Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with insurance and damage

Bus bent my bike; am I stuck with the damage?

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:18:18 -0800

Locked my bike to a post, and a bus sideswiped my bike. Am I stuck with the damage? I stupidly locked my bike to a garbage can near a bus stop. A bus driver trying to squeeze past a left-turning car clipped my bike and pretzeled my wheel.

The damage is probably about $300 (unless the frame is bent in which case it's $1500). I don't have insurance. I do have photos of the scene of the collision, and two witnesses. I've made a report to the Toronto Transit Commission, and in three weeks I'll know what their claims department thinks of it.

Has anyone else tried to claim property damage from a Canadian transit system? What should I expect? If their claims department says no, what should I do?

Any not-legal-advice would be much appreciated

Is it worth a claim?

lizjohn — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:45:50 -0800

Sometime last night someone severely scraped the side of my car while is was parked at my apartment complex. They left no note. What are my options? I'm afraid I'm just going to have to grin and bear it, but I'm hoping there's some recourse I'm not thinking of. I didn't notice the damage until I got to work just a few minutes ago and I remember there was no one parked next to me when I left. It's a long, low scrape starting from the drivers door to the back of the back wheelwell. The bottom panels are pushed in and there is paint residue. It seems to be cosmetic, both doors open and the tire seems fine. Should I make an insurance claim? Do I need a police report for that? Is it not with my premiums going up?

This whole thing miffs me. My husband and I only have one car and we try to keep it nice. I've never had anything like this happen, outside of a few door dings. Sorry if this is rambly.

What the hail, I'm keeping the car

weathergal — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:45:51 -0800

I'm the owner of a 2002 Toyota Corolla which just hit 107,000 miles. On June 9th while I was at work, my car got hammered by some pretty large hail. The damage was enough that my insurance (Progressive) declared it a total loss. My frugal heart couldn't bear to have them tow away a perfectly drivable car, so I took the lesser payout (just under $5000) and kept it. Now what? Some pics can be seen here, although I had a lot of trouble getting the dents to show up well, and it looks worse in person. There are some cracks in the paint starting to show up near the front fender dent and on the trunk, so PDR won't work in those areas. The windshield was a safety issue, and has already been fixed.

I'm rather confused about getting a salvage title. The guy at the shop where I replaced my windshield said I didn't need to get one, and from my reading of this Kansas statute cosmetic stuff like hail damage is exempt. However, the lady at the titles office in Topeka said yes, I needed to get one, and an insurance agent from another agency confirmed this. I'm hoping to move by the end of the year, so how would a Kansas salvage title affect trying to register the car in another state?

I've already started to put some money into an account for the next car, and my original plan was to bank almost all of the insurance money, and continue to put a small amount in each month. In 2-3 years, the account would be in the 5 figure range and I could get a fairly nice used car for cash.

However, I've started to second guess myself. The insurance agent I talked to above seemed to assume I'd get it fully fixed, as he told me to keep the receipts in case I have to file a claim again with my insurance. There are many "hail specialist" tents around town, and they probably could fix at least a few of the bigger dents for less than my original estimate. Or is this throwing good money after bad?

If I do continue driving it as a dented up car (with a probable salvage title), how much money should I put into it in the future? Obviously, I'd want to keep it road worthy with oil changes and other maintenance, but what about the minor annoyances? For instance, my brake pads that I got replaced last August are squeaking, despite being in for adjustments several times already. Is it worth the time and money to try and get rid of the squeak?

Thanks, and sorry this was so long.

How to manage two consecutive car accidents?

fermion — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:03:28 -0800

My parked car got hit by a truck. Then, before I could get it fixed, it got hit by another truck. How do I handle two claims at once? The first accident was a couple of months ago--a truck hit my parked car and ripped my rear bumper halfway off. The wheels of paperwork have been grinding slowly, partly just because I've been busy, so I'm still working things out with that insurance company and hadn't fixed the damage yet. This morning, a garbage truck hit my (again, parked--I haven't driven it at all for a few months) car and did some damage to the door and mirrors, as well as taking my bumper the rest of the way off.

What do I tell the garbage truck's insurance company about this most recent incident? I don't want to get compensated for the same damages twice, but I also don't want to give them an excuse to claim all the damage was pre-existing. I know that the appropriate actions in situations like this can be counter-intuitive, so I'm hoping you folks can give me some advice.

Potentially relevant info: I'm in Washington State, and my insurance is liability-only (it's an old car) so I'm dealing with the other insurance companies directly rather than through my own insurer.

Should I file a claim for hail damage?

stovenator — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:06:01 -0800

My car has a few dings in it from a hailstorm last night. Should I file a claim with my insurance? I drive a 2006 BMW 330i, and I have two or three dings on the roof, and one or two on the hood. My comprehensive deductible is $500 . Is it worth it for me to submit a claim? How much is it likely going to cost me to get it fixed?

When a tree falls in the woods, does the insurance company punish you?

10ch — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 06:48:48 -0800

At what dollar amount do I draw the line for making a homeowners insurance claim? We had a very large tree fall last week. It caused some damage to the house and the tree had to be cut up and dealt with. All in all it'll come in around two grand for repairs, should I claim it on my insurance?

So far the answers/anecdotes I've heard from people are all over the place. Some say it's not worth it to claim anything below ten grand. Others say claim if it's above your deductible (as low as $250!). I've heard of the "three strikes" rule and about the national databases that count even queries against you. It all sounds like a nightmare.

I want to be able to draw some sort of line. Should I claim if it's above a thousand? Five thousand? Ten thousand? Personal anecdotes, especially if they deal with life post-similar-sized claim, are welcome.

If it matters: I live in North Carolina and can pay cash for the repairs (though dropping two grand is wince-worthy).

Pssst.... wanna Sony HDTV for $48 ?

lobstah — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:21:14 -0800

A shipping company totaled a TV from my MIL's estate. My paperwork says that our shipment was insured for $.60 per lb. Does this mean that the 2 year old, $1200 HDTV will only net me $48, because the pile of circuits that's left weighs in at 80 lbs? This was a move done by North American Van Lines from start to finish, including packing. My sister in law was the contact, so all I have is the Bill Of Lading. On it, I see that she chose the $.60 per pound option for insurance. Does that apply to all the contents, or is each item calculated differently with a cap dictated by the $.60 per lb policy? Anyone else ever have this happen...and how was it handled?

Can I recover damages after a power surge?

monkeystronghold — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 13:16:59 -0800

power surge damage: last night something went wacko on my neighborhood power grid, and stuff started popping and blowing up and burning (in 6-8 other houses as well). We shut off all of the breakers as quick as we could, but when we woke up this morning lots of stuff was destroyed. Will anyone pay for the damage? [MI] It's a rental duplex. The other tenant and nearby neighbors have damage as well. I have no renters insurance (because I am a buffoon). Should the electric company pay for it? My landlord? Me? Is it even worth talking to anyone?

Bad Faith Insurance

jasonspaceman — Fri, 17 Sep 2004 14:00:35 -0800

Is an insurance company acting in 'bad faith' after initially promising coverage, and giving you a claim number only a week later to deny you coverage? [more inside] We had water damage (and eventually mold damage) from the remnants of the last hurricane that came through. As soon as I figured out that we were in for some trouble, I called the insurance company and explained the situation. They told me that I was covered and gave me a claim number. It is now a week later and they are telling me that I am not covered. After researching the policy, I am not covered.

Is it legally, in bad faith for the insurance company to say that you are covered and give you a claim number? It is too late in the day to get ahold of someone so I thought I might ask here to get a foot hold on my situation to mentally prepare myself for what's coming next.