Car Accident, How To Handle with Special Snowflake Details
July 29, 2019 12:18 PM Subscribe
FML, I was in an accident last night. Mostly okay, but did go to the ER for neck pain, where I got a ct scan and it's only soft tissue "whip lash". It was the other drivers fault, but I am so broke I don't know how to navigate the little expenses and problems to deal with this. I don't know if and what i should be asking his insurance for, if I should be getting a lawyer, and wtf to do about the money I can't make right now because I was doing food delivery. More details inside.
I'm living on just a really tight line of barely making ends meet doing delivery via postmates and doordash. I was doing a delivery last night when a guy from out of town crossed into my lane as I was driving by and hit me. He was lost, stopped in the road trying to figure it out, my lane was clear so I was just continuing forward and he suddenly lurches his car forward and into my lane.
The road is two lane one way, he was in the right lane, me in the left. Confused drivers and cars stopped in that part of town/stretch of road is not uncommon, which is why I didn't bother to stop and wait. They wait for traffic to pass to move. He didn't. There was another car not involved in the accident stopped waiting for him to figure out his shit that was probably blocking his view, but I also suspect he was frustrated to lurch forward that erratically with that speed. I saw him, exclaimed what the hell and tried to break, but it was too late.
So we both pulled off, I pulled into an empty parking lot. We exchanged info. I called my insurance, Geico. They said because I was doing food delivery, I might not be covered because I had a personal policy, not a business one - I didn't know I needed that and am pissed. They still filed the claim, he said it was a grey area they're figuring out.
One of the other car's passengers called the police but said they wouldn't come and to exchange information, deal with insurance, which we were already doing. I am both unsurprised but also was shaken up enough that I didn't think to call myself and took them at their word (a friend suggested maybe they lied).
They were in a rental car, from out of town. Just flew in a couple hours prior. I have all that information in my phone.
My shit - my registration is expired. I have been too broke to pay it, using delivery to catch up and hoping to get it taken care of in a couple weeks.
Car insurance is up to date, though its one of the bills this week I needed to cover and now I don't know what I'm going to do for money.
Geico said its not clear if they cover my car because of doing postmates. Said it was a gray area. Said since it was the other drivers fault, I should try going directly through the other guys insurance. I don't now how to do that (More in a moment).
Geico couldn't provide a courtesy tow because of the above reason, so my car is parked in the same parking lot. Unless it was towed.
Lot I left it in is a private lot with signs posted saying unauthorized vehicles will be towed. Since it was a sunday night, I figured I could call in the morning, explain what happened and ask if I could leave it there until I could figure out where to have it towed. However, I ended up parking in the Mexican Consulate lot, and their phone menu is mostly in spanish which i don't speak. 0 doesn't take me to an operator, it repeats the menu. The only english option is for emergencies related to immediate health and safety and that feels wrong to use given the immigration crisis we're facing in this country.
I literally don't have money to have my car towed. I don't have a credit card that isn't maxed out, and I'm honestly really just finally starting to get back on my feet so I don't have a lot of options.
I feel like I should be able to get the other guys insurance to pay to have it towed, does that sound right? Should I call and ask/tell them that?
I think I should probably have it towed directly to a repair shop. My car is relatively new, a 2017 honda fit. (My first new car, my baby, paid cash outright so no car loans. I was in a much better situation then) Someone said I should only take it to a Honda Dealership to have repaired, not whatever bodyshop the insurance recommends since they'll want it to be cheap. Is that normal, do dealerships do that kind of work?
I don't really know if my car is drivable. I was able to pull off the road with it, and later move to a parking space as opposed to leaving in the middle of the lot. But the car was leaking fluid and I couldn't get the hood open to try and see what fluid it was. The damage/impact was the passenger side front bumper, front quarter panel and front door. The front passenter door wouldn't open at first but eventually I gave it a tug and it did (I probably shouldn't have but I was frustrated.) It also let out a big metallic groan about 10 min after accident.
Shortly after the accident, I texted and called a friend who is a medical resident and asked if I should go to hospital or urgent care just to make sure I was okay. I was feeling fine at first, but as the adrenaline wore off, had neck pain. He ended up driving me to emergency room where they did a ct scan, and its all a okay other than soft tissue/pain issues. It hurts but not the worst pain. I'm icing, have muscle relaxers and am taking alternating tylenol and ibuprofen.
I'm not joking about being broke. See my post history. I'm literally just starting to work doing food delivery in the past week and a half? Two weeks? Time has been flying. I don't have credit cards available or safety net such as family; I'm worried about the incidental expenses I can't afford. Like if for some reason I have to go through my insurance, I don't have the $500 deductable. I don't have money to get my car towed, I don't have money to recover my car if it's towed where I've parked it.
A friend is going to drive me to my car in a little bit, hes gotta take care of some stuff first.
Also should I be talking to a lawyer? I seem mostly fine, but one of my frustrations is now the money I was going to make over the next couple days isn't possible. I was in the middle of a good delivery run during the dinner rush, had just started an hour prior and expected to go for another hour or two depending. That as mostly going to be my week. Now I don't have a car and I'm not sure how much driving I'm going to be doing with my neck feeling this way and with the muscle relaxers I was given. We may only be talking a few hundred in lost wages (I don't know, I'm new enough that I'm jsut hitting my stride, just started a second delivery service which helped keep me constantly doing deliveries.)
I am going back to school in the fall, and the school does have an emergency fund where if there is some sort of emergency that would make it impossible to stay in school, you could apply for. The thing is, I'm not in school yet.
I am just running out of time for everything. I've been walking this tightrope to get into school, I dont have my financial aid done, I literally got the taxes I need done Friday, got through FAFSA yesterday afternoon but didn't submit because I wanted to check it over one more time after I ran my deliveries. Hah. I was supposed to take care of a few things last night and this morning that needed to be done by end of month that now I can't get to. Including finding a dentist for a tooth that is bothering me because of course.
I didn't think to find/talk to any witnesses. There were people there that saw, but I just wasn't in that headspace. I was pretty shaken up. It's been a good 20+ years since I had an accident and I just didn't know what I was doing. The driver admitted fault, but I'm worried that he'll change his story. I did see someone with a cell phone possibly recording it, but I don't know if he recorded the accident or aftermath (wondering if he was recording before to capture whatever dumbassery was happening with the driver to put him in that position)
I feel like I should be able to do the following, but I wanted advice if this is normal: I feel like i should be able to tell the drivers insurance they have to
- pay to get my car towed to a place to have it repaired and have them either arrange or have the towing company bill them.
- give me a rental for the time I'm without a car
- I pick the repair place.
Is that reasonable? Can I expect that?
I don't have anywhere else I can store my car because I'm living some place with street parking only.
I could use some advice; my biggest issue right now is how to do this with no money. I am sure if I could pay to have my car towed, it would be reimbursed, etc... Same with a rental. but it's such a cluster without that.
I haven't talked to the drivers insurance yet. I slept in, I was exausted and muscle relaxers. Just trying to get things sorted. But it's getting late in the day, almost 2pm local time.
Any situation specific advice would be appreciate.
I'm living on just a really tight line of barely making ends meet doing delivery via postmates and doordash. I was doing a delivery last night when a guy from out of town crossed into my lane as I was driving by and hit me. He was lost, stopped in the road trying to figure it out, my lane was clear so I was just continuing forward and he suddenly lurches his car forward and into my lane.
The road is two lane one way, he was in the right lane, me in the left. Confused drivers and cars stopped in that part of town/stretch of road is not uncommon, which is why I didn't bother to stop and wait. They wait for traffic to pass to move. He didn't. There was another car not involved in the accident stopped waiting for him to figure out his shit that was probably blocking his view, but I also suspect he was frustrated to lurch forward that erratically with that speed. I saw him, exclaimed what the hell and tried to break, but it was too late.
So we both pulled off, I pulled into an empty parking lot. We exchanged info. I called my insurance, Geico. They said because I was doing food delivery, I might not be covered because I had a personal policy, not a business one - I didn't know I needed that and am pissed. They still filed the claim, he said it was a grey area they're figuring out.
One of the other car's passengers called the police but said they wouldn't come and to exchange information, deal with insurance, which we were already doing. I am both unsurprised but also was shaken up enough that I didn't think to call myself and took them at their word (a friend suggested maybe they lied).
They were in a rental car, from out of town. Just flew in a couple hours prior. I have all that information in my phone.
My shit - my registration is expired. I have been too broke to pay it, using delivery to catch up and hoping to get it taken care of in a couple weeks.
Car insurance is up to date, though its one of the bills this week I needed to cover and now I don't know what I'm going to do for money.
Geico said its not clear if they cover my car because of doing postmates. Said it was a gray area. Said since it was the other drivers fault, I should try going directly through the other guys insurance. I don't now how to do that (More in a moment).
Geico couldn't provide a courtesy tow because of the above reason, so my car is parked in the same parking lot. Unless it was towed.
Lot I left it in is a private lot with signs posted saying unauthorized vehicles will be towed. Since it was a sunday night, I figured I could call in the morning, explain what happened and ask if I could leave it there until I could figure out where to have it towed. However, I ended up parking in the Mexican Consulate lot, and their phone menu is mostly in spanish which i don't speak. 0 doesn't take me to an operator, it repeats the menu. The only english option is for emergencies related to immediate health and safety and that feels wrong to use given the immigration crisis we're facing in this country.
I literally don't have money to have my car towed. I don't have a credit card that isn't maxed out, and I'm honestly really just finally starting to get back on my feet so I don't have a lot of options.
I feel like I should be able to get the other guys insurance to pay to have it towed, does that sound right? Should I call and ask/tell them that?
I think I should probably have it towed directly to a repair shop. My car is relatively new, a 2017 honda fit. (My first new car, my baby, paid cash outright so no car loans. I was in a much better situation then) Someone said I should only take it to a Honda Dealership to have repaired, not whatever bodyshop the insurance recommends since they'll want it to be cheap. Is that normal, do dealerships do that kind of work?
I don't really know if my car is drivable. I was able to pull off the road with it, and later move to a parking space as opposed to leaving in the middle of the lot. But the car was leaking fluid and I couldn't get the hood open to try and see what fluid it was. The damage/impact was the passenger side front bumper, front quarter panel and front door. The front passenter door wouldn't open at first but eventually I gave it a tug and it did (I probably shouldn't have but I was frustrated.) It also let out a big metallic groan about 10 min after accident.
Shortly after the accident, I texted and called a friend who is a medical resident and asked if I should go to hospital or urgent care just to make sure I was okay. I was feeling fine at first, but as the adrenaline wore off, had neck pain. He ended up driving me to emergency room where they did a ct scan, and its all a okay other than soft tissue/pain issues. It hurts but not the worst pain. I'm icing, have muscle relaxers and am taking alternating tylenol and ibuprofen.
I'm not joking about being broke. See my post history. I'm literally just starting to work doing food delivery in the past week and a half? Two weeks? Time has been flying. I don't have credit cards available or safety net such as family; I'm worried about the incidental expenses I can't afford. Like if for some reason I have to go through my insurance, I don't have the $500 deductable. I don't have money to get my car towed, I don't have money to recover my car if it's towed where I've parked it.
A friend is going to drive me to my car in a little bit, hes gotta take care of some stuff first.
Also should I be talking to a lawyer? I seem mostly fine, but one of my frustrations is now the money I was going to make over the next couple days isn't possible. I was in the middle of a good delivery run during the dinner rush, had just started an hour prior and expected to go for another hour or two depending. That as mostly going to be my week. Now I don't have a car and I'm not sure how much driving I'm going to be doing with my neck feeling this way and with the muscle relaxers I was given. We may only be talking a few hundred in lost wages (I don't know, I'm new enough that I'm jsut hitting my stride, just started a second delivery service which helped keep me constantly doing deliveries.)
I am going back to school in the fall, and the school does have an emergency fund where if there is some sort of emergency that would make it impossible to stay in school, you could apply for. The thing is, I'm not in school yet.
I am just running out of time for everything. I've been walking this tightrope to get into school, I dont have my financial aid done, I literally got the taxes I need done Friday, got through FAFSA yesterday afternoon but didn't submit because I wanted to check it over one more time after I ran my deliveries. Hah. I was supposed to take care of a few things last night and this morning that needed to be done by end of month that now I can't get to. Including finding a dentist for a tooth that is bothering me because of course.
I didn't think to find/talk to any witnesses. There were people there that saw, but I just wasn't in that headspace. I was pretty shaken up. It's been a good 20+ years since I had an accident and I just didn't know what I was doing. The driver admitted fault, but I'm worried that he'll change his story. I did see someone with a cell phone possibly recording it, but I don't know if he recorded the accident or aftermath (wondering if he was recording before to capture whatever dumbassery was happening with the driver to put him in that position)
I feel like I should be able to do the following, but I wanted advice if this is normal: I feel like i should be able to tell the drivers insurance they have to
- pay to get my car towed to a place to have it repaired and have them either arrange or have the towing company bill them.
- give me a rental for the time I'm without a car
- I pick the repair place.
Is that reasonable? Can I expect that?
I don't have anywhere else I can store my car because I'm living some place with street parking only.
I could use some advice; my biggest issue right now is how to do this with no money. I am sure if I could pay to have my car towed, it would be reimbursed, etc... Same with a rental. but it's such a cluster without that.
I haven't talked to the drivers insurance yet. I slept in, I was exausted and muscle relaxers. Just trying to get things sorted. But it's getting late in the day, almost 2pm local time.
Any situation specific advice would be appreciate.
The other driver is at fault (you were in right-of-way) and his insurance (either his normal insurance for his car, or the insurance he took out when he rented the car) should be on the hook for the tow, fixing your car, rental...all of it.
posted by notsnot at 12:41 PM on July 29, 2019
posted by notsnot at 12:41 PM on July 29, 2019
Can't help you with the insurance etc. but I did want to mention that whiplash can take some days to appear and it can be pretty serious, so please don't sign anything around compensation for your medical bills/injury until you have had time to see what they really are.
posted by warriorqueen at 1:11 PM on July 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by warriorqueen at 1:11 PM on July 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Also if it was in MPD - yeah, they don't come for collisions. Confused the dickens out of me when it happened and I spent like 3 hours farting around on the side of the road waiting for them to show up, and it definitely made the insurance process a lot harder to start, but get in contact with the other driver's insurance company ASAP. When there's an actual motor vehicle report and the cops assigned liability, the other driver's insurance calls you tout-frickin-suite to settle it up. You probably dodged a bullet, though, if your registration is expired.
And I agree - it is awfully confusing that your insurance provider tends to not want anything to do with their customer (you), but that's been the case in all 3 of my accidents as well. "Well, if you really want to file the claim with us I mean OK I guess, but it might impact your rates... Try calling the other driver's policy first, eh?"
Sorry it happened to you and the new car, and it's confusing for the first few days, which is a pain in the ass if you don't have alternative transportation in the meantime. Once you get into the system it's not so bad. I mean, not great, but not as bad as it could be.
Now, for the actual repairs - it's not unusual for the dealership to have either an internal body shop or a relationship with one, but either way you should be able to take it to the shop of your choice. They'll only get book rate for the work anyway, so there's not a lot of incentive for the insurer to dick around with internal house approved shops. Honestly I suspect most of them are so happy to not have a medical claim that the cost of fixing the car is secondary assuming it isn't written off as unsalvageable.
If the other driver's insurance is accepting liability covering it, get the estimate, but _do not_ just let them get off the hook with what's on the initial estimate. There might be extra damage that they don't spot initially. Hell, I busted up a speaker grille in one of my accidents because my book bag flew off the seat into it. Didn't notice it until I took it to the body shop. Also the other driver's insurance (should? will? probably? always has for me, but YMMV) will cover a rental while yours is in the shop. But again, that's next week's solution, not today's.
And yeah, what Rich said - additional mileage that you were putting on your car for business purposes may be interesting to Geico, but it absolutely isn't any of the other driver's insurance company's business.
But yes, all three of your expectations are legitimate and reasonable, and have been the case in all of my accidents. I've been lucky that all of mine have happened in my own neighborhood, so I could limp it home to wait for the process to start, so I have _no_ idea how possible tow-age might affect the claim.
And, no fooling, keep tabs on any new numbnesses and such. It probably took me 6 months after my last accident to put it together that the numbness and tingling I had was probably due to the accident the summer prior. I mean, my own healthcare insurance company was more than willing to ding the other driver's insurance for the cost of my PT, but you'll have to chase that down independently, I suspect.
posted by Kyol at 1:20 PM on July 29, 2019
And I agree - it is awfully confusing that your insurance provider tends to not want anything to do with their customer (you), but that's been the case in all 3 of my accidents as well. "Well, if you really want to file the claim with us I mean OK I guess, but it might impact your rates... Try calling the other driver's policy first, eh?"
Sorry it happened to you and the new car, and it's confusing for the first few days, which is a pain in the ass if you don't have alternative transportation in the meantime. Once you get into the system it's not so bad. I mean, not great, but not as bad as it could be.
Now, for the actual repairs - it's not unusual for the dealership to have either an internal body shop or a relationship with one, but either way you should be able to take it to the shop of your choice. They'll only get book rate for the work anyway, so there's not a lot of incentive for the insurer to dick around with internal house approved shops. Honestly I suspect most of them are so happy to not have a medical claim that the cost of fixing the car is secondary assuming it isn't written off as unsalvageable.
If the other driver's insurance is accepting liability covering it, get the estimate, but _do not_ just let them get off the hook with what's on the initial estimate. There might be extra damage that they don't spot initially. Hell, I busted up a speaker grille in one of my accidents because my book bag flew off the seat into it. Didn't notice it until I took it to the body shop. Also the other driver's insurance (should? will? probably? always has for me, but YMMV) will cover a rental while yours is in the shop. But again, that's next week's solution, not today's.
And yeah, what Rich said - additional mileage that you were putting on your car for business purposes may be interesting to Geico, but it absolutely isn't any of the other driver's insurance company's business.
But yes, all three of your expectations are legitimate and reasonable, and have been the case in all of my accidents. I've been lucky that all of mine have happened in my own neighborhood, so I could limp it home to wait for the process to start, so I have _no_ idea how possible tow-age might affect the claim.
And, no fooling, keep tabs on any new numbnesses and such. It probably took me 6 months after my last accident to put it together that the numbness and tingling I had was probably due to the accident the summer prior. I mean, my own healthcare insurance company was more than willing to ding the other driver's insurance for the cost of my PT, but you'll have to chase that down independently, I suspect.
posted by Kyol at 1:20 PM on July 29, 2019
I don't know about Honda shops explicitly. However, the Ford dealer where I bought my car and my Dad leased his truck does have a body shop. They do excellent work. YMMV
posted by kathrynm at 1:47 PM on July 29, 2019
posted by kathrynm at 1:47 PM on July 29, 2019
And I'll note that every time I've gone to accept the vehicle after repairs were complete, if I noticed something was off, I took it right back to the body shop and they extended the repairs through the insurer. Let's see - one accident broke off my muffler mount so it clunked when I drove over bumps, one accident broke the speaker grille, and the other one either broke or the repairs to the door broke my power door locking mechanism. No fuss other than extending the time my car was in the shop. There's a fine line between making the car whole and repairing something unrelated to the accident, but that's easier to draw on a newer vehicle where you can make a decent case the damage was caused by the accident and not just wear and tear on a 15 year old clunker.
(...I probably should've argued for a whole new muffler in the accident that rear ended me, but the muffler has held up for like another 6+ years since that accident so I can't exactly claim it was damaged, either. It sits lower in the bumper cutout that it ought to, just the same.)
posted by Kyol at 2:02 PM on July 29, 2019
(...I probably should've argued for a whole new muffler in the accident that rear ended me, but the muffler has held up for like another 6+ years since that accident so I can't exactly claim it was damaged, either. It sits lower in the bumper cutout that it ought to, just the same.)
posted by Kyol at 2:02 PM on July 29, 2019
I'm going to stay out of the who pays for what end of things, because that seems to be covered. I had a car accident back in May that sounds similar to yours, and I'm still going to weekly massage and physio appointments was a result of out, even though my injuries were "just soft tissue" and I went back to my office that afternoon! Please, please make an appointment with one or the other, just in case.
posted by peppermind at 2:52 PM on July 29, 2019
posted by peppermind at 2:52 PM on July 29, 2019
Response by poster: I just wanted to update this since a few things came up.
In the chaos after the accident, I never got the other guys insurance, just the rental information and his drivers license. I thought i had it, but in retrospect he just kept telling me that the rental information was all I'd need and I was too discombobulated to object. Not that I'd know otherwise anyway.
I talked to the repair shop at my dealership and they do repair work. I got the info for a tow company from them that will bill them or the insurance? It wasn't exactly clear but somehow the insurance will cover. I had to wait hours for them to not show monday, but finally got it towed tuesday afternoon.
I tried to file as a 3rd party claim through Avis. That was a nightmare. Even getting ahold of someone was. They are serviced through Sedgwick. Geico actually helped me get their number. But it took an additional two days for an adjustor to be assigned to even talk about it. And honestly, he was a giant dick weasel, was upset my car was towed to honda, tried to bully me into moving it, saying that if there was a lot fee, they wouldn't pay it, that I had a fiduciary duty to minimize monetary losses because it would be at least 3 days before they sent and adjustor to look at the damage. When I pointed out that they took 3 days to even open a claim before I could talk to anyone, I'm not sure how that is on me, same with their adjuster timeframe. At this point he essentially screams/yells the same exact phrase at me.
I just said something about how that doesn't make any sense to me and got off the phone. And immediately called Geico, explained that I needed help, asked them how people like me deal with the deductible and what kind of rate increase I'd have if I had them do the claim. If I'm truly not at fault, there shouldn't be a rate change (I'm not but who knows how that will play out) and the deductible is payable to the repair shop when the work is completed, and if they've settled with the other insurance before the car repairs are done, they will hopefully get the deductible from the other guy. If not, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
Geico is on the ball thus far, faster than I am. I have an estimate but I missed the guys call because I had a couple appointments, so had to leave a message. Much faster than the 3rd party claim, which makes the whole thing with the possible lot fee and the need to move it because of the time to get the damage looked at extra stupid.
I don't have rental insurance through Geico, so that sucks, but I've been getting by with uber and the bus.
My neck and upper back/shoulders are better but I'm still getting a twinge now and again, and some constant but mild pain in the upper shoulders. I have an injury near there, but usually lower, so I don't know if it's related, if the accident flared it up, or what. I'm just watching for now, tho I'll probably make an appointment with my doc Monday.
A couple friends chipped in with the NOW MONEY problem, so at least I didn't overdraft and had money for bus and uber. I'm going to have to figure out something in the meantime anyway, but this week was a combination of car hell, neck hell, and school hell (well maybe not hell, but stuff I had to take care of.)
One thing to note is part of the reason I decided to talk to my insurance and file the claim through them is I did a bit of googling on Avis and Sedgwick once I had the term 3rd party claim from this ask (thank you) and everything I read said that they will drag their feet and be miserable on everything, some people not seeing the investigation tied up for over a year to even determine fault. I still tried because I thought I had to, but the moment I felt like I was being pushed around, I realized I couldn't do this on my own.
I wanted to update because of the rental part specifically, because I think this is why a 3rd party claim wouldn't work. Based on what everyone has said here, it would probably be fine if it was the other guys own car insurance. Heck I'm still not sure how its handled - if Geico will try to go after Avis and Avis the guys insurance or what. But I guess I don't have to know.
Will update again for posterity if any major developments. Now it just seems to be hunkering down and waiting for the repairs, I hope.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 3:59 PM on August 2, 2019
In the chaos after the accident, I never got the other guys insurance, just the rental information and his drivers license. I thought i had it, but in retrospect he just kept telling me that the rental information was all I'd need and I was too discombobulated to object. Not that I'd know otherwise anyway.
I talked to the repair shop at my dealership and they do repair work. I got the info for a tow company from them that will bill them or the insurance? It wasn't exactly clear but somehow the insurance will cover. I had to wait hours for them to not show monday, but finally got it towed tuesday afternoon.
I tried to file as a 3rd party claim through Avis. That was a nightmare. Even getting ahold of someone was. They are serviced through Sedgwick. Geico actually helped me get their number. But it took an additional two days for an adjustor to be assigned to even talk about it. And honestly, he was a giant dick weasel, was upset my car was towed to honda, tried to bully me into moving it, saying that if there was a lot fee, they wouldn't pay it, that I had a fiduciary duty to minimize monetary losses because it would be at least 3 days before they sent and adjustor to look at the damage. When I pointed out that they took 3 days to even open a claim before I could talk to anyone, I'm not sure how that is on me, same with their adjuster timeframe. At this point he essentially screams/yells the same exact phrase at me.
I just said something about how that doesn't make any sense to me and got off the phone. And immediately called Geico, explained that I needed help, asked them how people like me deal with the deductible and what kind of rate increase I'd have if I had them do the claim. If I'm truly not at fault, there shouldn't be a rate change (I'm not but who knows how that will play out) and the deductible is payable to the repair shop when the work is completed, and if they've settled with the other insurance before the car repairs are done, they will hopefully get the deductible from the other guy. If not, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
Geico is on the ball thus far, faster than I am. I have an estimate but I missed the guys call because I had a couple appointments, so had to leave a message. Much faster than the 3rd party claim, which makes the whole thing with the possible lot fee and the need to move it because of the time to get the damage looked at extra stupid.
I don't have rental insurance through Geico, so that sucks, but I've been getting by with uber and the bus.
My neck and upper back/shoulders are better but I'm still getting a twinge now and again, and some constant but mild pain in the upper shoulders. I have an injury near there, but usually lower, so I don't know if it's related, if the accident flared it up, or what. I'm just watching for now, tho I'll probably make an appointment with my doc Monday.
A couple friends chipped in with the NOW MONEY problem, so at least I didn't overdraft and had money for bus and uber. I'm going to have to figure out something in the meantime anyway, but this week was a combination of car hell, neck hell, and school hell (well maybe not hell, but stuff I had to take care of.)
One thing to note is part of the reason I decided to talk to my insurance and file the claim through them is I did a bit of googling on Avis and Sedgwick once I had the term 3rd party claim from this ask (thank you) and everything I read said that they will drag their feet and be miserable on everything, some people not seeing the investigation tied up for over a year to even determine fault. I still tried because I thought I had to, but the moment I felt like I was being pushed around, I realized I couldn't do this on my own.
I wanted to update because of the rental part specifically, because I think this is why a 3rd party claim wouldn't work. Based on what everyone has said here, it would probably be fine if it was the other guys own car insurance. Heck I'm still not sure how its handled - if Geico will try to go after Avis and Avis the guys insurance or what. But I guess I don't have to know.
Will update again for posterity if any major developments. Now it just seems to be hunkering down and waiting for the repairs, I hope.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 3:59 PM on August 2, 2019
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Have it brought to a body shop - the dealer doesn't do body shop repairs.
Their insurance should pay for it. Also, you may need to contact the rental company and deal with their insurance company as well.
Key is tracking down their insurance and issuing a claim against them ASAP. Then their insurance should be the only one you deal with - not your insurance.
It will take weeks, regardless, to have it resolved. You may be able to get a rental, but don't disclose anything you don't need to the other insurance (i.e. that you were driving for work, etc...). Stick to just the facts of the incident, the damage, you need a rental and a tow, and your car fixed.
Can't help you on the immediate expenses part... you may be able to get into a rental right away, as long as the guy doesn't play games and his insurance company responds right away.
posted by rich at 12:40 PM on July 29, 2019