budget buster or not??? Insurance?'s

[weluvdizne]

My DH got rear-ended today. He's fine, thank God. The back end of his 2000 Ford Windstar didn't fair as well. The bumper is damaged, and the back door is majorly banged up and smooshed in. It has like 125,000 miles on it. We are not looking to getting a replacement any time soon. The kid that hit him got a couple tickets and he has Grange insurance company. I've never heard of them, so I'm worried. I looked them up and they get A+ BBB rating. My brother found a bunch of complaints on them not paying what is rightfully owed. Yeah, I know, every insurance company tries to cut their losses and keep payouts as low as possible, but he said he found nothing positive on them.
Anyone know about them, or have dealt with them in the past? What should I brace myself for? Also, any advice about handling this whole situation, regardless of the name of the insurance company? My bro said they may try to total the van, but I'm sure they'd offer me less than I would want. To me, the van is worth what it would cost me to buy a replacement. Know what I mean?
Thanks for any insight!

 

[Tink-aholic]

What does your auto insurance say? They will do their job and get you the best return you can get, most likely. They would much rather have the OTHER guy's insurance (or even just the other guy) pay than pay to fix the van themselves.

Good luck, and glad your DH is okay.

 

[ktlm]

I suggest you get on web sites like Edmunds or Kelly Blue Book and figure out the value of your van. All I can tell you is what it is like around here. I don't know what state you are in, but around here if the cost of the repairs is more than a certain percentage of the vehicle, then it is considered totalled. I want to say that is 65% here, but I'm not positive. I'm sure it is different in different states. If the back door is smooshed in, then I think there may be a pretty good chance that a 10 year old vehicle may be totalled. Also, around here if they do total the vehicle, they will only pay you the value of your vehicle, not what it would cost to replace it with something newer or with less miles. That is why it is important to figure out what that the value is before accepting what they offer. If you do research and know what the value is, then you will know whether they are offering you a fair deal.

 

[Juliee8]

I don't know anything about Grange specifically but you do have options. First of all, do you have full coverage on your van? If you have full coverage on your vehicle, if you don't like the other company is handeling your claim, or if they are dragging their feet you could always turn it into your company and they will settle with you for your damages and then subrogate back against Grange to get their money back. You would be out your collision deductible, but sometimes you get better and faster results this way. I would check out the NADA/Blue book value of your vehicle ahead of time, so you know what the vehicle is worth so you know if they are offering you a fair deal or not. If your husband is having any soreness or problems make sure that you tell them that and don't sign of on anything until you know that you won't have any further medical bills.

 

[GoofyGolferGirl]

I agree with pp sometimes symptoms etc don't show up for a few days, better to be safe than sorry!

 

[MK2thcleaner]

I was rear-ended a few years ago. 9 year old minivan, loads of miles. I had a 1000 deductible. Her insurance company tried to claim she didn't owe it because she said someone had hit her first. That may have been true, but we were in standstill traffic. If she would have looked, or made that clear to me, we could have gotten the plates of the other driver. I made a claim with my insurance and kept the money without repairing my vehicle, which was around 350 after my deductible. My insurance then went after her insurance in subrogation. An entire YEAR went by without any information, then suddenly one day I get a check in the mail for my deductible. It was found money for me. I was overjoyed!

I understand what you mean, but too bad for us things don't work like that. I always worry about an accident that would render my van undrivable, because that would mean I'd have to buy a new(er) car and have payments again. It would be great if they could just give me the same make, model with the same amount of miles!

I'm still driving it since the door still closes and it just has a big dent in the back door. Can you tell that I REALLY do not want a car payment?!

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I also am glad your huband is ok. Yes, it is a pain when you are in an accident. Other people are correct that if they total your van you will only get what it is worth, which with an older vehicle it is way less than the vehicle is worth to you. My kids share a 9 year old CRV with over 200,000 miles on it. If something happens to it we would probably hardly get anything for it, but to us it is priceless because it is paid for, cheap to insure, safe for the kids to drive, and I don't have to worry about them scratching and denting one of our nice vehicles. I pray everyday that we get two more years out of that vehicle. Good luck in your dealings with the insurance company.

 

[FarmDisney]

My husband and three older kids were just in an accident 2 weeks ago tomorrow. Our 2001 Honda Odyssey with !22,000 miles was totalled. The other driver was completely at fault. The insurance companies here go by the NADA value and will give you the top retail price. We only got offered $7100 plus $300 something for tax and a bit for something else. We will get a check for $7500 and change. The minivan was definitely worth more than that to us, but the NADA value is what they go by here in Iowa anyway.

The insurance company will settle each medical claim separately when each person is done receiving treatment. One daughter broke her clavicle, so hers won't be settle for several weeks, and another broker her finger and chipped two teeth. My husband and son seemed to escape injury except a few bumps and bruises.

We are having a hard time finding a vehicle in the price range of the insurance check, so we may have to add some to it. I really don't want a car payment, but this whole mess has been a budget buster for sure. The extra gas and miles on the car to go to the hospital, police station, and towing place, the extra insurance for the rental car, the time dealing with all the hospitals about billing and appointment for check-ups, etc.

Good luck, and I'm so glad your husband is okay!