Got hit - need insurance advice

linewarbr · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 4:14 pm

Yesterday morning, I was stopped at a light minding my own business when a driver hit me from behind at about 5 mph. No major damage, he was driving a 4-Runner and it hit the spare. The metal on the swing gate around the bottom of the spare tire bracket is dented in a little, but the spare itself rebounded and is not resting against the bumper or anything major.

Rather than file a claim under my insurance and pay my deductible, I'm waiting on the other driver's insurance to open a claim (we both are insured by State Farm -- convenient) and send an adjuster out. It's nice that in the state of Louisiana, a driver that rear-ends another car is automatically at-fault in the accident.

What can I expect in this situation? I would imagine that rather than repair the damage, I would need a whole new rear swing gate, plus bracket and spare because of the risk of either or both being compromised. Can anyone give me an idea of how much I can expect to get? (I'm hoping to leave the rear as-is and put a Frankie on it. . .

)

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 4:30 pm

So you have no police report to prove what happened? Uh oh...better hope the other driver is an honest person.

JIMMY JEEP · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 4:45 pm

Get your vehicle checked by a body shop, ive seen footage of a kj being hit from behind at 5mph and the damage was considerable,tailgate ,rear glass, roof near hinges, rear quarter, it's the vehicles major weakspot.

flman · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:55 pm

What is with all these CRD's taking hits lately, don't the other drivers know they are priceless? At least to the owners, no replacement available.

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:18 pm

If you can get the adjuster to agree that the rear door needs replacement (a likely outcome) then you should be looking at a couple grand. Those doors aren't cheap, and it isn't just the door it is also the installation and calibration of the glass release mechanism.

snowman_crd · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 11:52 pm

I am an independent insurance agent in the state of Michigan. I do more life and commercial liability, but I still know a thing or two. You might have a problem if there is no police report... You might want to consider leaving State Farm when it renews, because they are going to know about the accident now because he reported a claim. and you know what that mean...

I hope that things work out for you...let me know if you have any questions, if I can't answer them I can find you an answer.

geordi · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 12:21 am

Yea, good point for everyone - ALWAYS CALL A COP for any accident.

I got hit by an old woman who was pulling out of a car wash, as I was driving across the wash in front of her. Didn't call a cop. Turns out, we both had Geico at the time, and when I called it in that night (b/c there was a fair amount of damage to the left rear side of my 93 Taurus) she was on the phone at the same time to another claim guy in the same phone room. My guy went and had a conversation with the other guy, this is what he told me:

She was claiming that I hit her. (with the left rear quarter panel?)

She never saw my car at all.

I was speeding through the parking lot. (how would she know, if she never saw me?)

I was weaving and driving in the wrong lane of the parking lot (again... Never saw me... then how?)

They decided together that her entire story was a crock of excrement, and that she would be getting cited completely for this. ALL damage on my car would be repaired at no cost, in addition they would be providing a rental car at her policy's expense (I didn't have the rental option on mine) for a minimum two weeks no matter if it only took 4 days to fix my car, or until the car was complete.

As I said, I got LUCKY on that one. Having a cop would have just made it a lock.

In another case, having a cop called SAVED me a bundle of nonsense from a fraudulent claim attempt. Driving a trailer home, the spare tire bounced off the tongue when I went over a speed bump just outside my development. I heard it bang, thought it was just the tongue jack hitting, but decided to stop and check. I see nobody right behind me, and the tire in the grass just by the bump, with a van just before the bump. I ignored the van, and it went past slowly, the woman driving probably just curious as to what I was doing on the side of the road. 5 minutes later, the van returns from the other direction, and a man driving gets out and demands I pay him for wrecking his van's muffler.

I'm confused as to what he is talking about, (in his extremely thick non-english-speaking accent) and tell him I have no clue what he is talking about and continue tying up the tire back on the trailer. He starts screaming about how the tire came "flying out at his van" and the van drove over it and it damaged the muffler and I have to pay him for it.

This was like a Pontiac minivan with a very low plastic front cowl, only about 3.5-4 inches of ground clearance. There was no damage at all to it, and the tire sits at about 8 inches high on it's side. NO WAY would it pass under the van, in any way without wrecking the front or just getting jammed.

He insists that if I try to leave "the scene of this crime" he would call a cop. I decided to do it for him. 45 minutes later, of him occasionally continuing to insist that I could just pay him for the damage and he wouldn't press criminal charges, the cop finally shows up. The cop is less than impressed by this idiot's rantings, and easily notes for himself the physics of the tire's inability to have done ANYTHING to the underside without first wrecking the front... Which was pristine. The cop also was not impressed by the idiot's revelation that his wife was driving and drove home from "the scene" to get him, since she "was scared as to what I might do" and also (of course) "doesn't speak any english"

They insisted on attempting to get the cop to do something to me about this, despite the fact that IF the wife had hit something in the road... IF it had come from my vehicle... Once no longer attached... It was considered a road hazard and I was NOT liable for anything it did. He did a basic report anyway b/c the idiot kept pushing.

I heard from Progressive Insurance about a week later that the idiot was attempting to make a claim and get them to sue me for the damages. Once they were made aware of the police report and the actual situation... It all went away, at least for me. For some reason, the next time I saw the wife in their front yard... She didn't seem friendly-looking toward me. I wonder if that might be because I'm not willing to be an insurance fraud victim?

ALWAYS CALL A COP FOR A REPORT.

linewarbr · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:40 am

I did call the cops, and there is a police report on file. In Louisiana, hitting someone from behind is an automatic at-fault for the driver.

Got a call this morning from State Farm, they have already opened a claim under the other driver's insurance. I told them to have an adjuster come out and look at my Jeep rather than me taking it to a shop. I am really wanting to just get a check for the damages, rather than have it repaired and then they pay the shop. How can I get that to happen?

geordi · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 12:08 pm

It shouldn't be a problem, they are going to go by the prescribed part and labor values in their book anyway. Just tell the adjuster that you want the check cut to you directly, as you will be taking it to a shop of your choosing, but haven't found one yet.

It wouldn't hurt to take it yourself to a body shop and ask them for an estimate, that way you have something to negotiate against with the adjuster. Their rates WILL be less than an independent shop - State Farm (and all the big ones really) lean on the bodyshops for *special* rates which they might try to undercut even those when giving you the check directly.

This is a war, not a handout. You will need to know your enemy (the insurance company) in order to get anywhere close to the best amount. The first offer will be the lowball, almost certainly.

linewarbr · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 12:16 pm

10*4, Colonel Geordi Sir!

You're right. I'm hoping the adjuster can't come see me till Monday, so I have time to get some figures in hand. I hate to pay a body shop for an estimate, but it may be worth it in the long run.

BlackLibertyCRD · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:43 pm

linewarbr wrote:

I did call the cops, and there is a police report on file. In Louisiana, hitting someone from behind is an automatic at-fault for the driver.

Got a call this morning from State Farm, they have already opened a claim under the other driver's insurance. I told them to have an adjuster come out and look at my Jeep rather than me taking it to a shop. I am really wanting to just get a check for the damages, rather than have it repaired and then they pay the shop. How can I get that to happen?

When my wife backed her CTS into my Jeep and busted the tail light and other damage on the CTS. State Farm insist on replacing the tail light with a used one (um they called it recycled as being good to the enviroment). They probley require a used tailgate as a replacement.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:28 pm

When I got hit, they replaced the rear gate and swapped the guts, looks good and the other insurance paid up including a rental car for the week. Since the accident was caused by a Semi making a left turn from the right lane, the other guy did not get a ticket but his insurance paid up.

linewarbr · **Posted:** Thu Feb 04, 2010 11:34 pm

Well, that's the thing - I don't want them to replace the rear gate. I want them to give me a check TO GO GET the rear gate replaced (wink wink). Know what I'm sayin' dere, G? It's high time I got a Frankie. With 2.5" inches of lift, I won't be able to see the dent behind the spare anymore. . . .

Got hit - need insurance advice

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