Auto Accident Question

[roger_ramjet]

I was involved in an accident over the weekend (not my fault, was rear-ended). I am still waiting to hear from the other person's insurance, and in the meantime I am wondering what I'll do while my car is in the shop. Are they required to provide a rental car? Or does that vary state by state or by different insurance companies? I have been unable to find anything about Georgia laws regarding that, but feel like there is some kind of obligation on the part of the insurance company to uphold.

Thanks!

 

[eclectics]

I don't believe there is any obligation for them to pay up front for your rental in any state, to my knowledge anyway. They might consider it as part of the settlement, if they concede it's 100% their driver's fault. Your own insurance might cover it or you can request to be reimbursed by theirs, but I believe your insurance carrier has to initiate the request. Either way, you will most likely have to pony up for it and hope for reimbursement later.

 

[Tinkerbelle'sMOM]

I think it depends on the type of insurance that person has. Do you have rental car on yours? You may have to use that.

 

[LVSWL]

If their insured was at fault, and they usually are when you are rear-ended, then most insurance companies will provide a rental for you while your car is being repaired, or until you have replaced it. They will sometimes try to pressure you to settle for less for your vehicle than you are willing to by saying that you can only have the rental for a certain amount of time, but stand your ground. If your car is being repaired, make sure you get it repaired where YOU want to, not them. Most insurance carriers will let you just get a couple of estimates and then will pay for you to go where you want to get it fixed. If you have any injuries, make sure that you only sign a release for the property damage on your car when it is repaired and not any bodily injury until you are feeling 100%. The two can be settled separately. Good luck! Call the other guys agent and if that doesn't work, call the local home office and report the claim!

 

[goofyforlife]

We had an occurance once where someone hit us and our car was undriveable (towed to the shop even). Well the kid who was driving took his time to call in the accident. (His insurance company refused to pay for anything until he called. I, however, had the accident report # from the state trooper that showed him totally at fault.

I had to pay for a rental for the first week until he finally did call.

Ever since then i always pay the extra $16 every 6 months to add rental car coverage to my policy. It has really come in handy.

 

[tinatark]

The at fault insurance company should cover your rental. Most companies have direct billing with rental agencies. I would be adament that you get a "like" vehicle... don't get a Ford Focus if you drive a SUV!

Most companies have 24 hour claim services.

 

[asta]

I was rear ended in an accident last year and my advice is to not let the other driver's insurance push you around. It was clearly the other drivers fault but they tried to deny most of the claim. Their idea was that most of the damage was caused by the tow trucks that were needed to separate the cars and that I should file a claim against the tow truck operator. This was a ridiculous claim but they tried until I threatened to open a medical claim. It may have been a coincidence but a check for the entire repair amount arrived two days later.

As far as a rental, I think they have to provide one. In my case, my damaged vehicle was a seven person SUV and their insurance at first tried to bully me into accepting a compact car. The accident was just before our vacation and they ended up paying for whatever SUV we could find to rent (these are not easy to find on short notice).

Another thing that is very important - many states now mandate that you are due diminished value on your car. This is above and beyond the damage repair cost. This is an amount that is based on the reduced value of a wrecked vehicle. Check on the internet to see if these types of claims are being paid in your state. I believe Georgia may have been one of the states that have pioneered these claims. I think insurance companies are trying to keep this a secret.