Car accident/insurance question

[robphelan]

The wife was rear-ended (mind out of the gutters right now) Saturday afternoon while yielding to oncoming traffic. She drives an Explorer and the guy who hit her had an F150.

It's pretty cut and dry that it was his fault. We called it into our insurance (GEICO) and also called his(AAA) to ask what to do about a rental.

The agent called me this afternoon and said that it could be days before they spoke with the insured and determined liability. And, they wouldn't pay for a rental if our car was just sitting around all that time.

They suggested that GEICO go ahead and authorize repairs(we have full coverage) so the work can begin. If AAA was responsible, they would reimburse.

However, my deductible is 500(reimbursable) and I would have to pay for the rental out of pocket (reimbursable).

More importantly, I don't want this to negatively impact my premiums - would filing a claim, even though AAA would later assume responsibility, negatively impact our insurance(premiums)?

We haven't had an accident or reportable ticket in over 6 years.

Cliffs:
1) Got into an accident - other guy's fault
2) Should we file through our insurance to get the work started on our vehicle?
3) Would filing through our insurance negatively impact our insurance policy?

EDIT: visual aid

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/5445560573_57fe7b3475_b.jpg

 

[RKS]

no, it should not impact your premium and the easiest way to get anything done is through your insurance and let them subrogate the claim.

 

[Texashiker]

They suggested that GEICO go ahead and authorize repairs(we have full coverage) so the work can begin. If AAA was responsible, they would reimburse.

Looks to me like your letting the other insurance company push you around.

Never call your insurance company, there is a chance they will put it as a no-fault on your record and your premiums will go up. It happened to me - a lady clipped the rear end of my SUV but I was able to drive it home. I called my insurance company (progressive), they came to my house to look at the damage. A couple of months later I found out that progressive put the accident on my record because they got involved. Even though it was a "no fault" accident, progressive used it as an excuse to raise my premiums.

The guy hit your wife, did he get a ticket? If so, I would call the guys insurance company and tell them to have you a rental there within the hour.

 

[EagleKeeper]

If it is the F150 fault, that insurance will end up covering everything, including the rental and your deductible.

However, until there is a determination of fault; you are covered by your Geico policy and its deductible.

You need to decide do you want to get your insurance involved so you can start getting the repairs done; or wait for the other insurance to accept fault and then proceed under their direction.

 

[robphelan]

If it is the F150 fault, that insurance will end up covering everything, including the rental and your deductible.

However, until there is a determination of fault; you are covered by your Geico policy and its deductible.

You need to decide do you want to get your insurance involved so you can start getting the repairs done; or wait for the other insurance to accept fault and then proceed under their direction.

yeah, this is my predicament

As far as I know, he did not receive a ticket. We picked up a rental that afternoon. I had called AAA to see what their preferred agencies were and went to one of them.

 

[Homerboy]

Interesting. I have always just contacted my insurance company immediately after the police report etc. It was THEIR JOB to contact and work with the other person and their insurance company. I got my rental and my repairs started immediately. Nothing was claimed on my insurance and my rates never went up.

 

[robphelan]

the lady from GEICO wouldn't say that my premiums wouldn't be affected.. she said the underwriting group would make that determination - she didn't say that it would necessarily be sent there, just that it's their call.

 

[Homerboy]

the lady from GEICO wouldn't say that my premiums wouldn't be affected.. she said the underwriting group would make that determination - she didn't say that it would necessarily be sent there, just that it's their call.

Honestly, this is why I admittedly pay a tad more for my insurance. I JUST priced out options to Geico, Progressive etc, and they were cheaper. But I KNEW that I wouldn't get solid service. I deal with a lady that I know and trust and is ALWAYS a phone call away to take care of me/my wife. Its worth the ease in my eyes, especially when you're already stressed due to the accident etc.

 

[BoomerD]

An accident where YOU are not at fault should not impact your insurance rates. However, many insurance companies often assign 10-30% of the fault to YOU...since often, "if you'd have stopped at that green light, that drunk driver who ran the red light, wouldn't have plowed into your car." 🙄

I was stopped at a red light and got rear-ended a few years ago. I looked in my rear view mirror in time to see the lady realize she was about to plow into the back of my car...she never slowed down...never touched the brakes...BAM!
Her insurance company TRIED to blame me for the accident..."If you'd have been more aware, you could have gotten out of her way." 😡
They paid all the damages...plus some medical bills as well. I was determined to NOT be at fault in any way. <shakes head as asshole insurance companies>

 

[robphelan]

ack.. i think i'm going to wait 1 day to see if AAA does anything.. If by tomorrow afternoon they haven't contacted me, I'll have my insurance authorize repairs & subrogate later.

The policeman commented to my wife that this series of interchanges has almost too many accidents to count.

btw, I added a visual aid to the OP.

 

[amdhunter]

The wife was rear-ended.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Was the Yield sign on the exit ramp or on the cloverleaf ramp?

If on the exit ramp; she is safe; if on the cloverleaf; then there could be some liability for her slowing/stopping. Much will depend on the police report and how much the other driver protests.

 

[robphelan]

yep.. it was to her right.. not to the right of the merging traffic - they have the right of way.

the poor guy was in his late 60's/early 70's. he could barely hear & had my wife talk to his wife who was in the truck.

apparently, his wife was so exasperated, the police thought she was riding with my wife.

 

[amdhunter]

the police thought she was riding with my wife.

 

[Krazy4Real]

Good luck OP.

 

[robphelan]

thanks a bunch for the advice

 

[sactoking]

The agent called me this afternoon and said that it could be days before they spoke with the insured and determined liability.

This is true, the other insurer has a legal and contractual duty to perform a full investigation before accepting liability lest they run afoul of any relevant bad faith claims handling laws.

And, they wouldn't pay for a rental if our car was just sitting around all that time.

This is true, as the aggrieved party you have a legal duty to mitigate your loss (i.e., minimize the impact of the loss on yourself). AAA doesn't have any duty to pay for a rental while your car isn't in the shop unless it is a) completely unable to be driven and b) impossible to get into the shop (e.g., all the shops are busy and can't get to your car for a few days).

They suggested that GEICO go ahead and authorize repairs(we have full coverage) so the work can begin. If AAA was responsible, they would reimburse.

However, my deductible is 500(reimbursable) and I would have to pay for the rental out of pocket (reimbursable).

Just as a note AAA would likely reimburse you directly for your rental car costs but would not reimburse you directly for your deductible. Instead your deductible will be added to the subrogation bill Geico sends to AAA and AAA will pay Geico and Geico will reimburse you. This is because your policy with Geico likely states that if Geico is unable to recover 100% of their costs from AAA your deductible will only be reimbursed in proportion to the amount they receive. So, if AAA says your wife is 10% at fault and Geico agrees, AAA will pay Geico 90% of everything and you'll get 90% of your deductible back from Geico.

More importantly, I don't want this to negatively impact my premiums - would filing a claim, even though AAA would later assume responsibility, negatively impact our insurance(premiums)?

If it does you'd really have to look into the matter. Pretty much every insurer is barred from raising rates for not-at-fault accidents unless there is an extensive existing claim history, and even then they usually can only raise them to offset the added administrative costs. This isn't like homeowners insurance where just calling your insurer can count as a claim and lead to higher rates. Heck, in most states you can be at fault and still not see your rates go up so long as you are <50% at fault or not the most at fault party (assuming 3+ parties involved). It's really only the "pure contributory" states where anything other than 0% can lead to a rate increase. (I think LA might be the only pure contrib state left) Usually when you hear people say "I got into a not-at-fault accident and my rates went up" they have a long history of accidents/tickets or their rates went up for some other reason and the rep they talked to was too lazy/ignorant to find the real reason.

 

[bruceb]

Your insurance should not go up for this type of accident. But as to a car rental, depending on the insurance company, some will only pay while your car is undergoing repairs and not from the time it is undriveable. So you may need to argue this with the insurance company about getting all the rental cost paid to you.

 

[robphelan]

Sactoking, thanks for some good info

 

[Zee]

even if it was your fault too, geico has an accident forgiveness policy across the board as does other insurances where even if this was your first after x amount of years (5?), your rates wont go up because of it.