Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with insurance and cars

Car rental insurance: vital or scam?

cgs — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:50:14 -0800

Car rental insurance: what should I get? - I don't have any primary auto insurance (don't own a car).
- This is just in the states (NY, NJ, PA)
- I am renting via my credit card which has Master Rental Insurance (http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/gen-content/en.htm). They said on the phone that they become the primary insurer since I don't have auto insurance, that it is the same category (damage/loss... mentioned in that document as well).

Does this mean I just need to worry about hitting someone else?

I don't understand the various insurance labels and want to be as well informed as possible when I get to the counter. I hate feeling pressured or like they are taking advantage of me.

Thanks for your help-
cgs

Prepare for some abuse

reformedjerk — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:08:12 -0800

Shady auto body shop in Toronto. Help me prepare myself... My gf was driving my car this weekend (we live in Toronto) and slid into the back of a stopped streetcar. Thankfully she and her friends are alright, but the car sustained some damage in the front. At the time of the accident, some tow driver came up and offered to tow them to the nearest autobody shop (Frank's Collsion). I later found out that the tow truck company and Frank's are one and the same.

Having talked with the insurance adjuster today, I decided it was best to have the car fixed at a shop that was part of the insurer's network (I'm insured with Belair). I tried calling Frank's to clear the car to be towed by the new body shop, but both their phone numbers are constantly busy. When I called the new body shop, they informed me that Frank's is notorious for being a bit of a dodgy shop and their m.o. is showing up at accident sites and towing cars straight to their shop for "storage" at outrageous rates. In any case, I was informed that the best way to sort this out was to drive down to Frank's with a tow-truck from the new body shop. But I was also told to expect a lot of verbal abuse from these guys and that since my gf signed some documents at the time of towing, they were most likely going to fight very hard to keep the car there.

My question is, what should I be looking out for when I go there? I own the car and it's registered under my name, so I don't think they can really do any work on my car regardless of what my gf signed. Is there anything else I should watch out for? What if I show up and the car's already in a million pieces being fixed? Who should I get in touch with then? Sorry for the long question. I just don't like the feeling that I'm walking into a scam, and want to be as prepared as possible.

Insurance screw-up, who's resonsible for the fine?

spaltavian — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:38:07 -0800

My friend's car was totaled in January by a drunk driver. She sold it back to the insurance company and bought a new car. Somewhere, someone screwed up: her car insurance was never switched from her old car to her new car. She was, however, able to switch her tags to the new car and register it. Nonetheless, until last month, she was paying insurance on a totaled car that she no longer owned. She just got a fine from Maryland Vehicle Administration for 2K+ for having tags on an uninsured vehicle. What should she do? The insurance company is blaming the car dealership, and Maryland just wants its money. Isn't her paying insurance on a car the insurance company owned illegal?

I told her she should get a hold of all the documents- canceled checks to the insurance company, registrations, sales slips- and set up an appointment with a supervisor at the the MVA. If that fails, I told her to lawyer up.

I figure either she won't have to pay the fine, or she'll have to be refunded all her insurance payments since January. However, I am not a lawyer nor have I ever had to tangle with the MVA or insurance companies like this before. Any advice? Thank you in advance.

Twelve times a year, or once a month?

Estragon — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:27:18 -0800

My (Geico) insurance allows another person to drive my car up to twelve times a year and still be covered. Can they use up all twelve times in a single week? I'm driving to a nearby town to catch a plane, and leaving my car with a friend there. My Geico insurance covers other drivers, as long as they're not driving it more than twelve times a year. But it's clear from conversations with Geico phone representatives that they mean "approximately once a month" not "twelve times any time that suits you." I'd like to know how this policy would play out practically, if there were a claim while my friend was driving.

Should we repair unclaimed damage before an inspection?

Anonymous — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:18:22 -0800

Ontario car insurance. My wife and I have insurance through PC financial. Over the last year, our cars have been damaged, but we haven't filed a claim. Now, they've requested an inspection of our cars. Is this just to ensure they don't pay for preexisting damage in the event of future claims, or can we expect them to get mad/raise rates for this? My wife's car was damaged when I was a blind idiot in a parking lot. I did about $800-1000 damage to my wife's car which we haven't gotten fixed, and about $900 in damage to a nice lady's car. We paid her cash (the quote to repair the damage came much lower than we were anticipating), and had her sign an agreement/receipt for the cash and that she had no further claims against us. 5+ months later and we haven't heard further from her. Neither party reported this to the police. This is a newer, but low sticker price car.

Someone tried unsuccessfully to break into my car. In the process of this, both door handles were popped partially out of the car. I had an estimate of $300 to fix. It's a mid-age low sticker price car. We had reported this to the police. We were told that there was a series of successful auto thefts in our area that night, to consider ourselves lucky that they failed with my car, and that they were unlikely to catch the culprits. This occured 6-12 months ago.

We have just enough money in savings to get these fixed if we need to. But we're alright with the unsightliness and would rather have the money for future emergencies that don't involve cosmetic damage to possessions.

Should we get the cars fixed ASAP and then bring them in for the inspection? Should we have notified the insurance company of damage to the cars that we weren't making claims for and then bring the cars in? Should we just bring the cars in and let them make notes and then go our merry way? Should we start budgeting for a rate increase?

Somebody claims I scratched their car.

JonahBlack — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:32:11 -0800

Somebody claims I scratched their car. What now? This is in Massachusetts.

My doorbell just rang and it was someone claiming my car scratched theirs.

Earlier today, my wife pulled our car out of the driveway and parked it on the street behind a black Volvo. The Volvo's owners claimed that our car had been touching theirs, and that we had put a pair of scratches on their rear bumper.

Since my wife wasn't home to verify if she had bumped their car at all, I went out to have a look. The first thing I noticed was that they had moved their car a few feet forward, so there was no way I could know it the two cars had been touching Next, I noticed that the scratches were two horizontal lines, about the same height off the ground, but in two different locations: one slightly to the left of center, and one almost all the way to the right (we were both parked on the left side of a one way street).

I told them I was sorry their car was scratched, but that I couldn't claim to be responsible, and that I couldn't see how we had done it. They insisted that we trade insurance information. I said that was fine, as long as I could take pictures. I got my camera, and took a couple dozen pictures of the damage, including using a tape measure to show scale. As far as I can tell, there's no way we could have caused the damage, even if the cars were touching.

What should I do now? Should I preemptively call my insurance company? Should I just wait until they file a complaint with theirs? What should I have done differently (my wife says I should have refused to give them any insurance info)?

I don't want my insurance rate to go up because they claim that I did damage, even if I didn't, and even if they couldn't prove it even if I had.

Trend Change in Accidents for Young Men.

meta.mark — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:46:42 -0800

Has there been any change in trend of accident rates for men under 25 since insurance companies have charge higher rates? Or has the trend been unaffected by this economic incentive?

Help my boy take home a Camaro!

konolia — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:57:48 -0800

So, my son bought a car off Ebay. He's in Colorado, the car is in Maryland. He will be flying to Maryland to pick up the car on Spring Break and driving back-but there's one little problem... ...Colorado won't give him temp tags because the car is in Maryland and Maryland won't give him temp tags because he is not a Maryland
resident. So....how can he get the car legal to drive back to USAFA with it? He is presently calling the insurance people to see what they suggest but meanwhile I thought the hive mind might have some ideas. (The car is a refurbished Camaro, and this is kinda his graduation present to himself-so if I'm not chewing him out for buying off of ebay, let's not go there here either. )

Should we submit a claim for an accident between two cars we both own?

Ostara — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:39:17 -0800

I backed into my husband's car today with my SUV, and I think I caused about $3000 in damage. Are we better off submitting a claim to our insurance company, or handling this out of our own pocket? We have called our insurance company already and asked them this same question. They can't tell us how much our insurance will go up because "claims and underwriting are different departments."

We're taking the car to a body shop tomorrow for an official estimate. It is a 2006 Civic. The front bumper and front quarter panel are damaged, as well as the front headlight. It is possible that it may be even more than my guesstimate.

My car, a 2003 Santa Fe, is ok aside from a few scratches on the bumper.

I know I'm an idiot and I feel so bad. Suggestions on how to get back into my husband's good graces are also welcome.

Donde estan sus papeles?

mdonley — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 07:37:39 -0800

Can we leave our California-registered car in the Tijuana airport parking lot for a week? Should we? Mom and I are going to Mexico City in April for my birthday (yay!), and it's heaps cheaper to fly from Tijuana instead of LAX, and we live about the same distance from both.

The plan is this:

- drive down there
- cross at Otay Mesa (which is thankfully not San Ysidro, the busiest border crossing in the world)
- drive to the airport (theoretically just ten minutes away!)
- park
- enjoy a TSA-goon-free airport experience
- fly to Mexico City
- repeat in reverse a week later

So: does anyone know if we leave our car at the airport for that period of time? Should we? What needs to happen at the border - do we need to get some sort of importation permit for the car since we're there for more than 72 hours? Where do our passports get stamped at a drive-through border like Otay Mesa? And what if something happens to the car and we're far away, but still in Mexico - do we need to be physically near our car for the insurance we may have to purchase to apply?

Various posts and links here have talked about driving past the "border zone," or just travelling by car in Mexico generally, but none seem to have addressed this specific question.

NB: We (sort of) speak Spanish, and we live ten miles from a Mexican consulate. We've also parked at those adjacent-to-the-border parking places in San Ysidro, but they seem to be far shadier than an official airport parking lot would be.

Thanks/Gracias!

removal of minimal hail damage

specialk420 — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 00:29:04 -0800

are there any methods to remove very minimal hail damage that work well? i have a number of barely perceptible hail dings in my fairly sweet ride - im curious if anyone has had any luck with paintless dent removal? or if its a lost cause and an insurance claim? other suggestions? total dents probably in the 20 - 30 range on roof and hood.

What to expect from auto insurance companies in an ackward situation?

Darke — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 07:50:00 -0800

My current auto insurance policy expires in 11 days. At the beginning of the month, I bought a policy from another company to start on the same day my current policy ended. Today, I was in a car accident. How would the fact that I'm not renewing my current policy affect me? For the last 18 months, I've been covered through Progressive Direct. Faced with a tightening financial situation, I shopped around and found a policy from a different company for roughly $40 less a month. I bought & prepaid this policy. However, I didn't tell Progressive yet that I wasn't renewing my policy with them.

Earlier today, I was involved in a minor accident where the front of my car sustained some damage. I scheduled to bring my car to the local Progressive-affiliated shop tomorrow. However, I've never gone through this situation before and unsure what to expect, or if the fact that I'm switching insurance companies in a week is going to hurt me.

How do I fight back after uninsured guy smashed my car?

finitejest — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 06:52:33 -0800

I was involved in an accident Friday (in Tennessee) and it was the other driver's fault... I was driving down the road and the other driver pulled out from a side street in front of me. I couldn't break in time to avoid hitting him.

My front end was several damaged, my airbags deployed and my windshield was shattered. I didn't suffer any injuries other than bruises.

In the police report that was issued, the other driver was put at fault for failure to yield (he claimed he didn't see me), but no tickets were issued.

I asked for the drivers insurance information which he provided.

The real fun began Monday morning when I called his insurance agency to find out about getting my car repaired. I found out that while yes, he was insured with them, that particular car was not covered. The agent allowed as how the guy had, last year, asked for a quote on the car that was in the accident, but never got it covered.

I have good insurance with state farm, and they're now handling it as an uninsured motorist claim. The damages to my car (a 1998 Mercury Tracer with a KBB of about 3k or so) amount to $4700.

They'll probably total it.

Here comes my problem - I have a feeling I'll get about 1k less than the amount it would cost to buy a new car of the same type and same condition after taxes, titles, and tags. I also just 2 weeks ago put on 2 new tires at the cost of about $150 and a new AC part for $375. I also have a stereo that I purchased and paid to have installed

Here's my question ...

How screwed am I?

1. If I get less than it costs to buy a used car of the same kind, can I take this guy to small claims court to recoup the rest of the monies? What about the tires and the AC? I would think they have a value over time that I'm now out.

2. Is driving an uninsured car in Tennessee against the law? Can I report that?

3. Is there anything I need to mention to my insurance agent about this to try and get the most money if they do decide to total it?

And where do I get the lambs?

schroedinger — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 08:43:28 -0800

Auto Insurance: What? I'm going to be buying my first car. I have no idea how to start looking for auto insurance. I live in Maryland. The car's going to be a borderline junker (used car, bought for no more than $2,000-$3,000) and I'm a college student, so whatever coverage I get will be the bare minimum.

How do I go about finding the lowest insurance? I know car types influence their decision. Sports cars are right out, red cars are supposedly bad, Hondas are easily stolen, older cars get more expensive quotes. You can improve your insurance by modifying your car so it's harder to steal. Then you have to pick the best deal from a company--GEICO or Allstate? Random mom 'n' pop operation (do these exist)? How do I balance cost of insurance versus cost of car versus cost of modifications to maximize cost-benefit? How many pure-white lambs should I sacrifice to the insurance gods to get a good deal, and is it OK for me to wear a loincloth to the midnight ceremonies or do I really have to be stark naked?

Car insurance in the Bay Area?

symphonik — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 20:02:50 -0800

BayAreaInsuranceFilter: What's the best and most reasonably-priced Bay Area insurer? I am moving to the San Francisco Bay Area (specifically the Silicon Valley) permanently next month and will need to get new car insurance as I migrate off my parents'. I got quotes from a couple of the big dogs (Progressive and Geico, the latter being cheaper), but would like to know people's experiences in the Bay Area with both of those companies as well as any others -- as well as the kind of insurance coverage you find necessary out there. I'm aware California probably has many more uninsured motorists than other places (a fair if un-PC assumption), but probably has less in the way of the acts-of-God kind of damage (hail, rock chips) that I'm used to here in the mountains.

I am 24, have only one accident (not my fault) on my record, and none in the last five years. I did recently get cited for running a red light, though. Also, my new job has pretty significant medical coverage, is it worth buying more along with my car insurance?

Any assistance/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Liabilities for loaning/renting out a car

wildblueyonder — Fri, 13 May 2005 10:10:52 -0800

What legal issues exist for loaning out or perhaps even renting out a car that you own? I have a vehicle that I may not be using for a few months. I've considered trying to rent its use for a low price or perhaps even simply lending it for free to someone in need. I'm concerned about liability issues, however. Am I, as the owner, responsible for damage/injury caused by the vehicle if someone else is driving it?

Can requiring a loanee to carry insurance or having them sign something indicating responsibility cover me?

Or would I just want to make sure I've got liability on the car myself, no matter what?