Car accident question - can someone explain fixing through insurance or suing like I’m a 5 year old

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's more, because the value of used cars is currently so inflated, they will not declare your vehicle as totaled and accept an repair bill that would have been considered outrageous a few years ago.

Not true. Something similar just happened to my daughter. She was not at fault. she hit a pickup truck with a smaller car and her car was totaled (pickup only had door damage). The cost to repair was $14,000 and the value was around $14,000 so they totaled her car. She did everything through her insurance company (they have copy of police report showing she was not at fault), and got her check, including her towing bill reimbursed within a week. Now they will try to get their money from the other driver's insurance company because the other lady was at fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Auto insurance companies represent their own customers. If you are in an accident that is not your fault, then you definitely want to contact your own auto insurance. If you try to work through the other driver's auto insurance, then you get no guarantee that anyone will by trying to do the right thing for you. When you are not at fault, the other driver's insurance will try to minimize the amount that they pay out on behalf of their customer, since they are responsible for the costs. First, if there is any question, they will try to deny fault. Second, if it is determined that their client is at fault, they will try to minimize the amount of damages that they will pay. They will try to send you to an assessor or auto body shop that will try to give you the minimal repairs and reparations to your vehicle to get it running. They will do whatever they can to diminish the amount of cosmetic or optional repairs and try to limit the repairs to the minimum necessary to get the car functioning again.

What you should do in an accident when you are not at fault. Always make sure to get a statement and photos of the damage to both vehicles. Take a photo of where the accident took place, especially if the photo shows that you are not at fault (like showing that their vehicle is not in the correct lane or has crossed into your lane of has violated the right of way or is in an intersection when they shouldn't be). Make sure to take a photo of the other driver's license plate number. Second, insist on collecting the driver at fault's insurance information. Do not volunteer your insurance information unless instructed by a law enforcement officer (LEO, e.g. police officer or sheriff). Make sure to contact LEO and have them send out an officer to get a police report. Do not leave the scene or allow the other driver to leave the scene without a police report. Do not move the vehicles until instructed by a LEO. Yes, even if your vehicle is blocking the road during rush hour, do not move your vehicle until you have corroboration from the police officer that they have established that the other driver is at fault.

Why do you do this? Because if you go to the insurance company (either yours or theirs) and you only have a verbal agreement that they are at fault and they later deny that they are at fault or worse, they accuse you of being at fault, you are in a he-said, she-said situation and the insurance companies have no way of knowing that they were at fault. If they have a plausible explanation for why you might be at fault or that it was a no-fault accident (e.g. a pure accident that was neither driver's fault), then each company will be responsible for repairs of their own client's vehicle. At that point, your company will pay the damages, but they will raise your premium rates and you run the risk that they will determine you to be too great a risk and potentially drop you as a client. So, you have to have documented evidence that the other driver was at fault. If you cannot get a police officer, take a piece of paper and write down a statement that they admit fault and responsibility for the accident and have them sign it. Alternatively, if they will agree, have them verbally agree to fault and record on your phone. They should say date and time of the accident and they admit fault and responsibility.

After you have the documentation, you should check you and all passengers in your vehicle and make sure that no one has any injuries. If there is any question at the time of the accident, then you should make sure to let 911 know that you need emergency services (ambulance/EMT) at the site and they can come and assess injuries on site. If however, there are no critical injuries on site, you should still monitor driver and passengers because there are some injuries that will not be problematic at the time, but can get worse after time if not treated. Like whiplash or bruising or potential broken bones, fractures, internal bleeding, etc. If anyone is not sure how they feel, they should be checked out at urgent care or emergency care.

After you have documentation that they have admitted fault and/or you have a police report of the incident, then you should contact your own insurance company. As I said, the other driver's insurance company will try to drive down the repair costs as much as possible and deny as much financial responsibility as possible. You should contact your own insurance company with a statement. Do NOT talk to the other driver's insurance company until instructed to do so by the claims agent for your own insurance company. You should drive the car or have it towed to a repair shop that you trust or that your own insurance company recommends. Essentially, you want to select where the assessment and the repairs will be completed. It should be a location of your choosing and not one of the opposing insurance company's choosing. Insurance companies may suggest a repair shop where they have a working relationship and they may be able to get deals more beneficial to themselves when you go to one that they have chosen. Make sure to provide details of the accident to your insurance company as early as possible (either same day or first thing in the morning if not possible on the same day). Insurance company claims officers are open 7x24 and even late at night, you should be able to call and open a claim. You may not get a claims agent until regular business hours, but the customer service reps (CSR) manning the claims numbers will be able to take your statement at any hour. The CSR will take down details and the claims agent will call you back during regular business hours. Again, do not talk to the other driver's insurance company or agents until after you have spoken with a claims agent. They will let you know when it is appropriate for you to return the call to the other insurance agency and give a statement.

You do all this because you want your vehicle and passengers to be taken care of, to the maximum extent of the law and you want to make sure that the other insurance agency will do all that they are required to. Your insurance company and your claims agent will help ensure that. At any time if there is a legal issue, they will either have their own lawyers handle the issue or they will have you sign over responsibility for your damages to your insurance company (called subrogation) and they will then pay all expenses, whether medical or vehicular repairs, and then they will sue the other company to reclaim the damages. This is what you pay premiums for. To have a major corporation take care to make sure that the opposing side pays for all expenses that they are required to. And they know what those are, whereas laymen like yourself may not know all that they are legally obligated to cover and pay for you. That includes things like rental cars while your car is repairs (including a rental car that meets your size requirement). I had an accident once, which was not my fault and the other driver's insurance tried to tell me that I could get a subcompact car to drive while my SUV was being repaired. But the tiny car they offered me would not handle the things that I needed to do while my SUV was in the shop. So I called my claims agent, who told me what I was eligible to rent and that I was covered to a certain dollar amount. If I ended up needing a bigger vehicle, I could pay the difference. I could get a small SUV within my daily limit or I could pay about $2-3 per day extra to get a mid-sized SUV. I was able to get by with the small SUV.

Sorry, if this is too much detail, but you said to explain like you're a 5 year old. If you have additional questions, feel free to ask.

OP here, thank you for the detailed reply. It’s very helpful to understand the process.

Do body shops also do mechanical repairs, or just exterior damage? How do you report lingering impacts: medical issues that appear after the initial report (in myself or the children)? Driving related anxiety (such as driving at night, driving with kids in the car, driving in that specific car)? Added stress while navigating the whole process.

DO NOT!!!!! Encourage other people children to sue!!!!!!! How it works is they sue the driver in most cases. They are going after you and your insurance. They also can sue other driver at same time and his or her insurance.

And if not your car or jointly owned by spouse they will get sued too. No real lawyer is going to take this case as you already blew it.

They want physical injuries, they want you taken away in ambulance, absolutely not working or driving. No chores like taking out trash. They will send people to tail you.

Lawyers work on they get 1/3 of settlement they need a good case.

And remember you partially caused accident. They will say why sue you not move out of way, did you honk. Did you stop short, were your brake lights broken they will twist it.

I won in a lawsuit to three years and lots of work. And I had three broken bones, concussion, 12 stitches and bruises. Huge black and blue in eye too.

This is completely false. The OP stated that she was stopped at a red light and was rear-ended. The driver at fault was driving fast enough that had OP not be there, they would have driven through the red light and potentially caused a much better accident had it involved another moving vehicle. As long as OP ensured that she got documentation and corroboration that the other driver was at fault (like calling the police and getting a police report), then she will be fine letting her insurance claim agent guide her through the process. The claim agent will ensure that OP is protected and provided with coverage for any damages to her vehicle and any personal injury and medical treatment needed up to the limit of her personal injury clause in her insurance.


I'm sorry that you were in a terrible car accident that required you to sue for damages. However, your situation is completely different from OP's problem and you are giving incorrect information based on your situation and not hers.

It is a typical tactic to counter sue or to make a defense of contributory negligence. It’s always a possibility.

I did the EBTs and was about to go to trial. geico even interviewed with their lawyers and my lawyer present. I even took my lawyer to the physical with the Geico doctor.

They try everything, accuse you of backing up, your brake lights broken, were you distracted, were your passengers bothering driver, were you on cell phone. They will do best to blame you. Even in EBTs my lawyers called me in to do a mock trial and man they were tough.

And I was taken away in an ambulance and was out of work several weeks. I am really good in court. I was pre law for a while but they will break you. Geico sent an unmarked car to my house a few times to watch me. They also called me out of blue with trick to settle by telling me to go get a pen to write down number. Those bastards on day of doctors visit even tried to see if I drove there. I had my Mom drive me as I figured they stake out lot.

Finally after 2 years right before trial date they coughed up cash. I still laugh when their doctor asked me to bend over and I barely moved he asked me twice to move more. At that point I turned to my lawyer with side eye my lawyer said that’s it he can’t move.

[Anonymous]

You only need to Sue if the other driver doesn’t have insurance and refuses to pay. The Police did a report so you should have all their info. Handle it through insurance, that’s what you pay them for. Doing this is part of being an adult OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You only need to Sue if the other driver doesn’t have insurance and refuses to pay. The Police did a report so you should have all their info. Handle it through insurance, that’s what you pay them for. Doing this is part of being an adult OP.

And this is why you never get legal advice from internet strangers.

[Anonymous]

I agree with most of what 12/04/2022 00:17 says but I thought both drivers were supposed to share insurance information. A lady hit the side of my car with her door and I asked for her insurance. She wanted to see mine and I showed her. Are you saying I didn't need to?


Also I agree with not talking to the other driver's insurance company when you are not a fault. (I don't know if this is true if you are at fault though) I was in an accident where the other driver was clearly at fault, the other driver admitted fault, the police gave the other driver a ticket and I turned this all over to my insurance company. I also had a witness who saw the accident.

My insurance company took care of everything and I was told I didn't need to talk to the other insurance company at all. My car was in the shop my insurance company recommended and I already had a rental car. Despite this the other insurance company called me at least every week with incorrect information in an attempt to get me to talk. I'm sure they are hoping they can get me to agree to something less or to find some info to say it is my fault. They are not making these calls by accident. They always call with crazy incorrect information hoping to make it more likely that I will call back. Don't trust the other driver's insurance company.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with most of what 12/04/2022 00:17 says but I thought both drivers were supposed to share insurance information. A lady hit the side of my car with her door and I asked for her insurance. She wanted to see mine and I showed her. Are you saying I didn't need to?


Also I agree with not talking to the other driver's insurance company when you are not a fault. (I don't know if this is true if you are at fault though) I was in an accident where the other driver was clearly at fault, the other driver admitted fault, the police gave the other driver a ticket and I turned this all over to my insurance company. I also had a witness who saw the accident.

My insurance company took care of everything and I was told I didn't need to talk to the other insurance company at all. My car was in the shop my insurance company recommended and I already had a rental car. Despite this the other insurance company called me at least every week with incorrect information in an attempt to get me to talk. I'm sure they are hoping they can get me to agree to something less or to find some info to say it is my fault. They are not making these calls by accident. They always call with crazy incorrect information hoping to make it more likely that I will call back. Don't trust the other driver's insurance company.

Except some insurance companies do count not at fault accidents. I had a bunch of no fault claims and were dropped. My kid hit someone and guy refused his insurance info. Seems he just has an at fault accident and did not want his insurance knowing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you sue anyone just file an insurance claim against other driver’s insurance.

This seems like a very routine thing. Insurance will handle it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with most of what 12/04/2022 00:17 says but I thought both drivers were supposed to share insurance information. A lady hit the side of my car with her door and I asked for her insurance. She wanted to see mine and I showed her. Are you saying I didn't need to?


Also I agree with not talking to the other driver's insurance company when you are not a fault. (I don't know if this is true if you are at fault though) I was in an accident where the other driver was clearly at fault, the other driver admitted fault, the police gave the other driver a ticket and I turned this all over to my insurance company. I also had a witness who saw the accident.

My insurance company took care of everything and I was told I didn't need to talk to the other insurance company at all. My car was in the shop my insurance company recommended and I already had a rental car. Despite this the other insurance company called me at least every week with incorrect information in an attempt to get me to talk. I'm sure they are hoping they can get me to agree to something less or to find some info to say it is my fault. They are not making these calls by accident. They always call with crazy incorrect information hoping to make it more likely that I will call back. Don't trust the other driver's insurance company.

Technically no one needs to provide insurance information, only exchanging names and contact information. Normally, you only need to provide proof that you have insurance so that when you get in contact with the other party (or typically, their insurance company), your insurance company knows whether this is an insured or uninsured claim. Providing insurance information speeds up the process because it cuts out the part where you or your insurance company have to contact the other driver and potentially waste time waiting for the other driver to respond and provide their insurance information. If you are not at fault, then there is no purpose to providing your insurance information and it prevents the other driver from trying to open a claim with your insurance company if you are not at fault.

It doesn't hurt to provide your insurance information unless you believe that there is something shady about the person at fault, like if you believe that they may be trying to defraud you for some reason, then you don't provide your insurance information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with most of what 12/04/2022 00:17 says but I thought both drivers were supposed to share insurance information. A lady hit the side of my car with her door and I asked for her insurance. She wanted to see mine and I showed her. Are you saying I didn't need to?


Also I agree with not talking to the other driver's insurance company when you are not a fault. (I don't know if this is true if you are at fault though) I was in an accident where the other driver was clearly at fault, the other driver admitted fault, the police gave the other driver a ticket and I turned this all over to my insurance company. I also had a witness who saw the accident.

My insurance company took care of everything and I was told I didn't need to talk to the other insurance company at all. My car was in the shop my insurance company recommended and I already had a rental car. Despite this the other insurance company called me at least every week with incorrect information in an attempt to get me to talk. I'm sure they are hoping they can get me to agree to something less or to find some info to say it is my fault. They are not making these calls by accident. They always call with crazy incorrect information hoping to make it more likely that I will call back. Don't trust the other driver's insurance company.

Technically no one needs to provide insurance information, only exchanging names and contact information. Normally, you only need to provide proof that you have insurance so that when you get in contact with the other party (or typically, their insurance company), your insurance company knows whether this is an insured or uninsured claim. Providing insurance information speeds up the process because it cuts out the part where you or your insurance company have to contact the other driver and potentially waste time waiting for the other driver to respond and provide their insurance information. If you are not at fault, then there is no purpose to providing your insurance information and it prevents the other driver from trying to open a claim with your insurance company if you are not at fault.

It doesn't hurt to provide your insurance information unless you believe that there is something shady about the person at fault, like if you believe that they may be trying to defraud you for some reason, then you don't provide your insurance information.

Common practice is for both parties to exchange insurance information.

[Anonymous]

Be careful if you handle it through subrogation.

Our car was once rear-ended, and the major repair bill + rental car added up quite bit. We filed with our insurance (Erie) and they paid for everything then went after the at-fault driver through subrogation. However, they settled with the at-fault driver's insurance for far less than they paid out. So, for example, if our repair and rental was $12,000, maybe they settled with the other insurance for $8000.

Years later, they threatened to take away our claims-free discount because we had a minor incident that was potentially going to cost Erie to pay out >$1000 for a second time within 5 years. Only then did I find out that the first accident (that the other driver was 100% at-fault for) could be held against us because Erie decided to settle for less than they paid.

Lesson learned--even when you are not at fault, know what your lazy insurance negotiators are doing because it can come back to bite you. They aren't taking care of you. Insurance is a business, and they are only taking care of their bottom line, not their clients! Don't use subrogation unless you can't afford your deductible!

[Anonymous]

You don't generally sue for property damage. But don't ever use your insurance chosen shop or trust them in anything. Know everything about your policy and ask them to send you the policy provisions so you can read them before you accept their payment. I had new auto insurance when my car was totaled yet my own insurance company tried to give me the lower 2+ year old car benefit instead of the 1 year. I only caught them because I read along in the policy and caught the adjustor skipping entire paragraphs. They benefit from Fing you around even when the other driver is at fault.

Also be careful on the phone. Both companies would love to have you say you somehow were 1% at fault because then you have to pay your deductible, insurance raises your rates, and your claim is closed.

[Anonymous]

can someone explain to me like a 5 year old what determines when a fender-bender or a little worse causes one driver to have to go to traffic court?