QuestionHello,
I live in Dallas Tx and on 2/14/12 I was rear-ended by a guy who was driving his girlfriend's car. The car has minimum insurance required by the state and unfortunately the guy was not under her policy nor does he had a DL. I filed through both mine, and her insurance and so far I'm going through my insurance to get this fixed since I want it done asap and they are already sending me a check. I am happy about that but the other party's insurance hasn't been ignoring me. They have me scheduled to go to a shop and get the vehicle inspected and get an estimate of the damages. yesterday the owner of the vehicle that rear ended me contacted me apologizing for the incident and offering to help me with money. Considering that I will have to pay my deductible and already had some medical costs, I am tempted to take her on the offer and have her at least reimburse me my deductible and the doctor visits but it struck me as odd that someone is willing to offer help. She seemed very nice but I am a bit worried that if I take anything from her, somehow her insurance company will find out and deny my claim stating that i already received compensation from their insured. Should I take her monetary help. I am not seeking to get full cost of repairs. My insurance estimates it will be approx $5K to fix, but i'd at least like to get the money i already had to pay for this great inconvenience. I need advise. Will this jeopardize my chances of her insurance to pay? Is this some sort of trick? I don't know what to do. I certainly don't have the money for the deductible and i'm going through hard times that it was a tempting offer.
AnswerJohn,
Thank you for the question.
No, I don’t think it was a “trick”. It would appear she’s truly concerned.
Because you were the victim of another’s negligence you can go through either their insurer or your own for repair.
You have distinct benefits by going through your own carrier as you have a contract (policy) with them that affords you certain rights such as a proper repair using factory parts etc. that you may not enjoy with the other party’s insurer.
You may accept payment for your deductible from the other party but I would suggest you limit it to just the deductible and I would strongly suggest that you DO NOT SIGN ANY TYPE OF RELEASE!
Understand that after repair, your insurer will be seeking recovery from the at-fault party’s insurer for recompense of all expenditures including extended rental, repair costs and if applicable, your deductible. It may take awhile, but once your insurer recovers the full amount, they are then obligated to send it on to you.
If you do receive payment of your deductible from the at-fault party or vehicle owner, make sure you let your insurer know so they can deduct that from their subrogation claim.
Additionally, you may have other claims against the other party such as “loss of Use” (if you don’t have rental under your policy) and for the economic loss in value of your vehicle due to your vehicle now having a history damages and repair.
This remaining loss of value is referred to as “Diminished Value” and the amount will depend upon the year, make and model of the vehicle and other factors. If you elect to pursue recovery of this economic loss, you are encouraged to select an expert who will perform a post repair inspection of your vehicle to ensure all damages were addressed and performed properly. Your claim will be made against the at-fault party or their insurer.
In final, I encourage you to seek out a repairer of your selection who sees you as their customer and not merely the insurer. Insurers have a vested interest in containing costs and their efforts to do so are not always in your best interest! If you allowed the insurer to select your repairer, all the more reason to get an expert to assist you with a post repairs inspection.
Thank you again for your question and I hope my answers have provided what you hoped.
Barrett
