A car accident creates stress. Dealing with vehicle damage claims adds to it. This guide answers common questions about vehicle damage claims to help you understand your rights and get your vehicle repaired or replaced.
Is Your Vehicle Damage Claim Separate from Your Injury Claim?
Yes! If an automobile accident injures you, your insurance injury claim stands separate from your motor vehicle damage claim. This means you can often resolve your vehicle’s damage independently of any personal injury claim you might have.
Should You Hire an Attorney for Your Vehicle Damage Claim?
Insurance company statistics indicate that injury claims individuals negotiate usually see a discount of approximately 70%. With an injury attorney’s assistance, an individual can expect to collect about three times more money on their injury claim. An injury attorney most often collects on your vehicle damages without charge if you ask them to assist with your injury claim.
Important Tip: Never give a recorded or written statement to the other driver’s insurance company regarding the accident. While your own policy may obligate you to provide a statement to your insurance company, do not discuss your injuries’ specifics. Simply advise any insurance company that your attorneys handle your claim and refer questions to them.
Towing and Storage: What You Need to Know
- Who pays? The liability insurance company should reimburse you or the towing company for towing and reasonable storage expenses. You may also have applicable coverage under your policy.
- Retrieving Personal Items: Contact the tow company immediately. Bring your ID and something proving you own your personal items to the tow yard during regular business hours to remove them.
- Moving Your Vehicle: You should find out where your vehicle was towed as soon as possible. Then arrange to move it if you incur storage fees and the vehicle damage claim is not resolved. Otherwise, high storage fees may accumulate, and the insurance company may refuse to pay them. The “at fault” party’s insurance, your insurance possibly, or you can move the vehicle yourself.
Understanding Rental Car Entitlements
- Am I entitled to a rental? If your car is not drivable, or when your vehicle is in the shop for repairs, you can request a rental car from your insurance company if you have rental reimbursement coverage, or from the responsible driver’s insurance company.
- Prompt Return: You must promptly return the rental car when the insurance company makes a reasonable offer for your total loss, or when your damaged vehicle’s repairs complete. You are usually not entitled to a rental car during disputes with the insurance company regarding your vehicle’s actual cash value.
- Quality of Rental: You may be entitled to a specific type of rental car to accommodate your physical disabilities, job requirements, or otherwise a vehicle of similar model to your damaged vehicle.
- Extra Rental Insurance: This depends on your own insurance coverage. If you have full and adequate coverage on your own vehicle, you probably shouldn’t need to purchase the additional rental car coverage. If you don’t have full and adequate coverage on your own vehicle, you will need to pay for coverage on the rental car. You may not receive reimbursement for this expense, so check with your insurance company first.
When Your Vehicle is “Totaled”
- Determining a Total Loss: If your vehicle was towed from the scene, an “appraisal” can be completed at the tow yard, body shop, or at your home to determine if it is totaled or repairable. Most companies will declare the vehicle a total loss when the initial repair estimate is about 80% of the car’s actual cash value.
- Payment for a Totaled Car: You are entitled to your car’s actual cash value prior to the collision. Unfortunately, insurance companies will not pay for the personal attachment you have to your automobile. A car’s actual cash value can only be based on sales of similar vehicles.
- What if I owe more than it’s worth? The insurance company is not obligated to pay more than the car’s actual cash value, not the excess amount you owe the lender. If this occurs, you should check if you have gap insurance to cover this difference.
- Sales Tax and Registration Fees: Yes, if your car is “totaled,” you are entitled to sales tax and registration fees in addition to actual cash value.
- Keeping Your Totaled Vehicle: You can keep your totaled vehicle, but you will receive actual cash value less salvage value. Salvage value is the amount a salvage yard will pay for your wrecked vehicle.
Understanding Repair Claims
- How much does the insurance company owe? In most situations, the insurance company owes the lesser of the vehicle’s actual cash value (“A.C.V.”) or the amount necessary to repair it.
- Getting Repair Estimates: If your car is repairable, the insurance company will assess the damage. You should always get three competitive estimates from body shops you select to ensure the insurance company does not undercut you. Determining mechanical damages fully, in addition to the vehicle’s “body” damage, is important.
- Choosing Your Repair Shop: Yes, you can choose where your car will be repaired. Just make sure the body shop is reputable and agrees with the insurance company’s estimate for repairs.
- Paying for Repairs: Usually, the insurance company will issue a check payable to you and/or the body shop. Do not endorse the settlement check or sign a release until the repairs satisfy you completely.
- Hidden Damage: If the body shop finds additional damage from the accident, the repairer should contact the insurance company for approval. After approval, an additional check should be issued.
- Using Your Own Collision Coverage: If you have collision coverage on your own policy, you should use it. Your insurance company should deal with you more fairly. Your collision coverage offers a quick way to repair your vehicle damage. You will have to pay the deductible, but your insurance company should pursue the responsible driver’s insurance company to recover the collision payment for itself and the deductible for you. Under state law, your insurance company should not raise your rates or cancel your coverage for merely making a claim for damages to your motor vehicle not caused by you.
Get a FREE Consultation
The information above provides a general overview, but every claim is unique. If you’ve been injured in an accident, the Moore-Faust Injury Law Group offers a free, confidential consultation regarding the merits and value of your injury claim.
