Zipcar collision

August 22, 2007 1:50 PM

I got into an accident with a ZipCar this week. How worried should I be about paying the hefty deductible. Experiences, advice sought...
posted by parmanparman to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

Pretty worried, from what I understand. Of course, I suppose it depends on the sort of accident and whose fault it was - if it were the fault of another driver, it may not cost you a thing. But from what I understand, regular ZipCar users are told to purchase their own auto insurance *because* of the hefty costs one can incur if in a ZipCar accident. So the big question may be, do you have your own insurance?
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 2:25 PM on August 22, 2007

Ooh, here's a good link which explains a lot:

http://www.felixsalmon.com/000562.html
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 2:28 PM on August 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

zipcar only provides the state-mandated minimum of liability insurance. i believe that means if the damage you inflicted (assuming its your fault) exceeds that minimum, you can be sued for the excess. IANAL.
posted by uaudio at 2:32 PM on August 22, 2007

looks like you live around DC, which means you're probably driving there, Maryland, or Virginia. here are the minimums for all three. i doubt you caused death, otherwise you'd likely be consulting an attorney instead of AskMe.

VA
"Bodily injury/death of one person $25,000, bodily injury/death of two or more persons $50,000, Property damage $20,000"

MD
"Minimum liability insurance (covers damages caused by you and suffered by another party for personal injury or property damage): $20,000 for bodily injury per person; $40,000 for bodily injury for two or more people, and $15,000 for property damage."

DC
"the minimum amount of bodily injury liability that is required is $25,000 per person and 50,000 per accident. The minimum amount of property damage liability is $10,000, and this usually covers the third parties car."
posted by uaudio at 2:45 PM on August 22, 2007

I crashed a Zipcar a few months ago. I was clearly at fault, and ended up having to pay the $500 deductible. It was a minor accident, and they told me the total cost of repairs was around $1200, which seemed kind of high. I don't have car insurance of my own. I would assume that if the amount of the damages exceeds their limits that you'd have to pay more.
posted by bendy at 3:00 PM on August 23, 2007