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I have a question regarding payment disbursement. I was recently in a car accident and received damage to my front bumper, fog lights, and headlights. The other person's insurance company took full liability and will be paying for everything. They gave me two options on how I would like the repairs handled; I can either find my own auto collision repair shop or go through their preferred repair shop...I chose to go to my own and would need to see their insurance adjuster. I got my own estimate from a preferred collision repair shop referred by Ford Dealership. However, I do have a friend who is willing to do the repairs for the same price, maybe less. My question is how does the insurance company disburse payments? Are they able to write the check in my name? If so, how do I go about getting that done?
All help would be appreciated :]
Thanks in advance,
Mel
Most often they will write a check to both you and the body shop expecting you to endorse the check when you pick up the repaired car, so the body shop can be paid...
Bear in mind that if the repairs are extensive, and your "friend" does backyard quality work, don't go crying to the insurance if he does a poor job, as the ins will be out of the loop...
They will also want their adjuster to see the damage to be sure they aren't being overcharged for the work...for example, if the car is over 3 years old, don't be surprised if they want to use used parts from a boneyard, as most 3 year old cars do not need new parts...or, you may want new parts, but you may have to pay the difference between used and new parts prices...jusr some random thoughts from a random guy...
If you agree, I would like a couple of "attaboys" from the crew, since it was a hard habit to modify...
Wait...I hear the applause now..................................................................
Allstate, OTOH, makes you rent the car on your own and will reimburse you up to the date they are notified that your car is done...this means that many folks cannot rent a car due to poor credit, no credit card, no money...sadly, this often causes someone to lose their job due to absenteeism, from an accident that was not their fault...
We ARE proud of you, Bob! All the hosts thank you.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
I have usually not done all the repairs. I think the only time I did was when we had damage on a car that was only about 1 month old. The payment is to compensate for the loss, there is no reason for the insurance company to have any say over what you do with the money.
That's not it, as I was born and raised here in the United States and am a natural citizen. Although I don't have any living immediate family, my family has lived here for a few generations.
I don't think my rates are being affected by that.
Thanks a lot for your advice though. I'll just have to accept my rates and see where I can go with this.
I'm glad there's a place to go and discuss these things.
I gotta start thinking of the lesser possibilities more often...
I guess we are real oddballs...our first two new cars we paid off in about 2.5 years. The next one was cash, the one after that was a 2 year loan, only because of discount rate, and the one I bought in Jan had a loan for 3 weeks (they gave me $1000 for taking a loan). When we have bought used cars, those have always been cash.
It was towed and the adjuster from Geico declared it a total loss, and is willing to give us market value for our car. Our minivan has encountered no problems except a minor crack on the windshield due to the pressure of the airbags (weird, but I saw it with my own eyes) and the deployment of the airbags themselves.
Is this really all I can do? Take the adjuster's estimate? I'd really like to get a fair appraisal, see if there's anything I can do, legal action, etc. Is there any procedure I can follow to minimize my loss or am I completely under the control of the adjuster?
If you want to keep it, just ask how much the salvage value is worth to them and deduct that from their offer.
The only thing you could do is to make sure the money they give you is a fair value. Compare it to what you would get on tradein value.
I believe many people would rather see their vehicle declared a total loss, than have a garage attempt to fix a major repair.....and then you're stuck with the vehicle for the next x years with problems like alignment, tire wear, drivetrain problems, strut problems, etc. Then when you go to eventually sell it, it shows in CarFax as being in an accident...and nobody's willing to buy it. Take a fair value for it, and go get something else.
Of course, the presumption is that the offer they make is fair. No you don't have to accept their offer and yes you can hire your own appraiser, but be sure you have done your research or maybe your appraiser will come in at the same price or even lower! You have to be sure you're being low-balled. Which, knowing insurance companies, is a definite possibility.
What are they offering? Anything over $5,000 would be pure gravy for you. This presumes this was a decent vehicle without prior damage or serious deterioration.
Geico sent me a report today, in which they basically took two comparable cars, listed the market prices of two other cars, adjusted the values based on the differences between those cars and mine, then gave a value.
The first value was 4260, the second was 5116. They took the average of the two, then deducted a bunch of fees and it came out to $4194.81, which is the "official" amount they are willing to offer me.
I'm a little concerned about the value because both on Kelley Blue Book and Edmund's, the value came out to above $5000. KBB gave me $5665 and Edmund's gave me $5670. Now, I understand that there are differences to be accounted for, but I seriously doubt there are $1000 worth.
What should I do/What steps should I take when I negotiate the price with the Geico adjuster? Is there even room for negotiation in the first place? My car really did have plenty more years left, it only has 27,000 miles (true mileage) on it and had never been in any accidents prior to this one. It's really not worth it x.x
Thanks in advance, hope to hear from you soon
What is included in their "bunch of fees" they want to deduct?
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
And why "average" the comps? Why not give you the value closest in comparison to your car?
ALSO -- you are entitled to sales tax and license fees and that should NOT be packed into their "offer". That comes AFTER their offer. So you'll be getting about another 10%.
And what are these "fees" they are deducting?
You should ask for the high comp price they came up with and if they offer it, take it.
What's this about "fees?" This is your carrier, right? Do you have a deductible that comes into play?
At this point the lady decides to fabricate that I was backing up and that I hit HER truck (Nissan Murano). She then proceeds to call EMS and the cops and make a scene with the paramedics that she needed a cervical collar and oxygen. (this was after she ran upstairs to her job and ran back out....this all happened outside my wife's job and the lady works in the same company).
I got the police report today and it states that driver #2 (the lady with the Murano) claims to make a U-turn and that I backed up into her). It also has my side of the story. That I, driver #1 had my reverse lights on but was standing still, and the other lady hit me.
Nowhere on the police report does it say this was in illegal U-turn (even though I heard the cops tell her that it was and she DID cross a double yellow line). When I went to the precinct to ask the officer that wrote the report about this... I was told that he's on vacation till next week and that it doesn't need to say that the U-turn was illegal and that the insurance company will know that this occurred in a commercial area/thus being an illegal U-turn.
Does anyone know if this is true? Will the insurance company really know if this was an illegal you turn on behalf of the other lady? Anyone want to guess if she (the other lady) was 100% at fault for this? (Even though she claimed my wife was backed up)
Also the lady's Murano had previous damage on the fender. It was higher up on the fender beyond the reach of my my car (it being a sedan) but I don't know what else to expect from the other lady... she might claim that I caused it.
I just got the report today and didn't call my insurance company yet... just wanted to get some info first...
I so don't want my insurance to go up...me and my wife had a perfect record for years and already pay insane rates in NY.... ehhh...
As for a citation for the other driver---if she didn't get ticketed at the scene, then the opportunity has been lost for that.
Her story is so weak that I wouldn't be very concerned.
I assume you mean an independent witness. Last April I was backed into in a parking lot and had the State Police come just to have a police report for the insurance. In the end they gave the other guy a ticket for unsafe backing. He and I were the only witnesses.
The poster mentioned living in NY. Is that the city where only murder or worse will get the cops' attention or upstate where I believe the officers' pension is directly tied to the number of petty tickets they write. :sick:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Maybe in your case the physical evidence was sufficient and in the other case it was not. Or maybe in your case both you and the other driver had the same story of what had happened.
When in doubt, keep your mouth shut... Even your insurance agent will tell you that..
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Yea, I have no idea what the other guy confessed to while the cop was beating him.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I am torn between one's right to remain silent so as not to incriminate oneself, and the the concept of telling the truth to the officer at the scene...
After all, if you know you caused the wreck, it is morally right to own up so your insurance can pay the other guy's damages...why should he have to use his collision insurance if you really did rear-end him, or run a red light and t-bone him, or you crossed over the line and caused a head-on...
Just because you think the other guy might lie is no reason for you to lie...after all, just because some lawyers have no ethics is no reason for me not to uphold the highest of standards...I will not stoop to their level, even if the law profession is stigmatized by a lack of ethics...that is not my personal way of life, and I will not conduct my profession with anything but the highest standards...having said that for myself,
Why shouldn't you own up to being the cause of the wreck if you know in your heart that you really did cause it...isn't that the ethical form of taking moral responsibility for what you did, even if it causes your insurance rates to rise???
Would you teach your children to lie and not to take responsibiluty for their actions as they grow up???...is this any different???
If you are truly in doubt, you can still communicate to the officer what you saw and what you personally did, even if you are in doubt as to all the facts of the situation...
Thoughts on this???
If it were a simply matter of owning up and taking responsibility then there would be no problem! You'd make your admission, pay a fair penalty and be done with it. Unfortunately there are (too many of) those who would seize upon your admission, beat you over the head with it and end up taking away far more than what you may regard as reasonable or fair. Integrity has its downside when you're dealing with those to whom it is a stranger.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Bob.. like you, I'm torn between morality and legality.. I always try to be an example to my son, in word and deed.
But, tidester's post is exactly the point I wanted to make. You have to protect yourself.
regards,
kyfdx
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He made a right turn from the center lane of a four lane suburban street and the car behind him tagged his right rear. The impact caused essentially no injury to his car but broke the grill of the trailing vehicle (a Jaguar no less!).
After visiting the scene and hearing his complete story, it seems that that the Jag had been tailgating and changing lanes unsafely for some distance prior to the crash. Now, no question, my son was at least partly at fault in the collision but, it appeared to me, so was the Jag.
It was painful to tell him that in the future he should decline to speak with any investigating officer until contacting me.
When I was teaching my son to drive we were still in the "parking lot" stage. It was his second time behind the wheel. As he turned the car he hit the gas instead of the brake and banged into a van owned by a local convent. The lot was empty, there were no witnesses. but I couldn't see hit and run as part of his driver training.
We went to the convent and told them what happened and that we were sorry and would pay for the damage. The nun told me she was very impressed with our honesty. I responded that I couldn't see myself going to hell for $1000.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I will grant you, that if you say nothing and, say, the officer cites you as 65% at fault while the other guy was 35% at fault, then the payout for injuries and damages is lowered by the corresponding percentage...
But, if you KNOW you ran the stop sign, ran the red light, failed to yield or rearended someone, there is that part of me that says suck up and admit fault, and make the world a better place by exhibiting honesty instead of evasiveness...
I know, I know..."innocent until proven guilty"...but there is always the moral angle that says that if you know you caused the wreck, why should the other guy's insurance go up because you 1) lied, or 2) failed to own up to the truth as you knew it...
each person should come to their own decision, but for those who are teaching their kids to drive and cause a wreck and hide the truth do not set good examples for the next generation...
Idealistic, esp from a cynical realist like me???...yes, but since the only thing we really take to the grave is our reputation, they may not call me the smartest or greatest attorney that ever lived, but I hope they call me honest, a man of integrity and dependability...
I need to get real, this touchy feely stuff makes me feel like a liberal Democrat...
I did that about a year and a half ago when I stopped at a stop sign, looked to the left and saw no one, looked to the right and saw a truck I could beat if I floored it, so I did, and so I ran into the side of the car I did not see when I had originally looked to the left.
(Ever since I got my license 150 years ago, I look to the left, look to the right and look to the left again before I go from a stop sigh. Always. Except for that one single time which happened because I had been stuck in a traffic jam and was late to where I was going and had cut over through a side street and was absolutely thoroughly aggravated at the whole situation. No excuse at all, but that is why it happened.)
Fortunately I didn't get up enough speed to do much damage to either car and even more fortunately, I did not zoom out in front of her so that she would have hit me right where I was driving.
But the thing of it is that I hopped right up and told her and the policeman she called that it was entirely my fault and gave both of them every scintilla of information they wanted. Of course I was fully insured for such a situation, had never needed it before in the nearly five decades I've been driving (so thankfully my rates didn't even go up).
She didn't believe me, she was convinced I was going to scam her.
I guess I don't blame her entirely in this day and age, but it is a shame when we're forced to be suspicious of everyone everywhere. I left a stop sign too soon, I hit her, I said (over and over again) I'm sorry, it was my fault, and she couldn't believe it, had to call everyone she knew, kept asking the cop the dumbest questions about what if I changed my mind what would she do, and on and on.
The thing that made me feel so much better (except I had to get my car fixed AGAIN) was that someone backed into me about two months later and hopped out of her car with all the same phrases I had used - I'm so sorry, it was all my fault, my insurance will cover it, etc.
So I figure, taken together, the incidents were an example of what goes around comes around. At least for me. :P
But, Bob, that doesn't shield you as well as you may expect. My son was involved in an accident and did the "right thing" by admitting responsibility. The driver of the other vehicle (truck) was not satisfied with the (more than) fair compensation the insurance companies gave him so he is suing my son personally. Whether he ultimately wins the suit or not, the aggravation of dealing with stacks of subpoenas, the lawyers, the depositions and the courts is not something to be ignored. And that is to say nothing of the prospect of an honest person having his wages garnisheed until who knows when because some opportunist takes advantage of a situation to enrich himself - at the expense of someone's honesty and integrity.
So much for "touchy feely!"
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Now, now, Pat! We know driver's licenses weren't issued before automobiles were ever sold which was barely 100 years ago! :shades:
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
You are not a liberal Democrat. A liberal Democrat always swims away from the submerged Oldsmobile no matter who he leaves to drown! :mad:
I am confused...if the other driver accepted a settlement, whether for car damage, injuries or both, a release is signed where they give up their right to sue in order to receive the settlement...where I come from you cannot accept a settlement and then sue for more...only get one bite at the apple...
Tell me what facts I am obviously missing...
EUPHONIUM: ah, yes, you are referring, of course, to the Ted Kennedy Chappaquiddick School for Swimming and Driving...
Don't we wish! The guy is not suing the insurance company - he's suing my son.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
At least the insurance company will supply lawyers to defend you (and them ) in the suit, won't they? I'm confused.
Marsh?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Those are two separate transactions. So that's one possibility.
Or if the "offending" party doesn't carry enough insurance to cover what is claimed.
Also, as you say, if insurance is inadequate you can go to the next set of pockets.
This quote is from www.insure.com
"Property-damage coverage pays for the repair or replacement of things you wrecked other than your own car. The other party may also decide to sue you to collect "pain and suffering" damages."
So if your property damage coverage isn't enough to pay for the other car you wrecked, or if there is "pain in suffering" that you allegedly caused, besides the damage to the car, then you can be sued.
Lots of people trip up on this. They get comp/collision but they are short on property damage. I have $100K, because it's possible I could screw up and KO a car that valuable--especially in California.