Car Accident & Insurance Woes
I was in a car accident June 13 on the way to work.
I was stopped, along with every other car in that lane. The car behind me was also stopped. We'd been sitting there for at least 30 seconds or so, because I'd just started reaching for my coffee. I heard a loud thud from behind me, and a second later felt one as the car that had been behind me hit my SUV and careened past me into one of the on-coming traffic lanes.
Apparently, this guy decided to move into our lane without, you know, checking to see if anyone in our lane was actually moving. He hit the car stopped behind me going at least 25-30 mph (or so he says, I think it was faster), which shoved her forward into me. She had enough time to turn the wheel so as not to hit me head-on, possibly wedging her car between us. As a result, she hit me on the driver's side tail-gate/bumper - unfortunately, her brakes went out (she said she was standing on them and still moving) and she couldn't stop her car from going out into the incoming traffic lane and past me. Her car coasted to a stop a good car-length beyond mine in the other lane - and I had moved forward some because I'd been hit. Thank the gods that the light up ahead was red and there wasn't any incoming traffic at that exact moment.
They had to tow both her Scion and his Chevy - I have damage to the tailgate, and the bumper will completely need to be replaced - in fact, part of it is currently in my backseat. But at least it's drivable.
Things going through my mind after the accident while waiting for the police, in pretty much this order:
- Thank god no one was hurt.
- Goddamnit, I have stuff I have to do this morning!
- Good thing he has insurance, 'cause I am not paying my deductible for this.
- I don't have time for this. I better call work before someone starts looking for me.
- Well, at least that rusty scrape on the tailgate will be fixed, 'cause they're either going to have to replace or repaint it.
- (after a few minutes) I wonder if I can pawn off the broken tail-light as damage from this?
Also, just to show that it's a small world after all - the girl that got hit and shoved into my SUV used to work in my office. Go figure. And, our maintenance guy from the office got rear-ended on his way back from the post office earlier that day. Apparently, it wasn't not a good day for Hokanson Co. employees to be on the road.
Anyway, just wanted to bitch... you know, RED means BRAKES which means that the CAR is STOPPED. Isn't this something that is taught to you before you get a driver's license?!?!?!
It was kinda funny once the cops got there, though. The girl's car was still sitting in the oncoming traffic lane (her car couldn't move, and there wasn't any shoulder anyway), which meant people were merging into one lane to pass us. They were doing so pretty much without looking at the traffic (too busy rubbernecking, probably), and there were a few near misses. As the second cop showed up and was walking towards us, there was another near miss, and she started yelling at them: "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING! THIS IS WHAT CAUSES ACCIDENTS!!!!" Along with a deathglare. That part was pretty amusing.
So, today…. I spent the morning dealing with the insurance companies.
So, the guy who caused the accident doesn't have enough coverage to cover all the damage he did to our two vehicles. He has $10,000 liability, he did $2,300 to my car, and more than $8,000 to the other one. So, Geico basically told me to deal with my insurance company (State Farm). Then, State Farm will bill them, Geico will split that $10,000 coverage between the two claims (based on a percentage, based on cost of the damage done), and pay State Farm that percentage. I told him that I was NOT paying my deductible on damage that his insured did to my car. He said that there was nothing he could do, except refund my deductible with the rest of the money that gets sent to State Farm, after the car is fixed. I told him that I would be calling my insurance company, because that would not work. I hung up as he was starting to say something else.
So I called State Farm. They confirmed that what Geico had told me was correct about collecting the money from them, and then they’d go after the motorist for the remainder of the cost. Unfortunately, I still owe a $500 deductible. My State Farm rep was extremely surprised that Geico didn't offer to prepay me for the deductible.
About this time, call waiting beeps in on my cell. I look at it. It's Geico. I ignore them in favor of talking to someone who'll actually do something.
The State Farm rep says that he will call Geico to find out why they won’t prepay me for the deductible, and he’ll call me back. I thank him, and hang up.
I check my voicemail, and it was the rep from Geico - he said that he had “talked to his supervisor” and would prepay my deductible if State Farm would send them proof of the deductible. Kinda funny, considering that when I had talked to his assistant yesterday, she said that he was head of the claims in that office. Hmmm…
So, I wait for State Farm to call back. After a bit, he does. He said that he hadn’t yet called Geico about the deductible, because he looked over my policy and noticed that I have "Underinsured Motorist" coverage - which means I am not liable for any of that money or deductible, and filing the claim through State Farm won’t affect anything at all - it won’t count against me like filing a claim for damage I had caused would. He apologized heavily, but said that he had to transfer my claim to the State Farm field team in Indianapolis, because of the type of claim. I said that was fine - I don’t care who I talk to, as long as it gets taken care of.
So I call the field team. He explained to me what exactly would be happening next (same as what I’d already heard, so at least I’m getting the same story from everyone). He asked about the deductible issue, and I mentioned that Geico had called me back and said that they would prepay it. He expressed surprise that they hadn’t offered to do so off the bat, and said that he would call them today to find out exactly what they needed and get a fax number to send it to them. He said that I should be getting a check in the mail, but to follow up within a week. He also told me to go ahead and set up an appt to get my car fixed, but not to pay the body shop the deductible until the car is fixed and I’ve had a chance to look it over and make sure it’s good (which I always do anyway, since I don’t trust most people with my car - even the ones that I have used before and haven’t had any problems with).
So, anyway, that’s where it stands. I was so upset this morning that I have a massive headache now and just want to go home from work, but I can’t. *sigh*