QuestionThanks in advance for answering these questions. okay, we were out of town, our 20 yr old daughter let her "friend" drive her vehicle to the store, he was looking down at his cell phone and hit a brick mailbox. We just found out today, the vehicle will be totaled. My question is, assuming our insurance company will deduct the $1000 deductible on the settlement amount, should he be liable for the deductible? Should his insurance kick in to cover this cost? Where is the best place to find the value of our vehicle? it is a 2005 Honda Civic special edition with 24,500 miles and brand new tires. This vehicle was also wrecked 1 1/2 years ago, will that effect the settlement value. Thanks in advance.
AnswerHi Momof4,
I can tell you have yuor hands full.
Yes the little dude is responsible not only for your deductible, but your insurance company will likely sue him to get back their money as well since he was at fault for the accident.
His insurance will not pay any of it because auto insurance follows the vehicle not the driver.
To determine the value of your car you can check several websites as follows:
1) www.nada.com
2) www.kbb.com
3) www.autotrader.com
The last one will allow you to search for currently for sale vehicles like yours in your area. Print out 5 to 10 comparable vehicles and average the value to develope a good average value. Then if your insurance company offers you much less, you can send them your research to try to negotiate with them. If that does not work you should invoke the appraisal clause of your policy. This is where you and them would each hire your own independent appraisers who would negotiate the settlement and may require bringing in an umpire if they can not agree.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
