Got rear ended by uninsured motorist in Houston - what to do (deductible, price)

[WRM20]

We've never had our insurance go up for an accident that wasn't our fault. You have uninsured coverage for a reason. Use it.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I've been to a lot of cities in my days, but I have to say, Houston stands out as being one of the worst. Some don't even know how to drive it seems. I once had a woman in the far right lane decide she wanted to turn left, even though the left turn only green light had not come on!

But what gets me is the simple disregard for traffic laws and rules. People just don't give a shyt, and maybe it is not their fault because there is never any enforcement of the laws, even when HPD is in plain sight. I live in Montrose, and just about everyone runs a stop sign in the neighborhoods. People do not yield to pedestrians at crosswalks, or intersection and stop signs. I was almost hit by one foot recently while walking and the person knew I was there, but just could not be bothered to wait for me to cross I guess. I was so pissed, I even kicked the guys fender, but he/she kept going leading me to believe they were preoccupied with their phone. And too many people, even on freeways, drive with phone in hand!

I guess I'll just say rude drivers thrive here. And road rage... wow, people here get too upset too fast here for the dumbest reasons. Not many have patience, at least in Montrose. I rarely, if ever, witnessed this when I lived in Katy proper.

[gwarnecke]

Originally Posted by Htown2013

Sorry you're in this situation. What are you planning to do?

If no movement with the at-fault party's insurance in the next day or so, I'll start the ball rolling with my own insurance company. This is probably what I should've done in the first place, but FWIW, I was also rear-ended last year and the other person's insurance co treated me decently that time around.

I'm uninjured except for some lingering whiplash that will hopefully work itself out. My car (Volkswagen hatchback) is badly damaged but still drivable. I really hope it doesn't turn out to be totaled (the other three vehicles involved were totaled - the driver must've been going 50 mph when he slammed into us).

I agree about not driving fancy cars in Houston, for the same reasons you cited. I appreciate high-end cars and would like to own one someday, but there's no point in subjecting a fancy car to the terrors of Houston (poor drivers, rough roads, door-dingers, etc).

On another note, I don't really mind the car-centric nature of Houston overall, but an unfortunate side effect is that it encourages people to drive who really shouldn't get behind the wheel (careless, indifferent, can't be bothered to get insurance, can't put their phone/beer down, etc).

[Htown2013]

Just checked we have $50k uninsured motorist coverage with $250 deductible plus accident forgiveness.

[usc619]

Unfortunately, half of Houston is driving around with no insurance and registration. Which is why uninsured motorist insurance is very expensive in the greater Houston area.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by usc619

Unfortunately, half of Houston is driving around with no insurance and registration. Which is why uninsured motorist insurance is very expensive in the greater Houston area.

Adding the uninsured motorist wasn't that expensive, but the liability and collision were quite expensive.

[Htown2013]

Filed the uninsured motorist claim. Need to pick a repair shop. Insurance prefers to use a "service first" preferred shop that they work directly with.

The two recommended by Insurance are Sterling McCall Restoration Center on Murphy Rd and the second is Sterling McCall Toyota Fort Bend Collision Center.

Vehicle is an Acura if that makes a difference as to which one to choose. Both are equidistant so that's a wash.

Which one would you choose and why? Does it matter?

[SanJac]

Call an Acura dealer and find out which body shop they recommend. Be sure to ask about wait times because that could dictate who you end up choosing.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by Htown2013

We do have "uninsured motorist" provision with either $250 or $500 deductible. Is it worth using that?

The damage looks around $1k, but who's to say the shop won't do some BS and say it's like 2 or 3x that. Don't know how much it costs to replace bumper covers these days.

Is is necessary to even get repaired? One option is to live with it and save your chips for when they might be much more needed.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by oceangaia

Is is necessary to even get repaired? One option is to live with it and save your chips for when they might be much more needed.

Bottom part of bumper cover that you cannot see from eye level was dented in and popped off main bumper. If that helped dampen the blow from being worse, want to get that fixed.


Estimate came back $2k because of that lower damage and there is an alignment gap from the bottom side, so its a bit more than just the first 3 cosmetic dents.

Our uninsured deductible is $250.