bogie@phoenix.UUCP (Rona J. Kopp) (04/22/85)
yesterday my car ('82 subaru) was totalled.
in short, a car travelling west swerved (to avoid another car)
into the eastbound lane hitting my car and the car following me.
Fortunately no apparent injuries.
i have never been involved in an accident of this sort.
i figured there must be some people 'out there' who have been,
who could offer advise. some of the questions i have running around
in my head follow. any responses/suggestions/warnings would be most
appreciated. thanks...
+ what expenses should i expect the insurance company to pick
up (towing/storage of 'car'/rental car/etc)?
+ it has been suggested that i visit a doctor immediately if i
think back/neck injury was at all possible-does this imply that
anything that might crop up is only 'covered' if i visit a dr. w/in 24
hours or so of the accident?
+ when the car is deemed 'totalled' - do i correctly assume
that i will get 'book value' for the car and the 'remains' of the car
are then the property of the insurance company?
+ the police dept. said the police report will be ready in 3-4
days. what steps do i follow once i get that report back? i.e. do i
contact the faulted driver's insurance company directly? (i assume
fault will be assigned - there seemed to be no question as to what
happened - there were many witnesses)
finally - anyone have any good recommendations on cars?
rona
--
Rona J. Kopp
AT&T Information Systems/Lincroft, NJ
{ihnp4|ahuta|pegasus}!phoenix!bogie
lz3f313 (201) 576-6315ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (04/22/85)
+ what expenses should i expect the insurance company to pick up (towing/storage of 'car'/rental car/etc)? Read your policy or ask your insurance company. And tell them IMMEDIATELY about the accident. Usually insurance will pick up the cost of renting a temporary car up to some small limit ($10/day, $.10/mile, 30 days is typical). + it has been suggested that i visit a doctor immediately if i think back/neck injury was at all possible-does this imply that anything that might crop up is only 'covered' if i visit a dr. w/in 24 hours or so of the accident? Read your policy. Also, ask yourself what you would do if you later developed back trouble, filed a claim, and were told "we won't pay you unless you can prove your back trouble is the result of your accident. Since you didn't see a doctor at the time, we assume you weren't injured then." + when the car is deemed 'totalled' - do i correctly assume that i will get 'book value' for the car and the 'remains' of the car are then the property of the insurance company? Yes. In effect, the insurance company is offering to buy your car from you for its canonical market value, even though it's wrecked. + the police dept. said the police report will be ready in 3-4 days. what steps do i follow once i get that report back? i.e. do i contact the faulted driver's insurance company directly? (i assume fault will be assigned - there seemed to be no question as to what happened - there were many witnesses) I am not completely certain about this, but I think that in a case where the accident is clearly the other guy's fault, your insurance company will file a claim with the other driver's insurance company. If that claim is accepted, you will get your deductible back. To be certain, ask your insurance company. I wouldn't expect to get very far trying to file a claim against the other guy's insurance. finally - anyone have any good recommendations on cars? Yes -- Volvos are extremely reliable and crashworthy.
jmd@rduxb.UUCP (Joseph M. Dakes, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, Pa.) (04/23/85)
> + when the car is deemed 'totalled' - do i correctly assume > that i will get 'book value' for the car and the 'remains' of the car > are then the property of the insurance company? > > Yes. In effect, the insurance company is offering to buy your car > from you for its canonical market value, even though it's wrecked. One thing to mention is that if you have any valuables in your car that you would like to keep such as seat covers, car stereo etc. get them out of your car before the insurance company inspects it. > + the police dept. said the police report will be ready in 3-4 > days. what steps do i follow once i get that report back? i.e. do i > contact the faulted driver's insurance company directly? (i assume > fault will be assigned - there seemed to be no question as to what > happened - there were many witnesses) > > I am not completely certain about this, but I think that in a case where > the accident is clearly the other guy's fault, your insurance company > will file a claim with the other driver's insurance company. If that > claim is accepted, you will get your deductible back. To be certain, > ask your insurance company. I wouldn't expect to get very far trying > to file a claim against the other guy's insurance. If you have a half-decent insurance company all you should have to do is file a claim with them and they'll take it from there. When my car was totaled about 4 years ago I did just that and received a check from the insurance company in less than 2 weeks. Joseph M. Dakes AT&T Bell Laboratories Reading, PA rduxb!jmd
tron@fluke.UUCP (Peter Barbee) (04/23/85)
> + when the car is deemed 'totalled' - do i correctly assume >that i will get 'book value' for the car and the 'remains' of the car >are then the property of the insurance company? What I say is true for Washington state, I assume the same works for you. If "their" insurance company has to pay for your car you need not be limited to book value, if you can make a case that your car was worth more. When you settle with the insurance company essentially you are settling a civil suit out of court, thus they may be willing to pay more than book to keep the case out of court. Don't attempt to rip the ocmpany off though, that is what drives everyone's (inlcuding yours) rates up. Also, you can claim anything that is part of the car that the company will not take into account when pating you off, such as a stereo, or maybe even fancy wheels. > + the police dept. said the police report will be ready in 3-4 >days. what steps do i follow once i get that report back? i.e. do i >contact the faulted driver's insurance company directly? (i assume >fault will be assigned - there seemed to be no question as to what >happened - there were many witnesses) > Contact the other insurance company immediately. > + it has been suggested that i visit a doctor immediately if i >think back/neck injury was at all possible-does this imply that >anything that might crop up is only 'covered' if i visit a dr. w/in 24 >hours or so of the accident? > I am not accusing Rona of ripping off the system, but I sure get pissed off at all the people who look to insurance companies for some easy bucks. It may be a wild generalization, but it looks to me like the majority of medical claims resulting from accidents are largely bogus. Especially stuff like "mental anguish", or "delayed emotional trauma". I feel that when the insurance companies must pay these claims they then raise my rates (to pay for someone else's greed) or effectively do not pay enough to those that truly deserve payment. Sorry, I'll get off the soapbox. Peter B
etan@tellab1.UUCP (Nate Stelton) (04/23/85)
In article <1137@phoenix.UUCP> bogie@phoenix.UUCP (Rona J. Kopp) writes: > + what expenses should i expect the insurance company to pick >up (towing/storage of 'car'/rental car/etc)? Since the accident was not technically your fault, make sure that the other guy's company picks up the tabs. Go for everything you personally feel entitled. Don't just sit back and expect. Negotiate. > + it has been suggested that i visit a doctor immediately if i >think back/neck injury was at all possible-does this imply that >anything that might crop up is only 'covered' if i visit a dr. w/in 24 >hours or so of the accident? Yes. BTW, my brother was in an accident where he didn't think neck injury was possible, so he didn't go. Three days later he was in much pain. > + when the car is deemed 'totalled' - do i correctly assume >that i will get 'book value' for the car and the 'remains' of the car >are then the property of the insurance company? Yes, but sometimes the company will offer partial book value and let you keep the remains. > + the police dept. said the police report will be ready in 3-4 >days. what steps do i follow once i get that report back? i.e. do i >contact the faulted driver's insurance company directly? (i assume >fault will be assigned - there seemed to be no question as to what >happened - there were many witnesses) Does NJ have state reports for you to fill out? If so, definitely do it. I suggest contacting the faulted driver's insurance company directly and immediately, unless your company specifically has told you not to. >finally - anyone have any good recommendations on cars? Decide what you want it to do and how much you are willing to spend before you go shopping. How about new or used Toyota SR-5's? -etan
ldenenbe@bbnccv.UUCP (Larry Denenberg) (04/24/85)
Be absolutely certain that you check the insurance company's calculation of "book value." When my car was totalled about two years ago, the company (Aetna) sent me an absurdly low figure. They claimed to be averaging the values specified in the two "books" (NADA Bluebook and NMR Redbook) but each computation was just a little off. They used the wrong tables or codes, calculated the mileage adjustment improperly, deducted $75 for a missing radio even though the book stated that a radio was $75 extra if present, and so forth. After I pointed all this out they simply paid according to my calculations---an extra $240. I was always a bit suspicious that each of their errors was in their favor, and that they were so quick to adopt my corrections without comment. Larry Denenberg larry@harvard
jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (04/25/85)
> Be absolutely certain that you check the insurance company's calculation > of "book value." When my car was totalled about two years ago, the company > (Aetna) sent me an absurdly low figure. I couldn't agree more. When our Fiat was totalled by some jerk who didn't think he had to yield on a left turn, his insurance company used both the book value and got estimates from 3 dealers of used foreign cars as to the value of the car. They came back to us with a surprisingly low figure. I did some screaming, and discovered they were getting estimates on an older make and smaller model Fiat. We got an extra $350 out of it. The point is, don't sit back. Be obnoxious if you have to. After all, you didn't ASK to have you car wrecked and your life interrupted. -- jcpatilla "'Get stuffed !', the Harlequin replied ..."
mat@hou4b.UUCP (Mark Terribile) (04/27/85)
>> + it has been suggested that i visit a doctor immediately if i >>think back/neck injury was at all possible-does this imply that >>anything that might crop up is only 'covered' if i visit a dr. w/in 24 >>hours or so of the accident? >> >I am not accusing Rona of ripping off the system, but I sure get pissed off >at all the people who look to insurance companies for some easy bucks. >It may be a wild generalization, but it looks to me like the majority of >medical claims resulting from accidents are largely bogus. Especially >stuff like "mental anguish", or "delayed emotional trauma". I feel that >when the insurance companies must pay these claims they then raise my >rates (to pay for someone else's greed) or effectively do not pay enough >to those that truly deserve payment. > I have a friend who got rear-ended at a stop sign a couple of months ago. About two days after the accident, her back started bothering her. She's been in and out of neck braces since then. It's not unusual for damage to the spinal column or the muscles that support it to be unnoticed for days, and if trouble does crop up, the sooner it get's checked out, the better. -- from Mole End Mark Terribile (scrape .. dig ) hou4b!mat on 5/1/85 ..,,. mtx5b!mat ,.. .,, ,,, ..,***_*.
phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (04/27/85)
> I am not accusing Rona of ripping off the system, but I sure get pissed off > at all the people who look to insurance companies for some easy bucks. I was hit by a woman who ran a red light. The police report placed her at fault. Her carrier, State Farm, jerked me around for weeks and weeks. I had a simple claim, no "pain and suffering", just pay for fixing my car. But they had no interest in settling. Finally I talked to a lawyer and he suggested I threaten to come down with "pain and suffering" if they didn't settle. I thought it was a sleazy disgusting technique but I couldn't afford to wait any longer and tried it. It worked. Now I am convinced that they are a bunch of sleazy crooks and you have to play their game if you want to just be fairly treated. -- I speak for myself and no one else. Phil Ngai (408) 749-5720 UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.ARPA
nyssa@abnji.UUCP (nyssa of traken) (04/29/85)
>Now I am convinced that they are a bunch of sleazy crooks and you have to >play their game if you want to just be fairly treated. In 1977 I was involved in an accident driving my mother's car. A truck decided that it (well, actually, its driver) wasn't obliged to pay attention to a policeman's traffic signals, and plowed into the side of mother's Lincoln. Legally, it was totalled, but my mother wanted it repaired. The insurance agent told my mother to go to a dealer out of the area and order the parts under an assumed name, as they told the local dealer that the car was totalled and not to be repaired. -- James C Armstrong, Jnr. ihnp4!abnji!nyssa Chap with wings there, five rounds rapid!
halle@hou2b.UUCP (J.HALLE) (04/29/85)
Many, many years ago, when I was still young and gullible, my PARKED car was hit by someone who rounded a corner wide. (I was >50ft from the corner.) She immediately left the scene. Fortunately, a witness got her license plate. I found out from the police who she was and confronted her. To make a long story short, her insurance company gave me a hard time and a runaround. At one point her agent said that she was being pretty nice about the whole thing, so don't push. I wish I had been quick enough to think to remind him that I was nice not to have her prosecuted for leaving the scene. I bet I'd have gotten quick results then.
allan@nmtvax.UUCP (04/29/85)
Sometimes, though, the insurance companies work in your favor:
A long time ago (a couple years), I bought a relatively trashed out '74
VW Super Beetle for $1095. Six months later, I totalled the car and
the insurance company gave me $2200 for it. That was enough to pay off
what I owed, buy another car, and pay insurance for a little longer.
Oh well,
Allan F. Perry
...cmc12!lanl!nmtvax!allan
^
|____ Happy with this path, Dieterhasiuk@spp2.UUCP (Lee Hasiuk) (04/29/85)
I know someone whose premium condition 914-6 was hit by a guy in a VW bug who ran a light that had been red for over ten seconds. There were several witnesses, one of whom had been stopped at the red light that the guy ran (his car landed upside down on hers). Anyway, the front of the 914 was a mess, and the VW's insurance company refused to declare the 914 'totaled'. Instead, they wanted to have a body shop cut the car in half, find another 914 (probably not a six) that had been wrecked in the back, and use the two pieces to weld up a 'repaired car'. The body shop guy that if the owner was really concerned about strength, that he would lap weld the joints, instead of butt welding them! As you can probably tell, this wasn't acceptable to the fanatic owner of the car, so he started taking all sorts of steps to force the insurance company to total the car. First he demanded a rental car (of course), so that the company would be paying for delays. The car had been his only means of transportation, yet he still had to negotiate with the company for a rental. Then he damanded that the wheels and other suspension components be x-rayed to inspect for cracks. He would call them every day with some new gem that he had thought of to cost them money. One day, he called and said that he had priced having the car fixed at the factory, and wanted them to provide a check to pay for the shipping carton to air-freight the car to Germany (about $15,000 just for shipping expenses). Finally, (probably to get him off their back) they asked him if he would accept totalling the car, with the price to be determined from used car ads in the L.A. Times.
knight@nmtvax.UUCP (04/30/85)
Right on, Phil! State Farm IS a bunch of crooks. I had my Datsun (which had lots of aftermarket goodies on it) totalled by some cretin in Palo Alto. State Farm refused to give me more than book value for it. So, I bought another Datsun, stripped mine, and gave them the hulk. To other netters: don't flame me about driving insurance rates up; I wasn't going to let them make a profit on the car at my expense, which they most certainly would have had I let them. Bob
era@hao.UUCP (Ed Arnold) (05/02/85)
> + it has been suggested that i visit a doctor immediately if i > think back/neck injury was at all possible-does this imply that > anything that might crop up is only 'covered' if i visit a dr. w/in 24 > hours or so of the accident? Since I'm not licensed to practice medicine, I won't say what I think you ought to do! However, you might want to draw a conclusion from the following story; note especially that there's a lot more involved (namely, your health) than the issue of who pays for an exam. I received a severe blow to my body in May 84, as the result of being thrown to the pavement in a bicycle accident. Over five months later, my lower back went into severe spasms and I was out of work for an extended period. I finally had an x-ray evaluation by a reputable chiropractor, who found that my spine was twisted and certain nerves were being pinched; there was little doubt that this was due to the accident many months before. Treatment stopped the spasm, but I still have problems with my lower back and probably will for the rest of my life. -- Ed Arnold NCAR/SCD (Nat'l Ctr for Atmospheric Research/Scientific Computing Div.) USPS: POB 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 BELL: 303-497-1253 UUCP: {hplabs,nbires,brl-bmd,seismo,menlo70}!hao!scd-sa!era
phil@osiris.UUCP (Philip Kos) (05/03/85)
I wish my parents had heard that great 914 story a few years ago. They had a '77 VW Rabbit Diesel which was totalled by a twit in a Celica who drove straight into the back of the Rabbit instead of following the road (which turned left at that point). Apparently, the body shop who towed the wrecks away made a deal with my parents' insurance company to fix the Rabbit for some quantity of money slightly less than what the company would spend if they called it totalled. "Fixing" the car involved cutting the tail end off at the B pil- lar and welding on the back end from an '80 Rabbit (NOT even a Diesel!) When the shop finally "finished" the car, approximately four months later, my father promptly took it back with a list of about 40 serious defects for them to correct. After six more months and maybe a dozen trips back to the shop, the list had shrunk to about 5 serious defects and a dozen or so "minor prob- lems" (like a leaking fuel tank). He never even noticed the pronounced corkscrew twist between the two halves. Moral: stay away from the Liberty Mutual insurance company, and NEVER fix a car when it can be totalled. Phil Kos The Johns Hopkins Hospital (A friend of Rob's who drives a little faster than he does)
brett@ucla-cs.UUCP (05/08/85)
> Many, many years ago, when I was still young and gullible, my PARKED > car was hit by someone who rounded a corner wide. (I was >50ft from > the corner.) She immediately left the scene. Fortunately, a witness > got her license plate. I found out from the police who she was and > confronted her. To make a long story short, her insurance company > gave me a hard time and a runaround. At one point her agent said that > she was being pretty nice about the whole thing, so don't push. > I wish I had been quick enough to think to remind him that I was nice > not to have her prosecuted for leaving the scene. I bet I'd have > gotten quick results then. I had a hit and run on my RX7, similar to your situation. It was a H-and-R. At my insurance company's instructions, I rented a car and they paid for it. They suggested I waive damages on the rental. So I did. I parked the rental on the street out front and some creep, borrow- ing his friend's car hit the rental car. It wasnt a bad bash, about $500 or $600 I'd imagine. It just looked really ugly. I called the guy and told him (the owner) about the accident the night it occurred and he thanked me and was nice. He said a friend was using the car. I called him several days later, for some reason, but basically I wanted to get State farm to pay the claim as quickly as possible. State Farm was nice, but they said they would investigate and get back to me. I called the guy (the owner of the car that hit me) and he was antagonistic and claimed the "car was stolen". You see the accident involved three cars: mine, the owners and the person the driver hit head-on, who was taken to the hospital. Once again, my rental was parked. Well, I called the agent at State Farm told him this, and they said they'd investigate. Meanwhile, the rental place collected 100.00 from me (my deductable in case I had to file another claim....you pay the rental outfit the deductable and my insurance company would pay them IF I CAUSED THE ACCIDENT). Since I didnt cause the accident it was logical for State Farm to pay me back my deductable and pay the rental agency the remainder. Unfortunately, the case dragged for a three or more weeks, so I filed the claim thru my insurance company. Especially with the owner claiming the car was stolen. You see if the car is stolen State Farm doesnt have to pay the claim off (at least that's what the State Farm agent said). When you file a claim thru your company it's still considered a claim... whether it's your fault or not, whether they get the money from State Farm or not. The process of insurance companies getting money from one anothers insured is called "subrogation". Eventually my company Aetna did subrogate the case against State Farm. Aenta called me and agreed the owner of the vehicle that hit my rental was lying. Unfortunately, I learned from this fiasco filing for subrogation is considered a claim, thus my claims were considered a total of two claims. My insurance company made threats to discontinue the policy when it came to renewel (they sent out a discontinue notice at renewel time, I had three previous claims, mostly minor stuff) My agent called up and smoothed things out. As it turns out, they raised the deductable another 100.00. The lesson: try to get the money direct. Subrogation should be used as a second choice. Subrogation may be counted as a claim against you. It's advisable NOT TO WAIVE the damage waiver on your rental. If a jerk hits you, you have two claims. -- Brett Fleisch University of California Los Angeles 3804 Boelter Hall Los Angeles, CA 90024 Phone: (213) 825-2756, (213) 474-5317 brett@ucla-cs.ARPA or ...!{cepu, ihnp4, trwspp, ucbvax}!ucla-cs!brett -------------------------------------------------------------------------
doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) (05/11/85)
> It's advisable NOT TO WAIVE the damage waiver on your rental.
I have always paid the extra for full collision coverage. One incident
probably paid for all of the premiums for the rest of my life. I'd left
a brand-new rental car with the valet parking at the hotel in New
Orleans I was staying at. When I got it back, the entire left front was
crumpled in -- headlight completely missing, just plain wiped out. Of
course, the valet claimed "It was like that when you brought it in."
Another time, I didn't take the coverage on a business trip, as my (then)
employer self-insured. Came out from the meeting to find the right side
of the car smashed in, both front and rear doors. My employer got hit
with two incidents that week -- another employee rented a car in Dallas,
and it was raining cats and dogs so he didn't look it over. Turned out
the rear end had been smashed in before he'd gotten it, no taillights or
anything left (he was wondering why the turn signals didn't work :-)
Have you checked the amount of the deductible? $1000 to $2000 is not
unusual. Pay the extortion (er, insurance) and sleep easier.
--
Doug Pardee -- Terak Corp. -- !{ihnp4,seismo,decvax}!noao!terak!doug
^^^^^--- soon to be CalComp