If your car is totaled out and you owe more than the insurance company is willing to pay you for it, who is stuck with owing the difference on your loan? The short answer is you are stuck owing the difference, but the long answer is even more frustrating.
Archive for the ‘property damage’ Category
Pick a body shop that you want to repair your car
Some insurance companies will try and tell you that you have to use their partner body shop in order to get your car fixed. This is not the case and you should know that you have the right to pick any auto body shop that you want to use so long as their estimate is consistent with other body shops.
7 biggest mistakes that can wreck your auto accident case
Savvy Car Crash Assist readers may have seen commercials or websites giving away copies of The Seven Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck Your [insert state name here] Accident Case, in exchange for your contact information. The booklet seems to have been ghostwritten by someone, then sold throughout the nation to various attorneys who claim authorship. In any case, it summarizes many of the things we teach in our Settlement Booklet. They are as follows: (more…)
Female gets a little more in her settlement because of the huge impact to her car
Part of our weekly series of case studies of recent car accident settlements. These case studies should help you determine the market value of your personal injury insurance claim. The finer details have been kept out to protect the identity of the individual, but the overall details are accurate and true.
Case Study
Gender: Female
Age: 30’s
Type of accident: Female was rear ended and had her car totaled out
At-fault insurance company: State Farm
The property damage claim is different than personal injury claim
This happens all the time, someone gets their old car that was completely paid for totaled out and they immediately go purchase a brand new car. Along with that new car comes a brand new car payment. Some people want to know if the new car payment can be added as pain and suffering. They say things like, “If it weren’t for the car accident, I wouldn’t have had to buy a new car and take on a new car payment. That new payment has put added stress on my life and therefore, I should get more money for pain and suffering.”
That statement is probably true. The problem with the logic behind the statement is you made the choice to take on the new car payment all on your own. You see, when you have your car totaled out in the accident, the insurance company has a responsibility to replace your car with the exact same car. They should pay you an amount that will get you into the exact same car. Nothing newer. Nothing nicer.
CarCrashAssist.com documenting my wife’s accident
Unfortunately for my family, the realities of being involved in a car accident came to fruition on Friday afternoon when my wife was rear ended while sitting at a red light. Fortunately for my family, it appears no-one was severely hurt (only time will tell).
Luckily for you, I will be documenting the whole ordeal on CarCrashAssist.com to show you that the information contained on this site and in our Settlement Booklet™ can help you navigate the waters of insurance claims and help you get the most value out of your personal injury settlement.
I recently posted an article on the importance of taking pictures of the accident scene, especially the property damage and injuries. Right now my wife doesn’t have any bruising, so we didn’t need to photograph any injuries, but I did get some pictures of the property damage. Here is the reason you need to take pictures whenever you are involved in a car accident:
Have a cell phone with a camera? Don’t leave home without it
If your cell phone doesn’t have a camera attached to it, please call your carrier right now and get a free upgrade with one that does. There is absolutely no excuse to not have access to a camera at all times to help you gather evidence if you are involved in a car crash.
Now that you have a shiny new camera phone, what should you be taking pictures of? Everything! Don’t let the other person move their car until you get lots of pictures of the damage, the accident scene, bruising, cuts and bleeding, weather conditions, traffic conditions, or just about anything else you can think of. The more pictures the better so don’t be timid in documenting the accident.
Sweet! My old car was totaled. Now the insurance company will have to buy me a brand new car?
Here’s the deal. Someone gets in a car accident and their car gets totaled out. Instead of waiting to find out how much their 93 Ford Tempo is worth, they immediately drive to the nearest dealership and purchase a brand new Jeep Wrangler. Their reasoning, “the insurance company will have to buy me a new car because they totaled out my old one”.
Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. Just because you had your car totaled out does not mean that the at-fault insurance company has to buy you a brand new car. The most they will be responsible for is paying you fair market value for your car that was totaled out. Let me give you a real life example:
What happens when your animal is hurt in a car accident?
Lets face it, people loves their animals. It’s no surprise then to find out that an animal was injured in the car crash. So what do you do if you had an animal that was hurt in a car accident? How do you make that claim?
Animals fall under the property damage of your claim. The animal falls under the same category as gold clubs being ruined or a car seat that needs to be replaced. So what that means to you is when you get your car fixed, make sure to let the adjuster know that you had an animal that was injured in the car accident and that you want the animal’s medical bills paid for. Make sure you compile all the veterinarian charges and submit them to the adjuster at the same time you submit the estimates for your car repairs.
Because animals are considered property damage, the insurance company is only responsible for the cost to replace the animal if it died in the accident. If you had a $20 pound cat, the insurance company will only be required to pay you $20 to replace it. This can be a hard thing for people to understand because the animal is often considered a part of the family. The best thing to do at that point is try and get a little more money in your pain and suffering claim, but be aware that you will probably never recover the full sentimental value you had for the animal.
