[hiimwayne]

So here's what happened I was driving my Evo casually when an 18 wheeler coca-cola truck decided to pull out to make a left turn out of the Family Dollars parking lot. I had to hop the curb to avoid hitting him and ended up damaging my knuckle lower air dam and a bent rim. This happened on 8-27-09. My car is now in the shop for 2 weeks getting repaired. Their insurance only wanted to pay for 4 days of rental which is not nearly enough. Rental company just recently charged me 529.47 and the insurance agent told me he would not pay for it. What should I do?

[hiimwayne]

No I did not I talked to their insurance company because I've been in alot of wrecks and afraid they will raise my rates up. and yes I have rental policy on my insurance. I should call my insurance company up right?

[Bimmer This]

No, don't call yours. Any claim you make to your company, your rate are bound to increase. Depending on that other insurance premium, they only cover rental till a certain amount. You might be screwed on this one.

[hiimwayne]

Well it's entirely their fault so would my rates still go up? The other insurance sent me a check for a lil over a grand to get the bumper fixed. Body shop found some other damaged suspension parts too.

[SteveMD]

Wow.

Ok.

If you were not at fault, the other insurance company should cover your rental for a reasonable amount of time. If the body shop is negligent and is taking their good old time to repair the car, the other insurance company may have a right to stop the rental.

I would contact my insurance company and explain the situation. If you have rental on your insurance, they will cover it and then try to claim it from the other insurance company.

Let the insurance companies fight over the bill.

If you were truly not at fault, you rates will not increase.

[Roowah]

I wouldn't think it would raise your insurance. Years ago, I was in an accident that was 100% the fault of the other driver. It was written down as such from the accident report. I notified my insurance company and sent them the paperwork. Since my insurance company did not need to pay, they took care of all the negotiating with the other party's insurance company and there was never an increase in my premiums.

[Kurt V]

Originally Posted by hiimwayne

Well it's entirely their fault so would my rates still go up? The other insurance sent me a check for a lil over a grand to get the bumper fixed. Body shop found some other damaged suspension parts too.

Looks like you already settled with them. Did you sign anything?

[hiimwayne]

I signed the check for the bumper and lip. But they requested to only paint the front bumper and lower air dam. You have to blend in the fender and hood to make it look right. Not to mention they found additional damages in the suspension. I emailed the insurance agent and told him if he won't pay for the rental and the other stuff that I will sue him for all that plus diminished value of the car. He told me to let me know when we're ready to settle. Will be talking to my lawyer soon.

[Kylekuu]

dunno if you mentioned or not..but did you file the accident? and does it say 100% fault for the other driver on the police report? You won't win the case if it's not declared the other driver's fault. Also rental should be covered for the entire time your vehicle is in the shop (but can't be over 30 days i believe). Another thing is, they'll pay only for the lowest price, which is like 19$ i think. Which only covers the vehicle and not the daily insurance and stuff.

edit: BTW, DV only applies to states that require it, call your state's insurance agency and ask them if DV claims are acceptable.

edit 2: Also my insurance didn't go up, but i claimed my insurance after my accident and it was the other driver's fault. I had to pay my deductible first, then was reimbursed. My insurance company did all the work following up with the other party's insurance. BUT you have to make sure you have filed the accident report and it's 100% the other driver's fault.

[hiimwayne]

It's entirely their fault the 18 wheeler lade a left turn right in front of me and I was doing the speed limit. I will contact my insurance company and let them handle it.

[Angry3]

Originally Posted by Bimmer This

No, don't call yours. Any claim you make to your company, your rate are bound to increase. Depending on that other insurance premium, they only cover rental till a certain amount. You might be screwed on this one.

Every state has different criteria for what will make your premium increase, everyone should know what there state says about that. In NC only at-fault accidents that result in damage in excess of $1800 can result in an insurance surcharge. Everyone can and should Google their state's Department of Insurance and find out what causes rate increases (for accidents and traffic violations). The problem with not notifying your carrier is you're going to get no help from them and lose the option to take advantage of benefits on your policy that might not raise your rates if you claim them (like the medpay and rental car benefits). It's a heck of a lot easier to deal with your own agent than a claims manager that has no relationship with you and is only concerned about paying out as little as possible on your claim.

In short, if you're in a wreck call your agent and let him or her know. If you don't want a claim made tell him not to make one, they can't raise your rates for just calling for guidance. Your agent can call the other carrier and find out if they are admitting liability, if so you're probably in the clear as far as rate increases go, if not you can choose whether to file a claim with your insurance and risk that you may carry points if you're found to be at fault, or pay out of pocket and sue the other party for recovery later. Best of all worlds IMHO.

Originally Posted by SteveMD

Wow.

Ok.

If you were not at fault, the other insurance company should cover your rental for a reasonable amount of time. If the body shop is negligent and is taking their good old time to repair the car, the other insurance company may have a right to stop the rental.

I would contact my insurance company and explain the situation. If you have rental on your insurance, they will cover it and then try to claim it from the other insurance company.

Let the insurance companies fight over the bill.

If you were truly not at fault, you rates will not increase.

Very true. With a 3rd party claim, the other party's insurance must make the affected party "whole." Part of that requires them to compensate for the loss of use of the vehicle. Generally the measure of that loss is the rental expense for a comparable vehicle during the repair. This can get messy when you have delays and the repair takes longer than anticipated. As Steve said it comes down to what is a reasonable time for the repair and why did the delay occur. If you're using a shop approved by the 3rd party carrier, they have no right to complain, period, and the carrier and shop should be resolving the rental car expense issue internally. If you're using a shop you chose and the delay is due to them being backed up or not having their act together, you're on the hook for the added rental car expense. Sounds to me like the carrier wanted to cheap out on the repair (big shocker there) and is trying to strong arm the OP. I wouldn't stand for that.

Originally Posted by hiimwayne

I signed the check for the bumper and lip. But they requested to only paint the front bumper and lower air dam. You have to blend in the fender and hood to make it look right. Not to mention they found additional damages in the suspension. I emailed the insurance agent and told him if he won't pay for the rental and the other stuff that I will sue him for all that plus diminished value of the car. He told me to let me know when we're ready to settle. Will be talking to my lawyer soon.

The 3rd party carrier wants to get out of this as cheaply as possible. They've offered to do the bare minimum, it's important that the body shop communicate with the claim manager to let them know what it's going to take to get this car back to its pre-accident condition. The problem is that the settlement check/docs may well have had language that stated the check was a full and final settlement of all claims. If it did and the OP cashed it, this is likely a done deal. Lots of folks fall into this trap, if you're in an accident don't be one of them.

Originally Posted by Kylekuu

dunno if you mentioned or not..but did you file the accident? and does it say 100% fault for the other driver on the police report? You won't win the case if it's not declared the other driver's fault. Also rental should be covered for the entire time your vehicle is in the shop (but can't be over 30 days i believe). Another thing is, they'll pay only for the lowest price, which is like 19$ i think. Which only covers the vehicle and not the daily insurance and stuff.

edit: BTW, DV only applies to states that require it, call your state's insurance agency and ask them if DV claims are acceptable.

edit 2: Also my insurance didn't go up, but i claimed my insurance after my accident and it was the other driver's fault. I had to pay my deductible first, then was reimbursed. My insurance company did all the work following up with the other party's insurance. BUT you have to make sure you have filed the accident report and it's 100% the other driver's fault.

I can't speak for Cali, but in NC police reports aren't the standard used to determine negligence (fault). They are evidence of it of course, but not determinative, and our accident reports say as much on them. Cali may well be the same, it's not realistic for an officer to determine who is at-fault at the scene with limited resources. Besides, fault isn't an issue here, the 3rd party carrier has already admitted liability.

As far as "rules" that carriers have about limiting the time and amount of what they will pay for a rental, don't be fooled. A carrier can set limits with its own policy holders. It CAN NOT do the same in a 3rd party scenario, at least where I am. The carrier has no contract with the OP, it has a duty to make him whole, and that means to provide or pay the expense of a comparable vehicle (whatever that is) for a length of time sufficient to allow the repair to be performed. I've been through this before with clients, the key is to make sure the rental is processed through the body shop, and that they are communicating with the carrier. You should not have to pay a dime up front for a rental car in a 3rd party scenario, once you do you're going to have a hell of a time getting reimubursed for it. Also, if you're getting hammered for $75 a day because you didn't use the rental car company you were directed to and/or demand the body shop rate, don't be shocked when you have problems getting paid back. Let the carrier and shop coordinate your rental car, let them tell you when and where to pick it up, refuse the charges, do what you need to do to make the carrier pick up the tab from the outset.

Originally Posted by hiimwayne

It's entirely their fault the 18 wheeler lade a left turn right in front of me and I was doing the speed limit. I will contact my insurance company and let them handle it.

As I said, forget your insurance company and go to your lawyer as you said you were going to earlier. Pay the lawyer for a consult, find out what your recovery should be, and have him send a demand letter to the claims manager. If they don't pay, be prepared to file a small claims suit yourself or through counsel. Make sure you're documenting every conversation and event and retaining every piece of paper relating to the claim, you will need it if carrier continues to test you.

3rd party cases are a nasty game of cat and mouse, the m.o. these days is that carriers will fight over every last dime tooth and nail knowing that most people lack the understanding of their rights and/or the resources to pursue a legal claim against them. Even if 10% of the time they get sued and have to pay the whole amount plus attorney fees (if state law allows them in these cases as mine does) they're still coming out ahead.

I hope things come together for you OP, good luck.

[hiimwayne]

Thanks for the help everyone!