I need some help/opinions on a car accident situation.

[tuffy]

So here's the situation.

My wife got in a car accident yesterday on her way to work. She hit some black ice on the highway and couldn't stop and ended up rear-ending a guy. She was going slow when she hit the guy, so slow in fact that the air bag didn't deploy.

Here's a picture of the damage:

She got out of the vehicle, checked to make sure the other driver was okay and checked the damage. Everyone was okay so she got back in her car and called the police. While waiting for the police, another car slipped on the same ice, the driver of that car lost control of the car and ended up rear-ending my wife while going backwards. The impact ended up causing my wife to hit the vehicle in front of her again.

Here is a picture of the damage sustained from the second impact:

And the damage from the car that hit her:

Here's my problem. When I called my insurance company yesterday, they told me that if the total damage to the vehicle exceeded 70% of it's value, they would consider it totaled. Today I received the estimates, which came to $6,000 and some change and was told the value of the vehicle is $7,800. There were two estimates done, one for the damage my wife is responsible for and one for the damage the driver that rear-ended my wife is responsible for.

To me this is simple math, the damage caused is ~77% of the vehicles value which to me, means it's totaled. When I called my agent today to discuss this, she said they are not going to total the vehicle because the claim they are paying doesn't exceed 70% of the vehicles value (they are only paying for the front end damage). I'm not to happy about this because I'm going to be getting a car back that would have otherwise, been considered totaled.

Does anybody have any advice on how to approach this with my insurance company? I've thought about dropping the claim with the other drivers insurance company and filing the entire thing with my insurance company. That would then make the repair costs exceed the 70% mark.

I know they are looking out for their bottom line, but what experiences have you guys had in dealing with insurance adjusters? Do they ever budge on their stance? Am I fighting a losing battle here? Thoughts???

 

[Headbanger]

I am not in this field but have a few things I would like you to clairify if you will.


What is the payout going to be from car #3 insurance for her rear damage to your car?

What percentage of the $6000 in total damage was from the front end that your wife is responsible for?

I doubt your insurance company will allow you to make the full clain to them since they know the rear damage to your car was done by someone else.

 

[Headbanger]

OH my bad I hope your wife is doing OK.


It is not the speed or damage to the car that makes the airbags deploy. It is when a certain amount of crash sensors located in the front and rear bumper are triggered during a crash. Did she hit an SUV or truck? The hood looks like it took the biggest hit while the bumper and headlights looks to be damaged very little.

 

[cba191]

i hope everyone is ok.

ps. what's all that stuff on the road? :halfgrinw

 

[tuffy]

It's about $3,500 for the front end damage(to be paid by my insurance co) and $2,500 for the damage to the rear of the car (paid by the third cars insurance co).

She's okay. She's a little shaken up from the second impact because she didn't put her seat belt back on when she got back in the car to call the police. She was bounced around a little and got a little whiplash and a huge bruise on her leg.

The first crash was a very low impact (thus the reason the sensors weren't tripped). It was a total, uncontrollable accident. In fact, my wife didn't receive any kind of ticket from the cop. I found that kind of odd, I've never heard of an accident occurring where at least one driver didn't get some sort of ticket.

 

[Ratbert]

Hi,

The problem that you have is that these are two distinct accidents. So, you can make another collision claim with your company for the rear damages, but you'll be hit with another deductible. Your company will subrogate (attempt collection) from the company who insures the guy that slid into your wife, and if they collect, you'll get the deductile back.

You can make the argument to them that the car should be totaled because while the car was at full value before the first accident, it was reduced in value by the amount of repairs when the next guy came along and hit you. The repair check from the first impact plus the reduced ACV (actual cash value) from the second impact should equal the car's initial ACV.

If your company can succesfully collect the damages from the second accident from the responsible party, then you'd only be out the deductible from the first accident, as responsibility would unfortunately fall on your wife.

Who is your insurance company, if I might ask?

 

[oneaday]

Who gave you the estimate of the ACV of your vehicle? Check Kellys or Black Book on line to see if their ACV is accurate. It's amazing to see the variations in ACV, don't forget to add the mileage to get an accurate evaluation.

 

[sportsmedjosh]

Have the car been examined by a body shop. The estimate the adjuster gave you is just that an estimate. There might be other damage done to the car that they might not be aware of.

 

[Ratbert]

Who gave you the estimate of the ACV of your vehicle? Check Kellys or Black Book on line to see if their ACV is accurate. It's amazing to see the variations in ACV, don't forget to add the mileage to get an accurate evaluation.

A very good idea...Kelly Blue Book is pretty much the industry standard in some parts of the country. If you use them online, be sure to use the "Private Party Value" rather than the "Retail Value."

 

[Headbanger]

Glad the wife is doing OK. That is the most important thing.

Looks like you have some good replies wish I could help.

I guess the decision you're going to have to make soon is repair the Ford you have with the settlement money from both insurances or to sell what is left to the junk yard and find a replacement. Best of luck to your family.

 

[Saully]

Glad your wife was ok. That's the most important part.

My guess would be that you'd best file for both accidents with your own carrier. You'd have to pay the deductible, but they should be able to subrogate that as well as the amount of the second claim and refund the deductible to you.

 

[derfatdutchman]

Glad to hear your wife is unhurt thats always the important thing. There is one small problem that you may encounter if you run both accidents through your own insurance company. You may end up paying two deductibles, I'd talk to this with the adjuster prior to submiting the second claim, the company may waive the second deductible because the accidents are related but its better to be sure that have to fork out two deductibles.

 

[GatorMike]

I'm really surprised the airbag didn't deploy. You may want to look into that. Hope everything turns out well.

 

[jwintosh]

Here's to your wife's health!!