Accident

[A Dying Devotion]

Well I got rear ended today..exchanged info and now I guess im waiting for him to call me back. What do I have to do? I have never been in an accident.

[Dousan_PG]

call your insurance company. they will walk you thru and assist you.

[masta]

If it is serious, you might want to get a accident lawyer. My sister tried to go through the system, but ended up getting screwed where they would not pay her. So she got a lawyer and they took care of it.

Be careful and good luck.

[A Dying Devotion]

Well turns out he reported it got the claim # and gave it to me like 30min after the accident. Now I have to wait for the insurance company to come look and see how much it will cost to fix. Im happy to see its going to go through well.

[Dousan_PG]

if you have a good insurance company (like state farm, all state, AAA) you msot LIKELY wont run into problems.

if you have one of thos crappy ones (little local ones) you'll get screwed

on guy at work got in an accident. they refused to pay anythign because he was one day late on his payment!! so now he has to get new bumper, body work, new fenders, wheels alignment and a variety of other things out of his own pocket

go w/ a major company might cost more but in the long run you'll be stress free.

[A Dying Devotion]

Yea I got allstate he has Mercury I think we should be ok. If everything works out ill get a nice check from his insurance and wont take a hit on mine. My dad said the damage is around $1k at least so I am happy at teh same time sad since I owe my dad $500 for past repairs on the car I will have to drive around with a dent for a while. Fun Fun.

[SilviaSR20DET]

I had the exact same accident with my former 97 240sx. It got rear ended so bad it totaled the car cause it came out to be like 8000 dollars worth of damage. The process is a bitch so you'll have to wait for quite a bit well at least i did. You have to wait until there insurance to come and take a look at your car to run an estimate then you can get your cash to fix it. Good luck!

[96SEChick]

Just a little tidbit of info: Many insurance companies no longer issue checks for repairs directly to the customer. They are trying to avoid the "check pocketing" practice done by claimants (people not at fault in the accident). They instead will issue the check to the bodyshop when repairs are completed.

If this guy who hit you has American Mercury--I think they may be a "direct bill" insurance company--meaning they issue payment to the shop instead of the customer. You may want to check that out before you plan on giving 1/2 the money to your dad. Go ahead and get estimates from 2 or 3 reputable bodyshops--and ask the bodyshops if they know which process that particular insurance company uses (if they know). That way, you have the estimates if the insurance company wants them, and you have an idea of how the insurance company works.

[A Dying Devotion]

Ok great ill go check out the different body shops tommoro. Thanks for all the info guys.

[Jeff240sx]

I know what you're saying about check-pocketing... but I really think that issueing checks to the bodyshop is wrong. What is a body-shop worker had an accident? Would he have to do the repairs at a shop? Why the hell couldn't he do the repairs himself? And if he did save some money in shop labor, GOOD! He did the work himself and deserves the money.
I'm kinda ****ed knowing about that. I'll cram my foot up the first insurance adjustors ass that tells me I'm not getting a check!
-Jeff

[96SEChick]

Originally posted by Jeff240sx
I know what you're saying about check-pocketing... but I really think that issueing checks to the bodyshop is wrong. What is a body-shop worker had an accident? Would he have to do the repairs at a shop? Why the hell couldn't he do the repairs himself? And if he did save some money in shop labor, GOOD! He did the work himself and deserves the money.
I'm kinda ****ed knowing about that. I'll cram my foot up the first insurance adjustors ass that tells me I'm not getting a check!
-Jeff

A lot of the larger insurance companies, like Progressive & State Farm will not allow you to take your car to a shop that they haven't heard of or researched. Insurance companies want to know the work was done right, and the car was repaired safely and thoroughly--so, if you take your car to Joe Dirt's bodyshop, and his business phone is a cell phone--not a land line, the insurance company may not approve you to take your car there. It's a case-by-case basis. The insurance company may even go to that shop and inspect the tools, machinery & materials they use, then decide if it is a trust-worthy enough shop to repair the car. Insurance companies don't fuuck around like they used to. They won't just hand over a check to anybody anymore.

Now, if a guy who works at a bodyshop does the work on his own car, he may be able work it out w/ the bodyshop to get a refund check for the over-pay from the insurance company--if the insurance company won't give him a check personally.

The reason I know quite a bit about this? I work for Enterprise Car Rental. I get to deal with insurance companies on a daily basis. I get to hear stories from customers about ins co's, and I talk to the bodyshops daily about repairs, payments, adjusters, etc--every day for over a year and a half. Insurance companies know what games claimants & insureds like to try to play & they don't fall for them near as much anymore.