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Okay so my wife had a head on collision the other day. I am told that the car is likely totaled but not certain. My children were completely unharmed, wife was a bit sore and hurt her thumb but not broken. Couple of things I am uncertain of. I have the police report and it clearly indicates that they are blaming the other driver.
Some things I am uncertain about.
1. Will this lady sue me? Even if the fault is indicated in the report, it theoretically is unproven. The other driver had a 2008 Sentra and my wife drives a 2020 Navigator, I assume she will sue me if she can.
2. Hopefully tomorrow I will find out of her insurance will accept fault. The question would be is will they or will they fight it because they may as well fight it. My insurance company said because the police report clearly indicates fault I should go through the other woman's insurance but I am uncertain they would just accept it.
3. Likely, she will not have enough coverage to pay for our car as she has a car worth single digit thousands and our car is worth $90k+. So that will probably mean I have to collect the rest from my insurance and be out my deductible right? It also probably means that if my insurance company has to pay anything, they will raise my rates even if the fault wasnt ours, no? Also, I just checked my insurance and I see I pay for "new car replacement" so that may be useful since prices are inflated in today's marketplace. At best, I assume her insurance would only pay current value so using "new car replacement" would yield me more benefits, right? I understand that this will also mean more out of pocket for my insurance company which increases likelihood of my rates going up but then why pay for the "new car replacement" if I dont use it when it makes sense?
4. Would it be wise for me to seek legal help ASAP or wait to see what happens?
Okay so my wife had a head on collision the other day. I am told that the car is likely totaled but not certain. My children were completely unharmed, wife was a bit sore and hurt her thumb but not broken. Couple of things I am uncertain of. I have the police report and it clearly indicates that they are blaming the other driver.
Some things I am uncertain about.
1. Will this lady sue me? Even if the fault is indicated in the report, it theoretically is unproven. The other driver had a 2008 Sentra and my wife drives a 2020 Navigator, I assume she will sue me if she can.
2. Hopefully tomorrow I will find out of her insurance will accept fault. The question would be is will they or will they fight it because they may as well fight it. My insurance company said because the police report clearly indicates fault I should go through the other woman's insurance but I am uncertain they would just accept it.
3. Likely, she will not have enough coverage to pay for our car as she has a car worth single digit thousands and our car is worth $90k+. So that will probably mean I have to collect the rest from my insurance and be out my deductible right? It also probably means that if my insurance company has to pay anything, they will raise my rates even if the fault wasnt ours, no? Also, I just checked my insurance and I see I pay for "new car replacement" so that may be useful since prices are inflated in today's marketplace. At best, I assume her insurance would only pay current value so using "new car replacement" would yield me more benefits, right? I understand that this will also mean more out of pocket for my insurance company which increases likelihood of my rates going up but then why pay for the "new car replacement" if I dont use it when it makes sense?
4. Would it be wise for me to seek legal help ASAP or wait to see what happens?
My take:
Observations - head on collisions are fairly cut and dry - someone was where they were not supposed to be or when they were not supposed to be there. Should be fairly black and white. Glad you got a police report and glad the report shows fault. Let the insurance companies duke it out. If the kiddos are in car seats, make sure your insurance claims that against her policy - they should be replaced.
To your questions:
1) Why would she sue you / what would she sue you for? Is there some underlying potential fault (on your wifes part) that you're not mentioning?) If she did, it would/could be potentially be in bad faith and you could counter sue, so probably not worth it unless there is more to the story.
2) What is there to fight? I'd let the insurance companies fight it out.
3) This is why underinsured coverage is so important. I wouldn't assume a coverage increase since she was at fault, but its possible. I would make sure you've got a rental squared away ASAP, and start working on a replacement sooner rather than later.
4) I would think that is premature (unless there is more to the story).
Observations - head on collisions are fairly cut and dry - someone was where they were not supposed to be or when they were not supposed to be there. Should be fairly black and white. Glad you got a police report and glad the report shows fault. Let the insurance companies duke it out. If the kiddos are in car seats, make sure your insurance claims that against her policy - they should be replaced.
To your questions:
1) Why would she sue you / what would she sue you for? Is there some underlying potential fault (on your wifes part) that you're not mentioning?) If she did, it would/could be potentially be in bad faith and you could counter sue, so probably not worth it unless there is more to the story.
2) What is there to fight? I'd let the insurance companies fight it out.
3) This is why underinsured coverage is so important. I wouldn't assume a coverage increase since she was at fault, but its possible. I would make sure you've got a rental squared away ASAP, and start working on a replacement sooner rather than later.
4) I would think that is premature (unless there is more to the story).
BTW - nice color on that Navi.
Thanks, I am very happy that fault was pretty clear.
1) I just assume she will if she can. While the police report indicates fault, that isnt a judge's ruling so there still may be an opportunity to make opposing claims.
2) I dont know if the police report is the last word, if so then shouldnt be a fight. But if she says "no I disagree, it was her fault!" and her insurance says "well our insured says it was your fault so we arent going to accept responsibility until its 100% proven" maybe it isnt so simple.
3) If you look online, whether or not it goes up if you arent at fault is not guaranteed either way. I get the sense from my company that it will (could be wrong). I have Travelers. I got her a rental the next day, will look for a replacement as soon as they say it is totaled.
4) I think so but I know there is an insurance guy and a lawyer around here, figured they would have good insight.
Thanks, I dont think the color is being offered any more unfortunately.
The issue of using my insurance for new car replacement seems like one I will have to make a decision on soon. When I bought my car, it was $85k + taxes/fees-rebates so it was $91k total. To buy a new replacement car, that would cost me $105k total purchase price. So using the new car replacement would get me (I guess) $105k vs $79k (KBB current value of my car) which is a difference of $26k. That is a lot of money for my insurance company to spend but I pay for the coverage and will they charge me more than $26k in increased premium? Seems better to go through my insurance and get that and then let them get whatever they can out of the other person's insurance.
Make sure you fully understand the terms and conditions of your insurance's New Car Replacement. They are not all the same and they may have limits. You do not want to assume the words mean one thing only to find out it means something else.
Does the insurance co really give him a brand new car or it will take depreciation into account,his car is not brand new?
Depends on the policy.
Some will provide for a new vehicle. Others will do it providing you haven't exceeded the age or mile limits. Others may pay you the cost of that vehicle when purchased new regardless of any current lower value. No single way they all do it, so it's important to understand a person's own policy.
and even within the same insurance company, depending on the additional premium you've been paying, you may have purchased a robust new car replacement policy or it could be more a cheapo marketing gimmick.
So I finally talked to the other driver's insurance company and it seems she has this "dollar a day" insurance coverage that essentially offers no liability coverage. So she is effectively an uninsured motorist. So I need to look to that portion on my policy. It may also mean that I am getting everything from my own insurance company which means I have greater risk of significantly higher future premiums and now if there is fighting, it will be between me and my insurance company.
This is what it says in the simple explanation they give on my insurance page for each line item of insurance coverages. I am going to print out the entire policy and read through it as soon as I can now.
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