Auto Insurance Claims: Accident Settlement Question, Accident Settlement Question, Damages settlement

Question
QUESTION: My daughter was hit by a driver in NC (where she attends college) but the car is insured in GA.  Her car was totaled and initially the driver who hit her accepted liability, but is changing her mind now.  The insurance company for my daughter is the same as for the person who hit her.  They want to only give us the value of the car (which is not much, but it was in excellent condition).  Is there a way to recover more than just the value, seeing that we are paying for car rental and have to buy another car (which won't be much with what they are offering)?  And this was not her fault.

ANSWER: Hello Sandra,

You are owed the rental car and all expenses directly related to the accident (not for the expense to go buy another car). There are ways to make sure your settlement if fair and that you get the best possible value for your car. On that point, I recommend this eBook. It is cheap and the tips there can add a lot to your settlement:

http://www.auto-accident-blog.com/go/Total-Loss-Ebook.php

There is also a bunch of information about total loss and how to deal with an accident settlement here:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/totaling-a-vehicle.html

I hope this helps

Good Luck,
Anne.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Should we be responsible for the %500 deductible since our car was totaled by another driver?  If she refuses to accept liability (I'm not sure how that's possible), does that allow the insurance company to get the $500 from us?

Answer
Should we be responsible for the %500 deductible since our car was totaled by another driver?  NO, you should not be and when everything settles down, you should be paid at 100% of your total loss!

If she refuses to accept liability (I'm not sure how that's possible), does that allow the insurance company to get the $500 from us?

This is an interesting question. If she refuses (the driver), that should not affect one way or the other the decision (insurance decides who is at fault). If there is no evidence of who is at fault (the damages on this one will be able to tell), then it could become a word v. word situation on which both insurance companies.

Both insurance companies would have to dispute damages. Usually, while this dispute occurs, each party is responsible for their own (your insurance coverage – collision- kicks in and your damages are paid out of that. The deductible will also be applied). When the decision from arbitration comes down, then the responsible insurance company will issue payment for all damages and deductibles owed.

Your case has a twist. You have a total loss in a dual policy claim. The same insurance company is insuring both vehicles. This usually means that the process can be somewhat faster.

There is still arbitration between the two adjusters however; it is often done within the insurance carrier. However, payments for deductibles can usually be advanced or waived (some policies allow to completely waive your collision deductible if the other vehicle is also insured with the same insurance company).

The best thing you can do now is to ask for if your policy will waive this in a dual insurer policy, and if not, if the insurance company will be willing to advance it since they will be paying themselves (from the policy of the person that hit you to your policy).

I hope this makes sense.

Good Luck,
Anne
Accident Settlement Question