible to you when his insurance is on the hook. If your insurance pays under under/uninsured, you might still be on the hook for the deductible.
The process of you getting your car fixed under your insurance then them going after him or his insurance company is call subrogation. My wife worked in insurance years ago I learned alot. If you don't shop insurance every 2-3 years, you are probably leaving money on the table.
03-26-18, 06:54 AM
My T-Bone Drama Story
. They were like"we didn't think it would be this much money" and my response was "a $60k Lexus needs two new doors...."
