Had a car accident yesterday - guy wants to pay out of pocket?

[madison66]

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[Plantlady]

Just a thought, if your husband can do the repair work, you will get to keep the extra money.

Still go and get an estimate from a body shop/repair shop, and ask for that amount. What you do with it, is up to you though. So, your husband could fix it, and the labor money could go into a Disney fund or something.

You have the right to the full amount though, many of us out there don't have husbands that can do much more than put gas in the car.

 

[left210]

I agree to protect yourself but I didnt see any mention of injuries like many of the posts are referring to. If this is just a simple property damage claim I would give the guy a fair shot to make amends on your terms and if he is unwilling then go forward with either your own insurance or his. I just think some of the posts have been much more than a simple property damage claim and are giving you advice to get an atty, etc. when that does not sound necessary at this time. I get so frustrated in the insurance setting to see everyone run to an atty when there is really no need. You are basically just paying an atty for something you can generally do yourself. Good luck with it and I hope the guy is honest and pays up and if not then do what you have to do. I see it from both angles - I handle commercial auto claims for a taxi cab company so we have lots of dead beats who hit our vehicles that dont have insurance and we have to pursue recovery but I also see it from the point that if the guy is honest and will pay at your request then give the guy a break (only if there are no injuries and it is a simple repair).

 

[nbodyhome]

We don't plan to go to an attny, that isn't necessary to me. I just don't know how long is okay to wait to file a claim with the insurance if he doesn't pay, and I'm thinking we need to report pretty quickly if he doesn't have the money this week. If we wait, and he doesn't come up with it, then we have to worry about small claims and such. That doesn't seem right since we didn't do anything wrong.

My husband has an ex-coworker who has a husband who owns a shop, it looks like they'd give us a good price (around $800). I certainly don't want to be out of pocket for that, it will be a hassle anyway just to get it there, and fixed and such.

 

[undertheradar]

What is the Florida DMV law pertaining to damage? Some states require an accident report filed with the DMV for vehicle damage over a set amount($600.00 for an example). You should contact your insurance agent and notify him/her of a possible claim.

 

[vetrik]

This same thing just happened to me last week. I was rear ended by a teenager in her parent's car, and her parents called me and they want to pay out of pocket for the repairs to my car, I'm assuming to try to keep their premiums from going up (her brother was in an accident the same day too).

I had the cops come out to file a report, and I also called my insurance agency to report that it had happened and discuss my options. My representative told me I basically had 3 options - I could file a claim with my insurance and they would repair my car and go after the other person's insurance for reimbursement, I could go to the other insurance directly (not involving my insurance), or I could have the other people pay. I confirmed that if they were unhappy with the estimate (more than expected) or they didn't pay that I could still file a claim at that time. I informed my insurance about it right away because I didn't want to get in trouble if I hadn't told them and then needed to make a claim. I don't know what the time limit is to report an accident.

I took my car for the estimate over the weekend, and I'm about to put it in the mail to the people. I think a week to pay before contacting insurance is reasonable. I was also concerned about injuries - my accident was very low speed (we were both stopped, she thought I had gone and accelerated into me) but my neck was definitely stiff and sore the next day and it's finally feeling totally back to normal. It was never really bad, I was able to take Advil, but I wanted to leave the option of a claim open in case it got worse and I needed to seek medical treatment.

It really is the most important to protect yourself. I felt really bad (I got in a accident that was my fault when I was younger and I know how it feels), but I still wanted to make sure I would be able to get my car fixed, etc.

 

[BettyCv]

Okay, I'll be the meanie. Why are you so intent on making things easy for a person who "didn't even try to stop" because he was yacking on his cell phone?

Insurance rates go up for certain people because certain people are bad drivers (like the guy that hit you).

There is a BIG difference between someone who takes advantage of the situation by suing for false injuries and someone who just wants to use insurance the way it was intended - file a claim and get reimbursed immediately.

Why do you need to waste this much energy on a person who didn't even want you to call the police! Sounds like this weasel might have quite a past. Maybe making this accident more inconvenient/expensive for him will make him pay more attention to his driving.

My 2 cents...

Betty

 

[veraletta]

I was told by my agent that you have 72 hours to file claim after an accident . My daughter was hit two times in one year and it was never her fault. We alway called them right away.
file a claim with your insurance agent. Even if this guy wants to pay you cash.
He can pay cash by calling his insurance agent.
I agree with BettyCv.
Also estimates are just that, estimates can go up or dowm most likely upwards and once you give someone a price and it goes up, they may not be willing to pay more.
So I would call your agent to at least have it on report and isnt that why you have an agent any ways.

 

[nbodyhome]

Thanks everyone. I guess I'm just nice, and I could tell the guy was not terrible, and I figured (hoped) he'd learned his lesson and would be more careful next time one way or the other.

Personally, I think talking on cell phones while driving should be banned, period. I almost was hit a couple of years ago (actually, I'd have broadsided the person as he didn't stop for a stop sign at the Orlando Premium Outlet mall). I skidded really hard into the median, thankfully noone was there - and he just drove away, still chatting. That really upset me, I felt like chasing after him.

If we don't hear from the guy in the next day (my husband left a message for him earlier), we are calling the insurance company. From what I understand, even calling the insurance company (I think I heard this on Clark Howard) can cause a raise in rates, even if you just call to ask them if you should pay cash yourself for something (if they know who you are).

Anyway, I really appreciate it. I sort of hope the guy doesn't call back, so we can get the ball rolling.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would suggest calling your insurance company immediately. Let them do an estimate and go through the whole insurance thing. Normally what they will do is cover all of the repair other than your deductible. Then they will contact the other person (or their insurance company) and when they recover the amount, they will then reimburse you for your deductible.

As long as he is contacted by and cooperates with your insurance company (repays them all costs) there is no need for his insurance company to get involved.

 

[nbodyhome]

I would suggest calling your insurance company immediately. Let them do an estimate and go through the whole insurance thing. Normally what they will do is cover all of the repair other than your deductible. Then they will contact the other person (or their insurance company) and when they recover the amount, they will then reimburse you for your deductible.

As long as he is contacted by and cooperates with your insurance company (repays them all costs) there is no need for his insurance company to get involved.

In the end, wouldn't that count against us? If we call his company (if he doesn't contact us tomorrow), and he has a current policy, shouldn't they pay since it is his fault? It seems like telling our insurance company and having them pay would mean that we would get an increase?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have been involved in two accidents in the last three years. Neither of them were my fault (red light runner and improper turn). GEICO handled everything for me and they were not charges against my record as I was not at fault. In each instance I paid the collision deductible and a few months later I received a check after they collected.

 

[ukwildcat]

In the end, wouldn't that count against us? If we call his company (if he doesn't contact us tomorrow), and he has a current policy, shouldn't they pay since it is his fault? It seems like telling our insurance company and having them pay would mean that we would get an increase?

Florida is a No-Fault state. Doesn't matter who was at fault. There is a lot of red tape in insurance matters. Your insurance company will pay for the repairs and then go after the other guys insurance for reimbursement.

You will have to pay your deductible up front, but you will get that back assuming your insurance company determines the other party was at fault (which it sounds like he was).

Your rates will not be affected.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

This isn't a bit of advice because my incident was very different though my fault. A friend was here ( it is a long story but she was actually working here with my Aspie son we became friends through her service with my son so technically she was on the job) and I had to leave to pick up one of my other children. She had parked in the area that I back up into do drive out of the drive way. She had never ever parked there before and honestly I never looked I backed up out of habit the way I always did and crunched her car a little bit. There wasn't a great deal of damage a dent but it didn't affect the divability or safety of her vehicle. Still it needed to be repaired and we went through my insurance to take care of it. Well my insurance rates went way up (or way up in my thinking $30 a month more than we had been paying for three years- so i was told and our bill has reflected that). So in making the claim with my insurance we have ended up paying several times the cost of the damage. I wish now that I had the foresight to pay out of pocket..she didn't care where the money came from just so long as her car got fixed. Had I to do over, firstly I would have been more careful and NOT back up into her car secondly I would have not filed the claim and just paid her out of pocket.

This incident is different as it involves a stranger and an acident in a roadway where mine happened on my own property in my driveway .

 

[nbodyhome]

I haven't been in an accident in 14 years (that one was my fault), I am very surprised we have to pay to start with. That doesn't seem right to me, that we were just sitting at a light and now we have to pay $500.00. I didn't realize that was what no-fault meant!

I'd not do the same thing next time in the accident - next time, the person will get a ticket if there is damage (if the officer thinks it's warranted) and we'll get a full-blown report. Being nice can cost money, I guess. I wish I'd remembered that I had the camera with me, I'd have taken some photos. My husband called the guy yesterday, and he hasn't called back - so we will call the insurance company today.

 

[Carrie Ellis]

My neighbor last year got hit by an uninsured driver. I bites the big one but that is why we carry uninsured on our policies. I believe, if the person that hit you ends up not having insurance, you will pay a $250 deductable. I believe that is what most uninsured deductables are. We have to always pay for the deadbeats in the long run. It is a bummer. I would not have had sympathy for the guy in the first place. That is why we have insurance, for accidents. He caused an accident and should pay. But I even feel less sympathy when you said that he tried to leave and was talking on the cell phone. Oh my I would have been angry!!! I am sure you have the ball rolling now but don't feel bad for that guy.

 

[penguingirlie]

My advice is to call your insurance company immediately. This happened to me last fall and the guy wanted to pay out of pocket because he was driving a work truck and didn't want to get in trouble. He left the scene before I could call the police. I had $3000 in damage to my car and $6000 in medical bills. He thought it was only going to be $500 in damage. You never know what will happen later on so call your insurance company now. You don't want to live with regrets later on.

 

[nbodyhome]

I guess we will find out soon if his insurance has lapsed or not. He actually didn't drive away (that was another drive who I almost hit because he ran a stop sign and I had to skid into the median, and he kept driving and talking!)

This guy - he definitely was on this cell, not sure if he might have had a drink. I mentioned that I watched him put something from his front seat floor into his trunk - definitely a clear plastic cup, and possibly a can as well. I should have possibly had the police officer go after him at that point, with a ticket for what he did (and maybe checking his trunk). I just felt bad for him, he is going to be out a fair bit of money I think on his vehicle. But I think next time we'll just make sure to protect ourselves.

We didn't file a police report per se - we did have a police officer there, I wanted them called. We exchanged information on an official police sheet thing. I guess I should be glad that we don't have medical injuries, and that the stuff that was damaged didn't include the frame. But it really bites to be sitting there and have someone hit you, and be out time and money for no valid reason.

Oh, well. Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all of your suggestions, it makes me feel better about filing the claim today and not feeling so bad for him. It was his fault, he wasn't paying attention.

 

[La2kw]

On the way home after my husband picked me up from the airport, we were rear-ended pretty hard (the guy didn't even try to stop, my husband said he was talking on the cell phone). He begged us not to call the insurance company, which we haven't yet - he didn't want the police either, but I wanted to make sure we had an incident report.

How long is okay before waiting to call the insurance company? My husband was going to wait and let the guy make payments if he wanted, but I don't agree (and now my husband agrees with me). I said maybe by Thursday he should pay, otherwise we need to call. The bumper itself is $540 or so, but that isn't the retail price nor would it include the service. We may be able to get it done for $1000, but I don't know. I just want to make sure that we aren't out anything.

Does anyone know how long it is okay to wait? I figured a couple of days should be okay, but not longer. I don't want to be hard on the guy or anything (though personally, I think he might have had a drink as I saw him move a cup and what looked like a can to the trunk from the front seat floor area). Of course, it might have been an old can - but I don't know that. I just want to make sure we aren't out anything more than we already will be (as far as time, gas and such to get this taken care of).

Thanks!

He rearended you while talking on his cell phone, it's his fault. Why are you allowing him to call the shots? Call your insurance company now and report it. Let them deal with him. You may have injuries that you are not aware of yet. You shouldn't have to deal with the hassle.

 

[nbodyhome]

Thank you to everyone here, my husband did just file a claim with our insurance company online (very convenient to have that option).

He'd called the guy yesterday and left a 2 1/2 minute message, and never heard back. I am actually glad, I feel better doing the insurance thing instead.