Tuesday morning on the way to work, I got in a minor accident. Nobody was hurt, and the other person's car didn't even take any damage. My car did take some damage though, which I'm still finding more of than I thought (though still nothing major I think).
The accident happened on an off-ramp from the highway, getting onto another state road into the city I work in. The offramp is usually backed up for a good distance, and everybody inches their way forward because whoever's in front has to wait for an opening in traffic before going (and nobody EVER drives in the far left lane so that people on the ramp can get into traffic easily in the right lane).
I got to the front, and I was waiting for an opening, and I glanced up just in time to see a woman in a Taurus right behind me start moving forward very suddenly. Just before it happened I knew what she'd done and that she was going to hit me. I couldn't go anywhere though to avoid her without going into traffic on the road. She hit me, not going very fast but accelerating when she did. Pushed me forward a little bit, not into traffic.
We pulled over and got out and exchanged insurance and license and registration info. We didn't call the police (which I'm now thinking was stupid) because it was a minor looking hit and neither of us was hurt (actually it loosened up my back and I was able to get out a kink that had been there for days). What I saw right then was that my rear bumper had been push in and upwards at an angle, so that the front part of the bumper assembly was pushed downward and the back went upward. So the side panel part of the bumper is loose now and not attached to the car (but not hanging free really). The rear part pushed up against the trunk, so that the trunk door is pushing upwards on the right side, which twists it so the left side is pushed lower than the sides. It still opens and closes okay, but it's not sealed anymore because it's pushed up too far. The metal near the trunk door is also slightly bent, could probably be bent straight again.
Last night I found that the rear passenger door doesn't open and close right now as well. The side panel seems to have been pushed forward just enough to make it a tight fit, so the door doesn't just pop open when you pull the handle.
Neither of us had our insurance info with us, other than the company names which is printed on the registration, so we exchanged phone numbers so we could call with the info.
After the accident, I went to work and called the insurance company about an hour after it happened. They told me I don't have collision insurance, which didn't sound right to me because I thought I was smarter than that. They advised me to call the other person's insurance company and file a claim with them, if they don't call me first.
It turns out I don't have collision insurance. It was something I didn't get when I first moved here because I had a limited budget and only got the state minimums. Then when I got a better job, I was going to add full comprehensive coverage to it, but my father talked me out of it, saying it wouldn't be worth it due to the total value of the car being low (a few thousand dollars). (This just leads into the many reasons I hate my father.)
So anyway, no one has called, either the other person or her insurance company, and now I have to figure out what to do. I'm going to call mine back and find out why they aren't going to file the claim with the other company for me. I suspect it's because no matter what, my carrier isn't going to pay for it because I'm not covered. If I'd had coverage, I think they'd have filed the claim with the other carrier in order to avoid having to pay for it themselves.
I haven't yet taken the car for an estimate, so I have no idea how much it will cost to repair. Probably more than it's really worth, since the car is no longer worth as much as before the accident even if it's repaired.
If my carrier won't do the filing for me, that means I'll have to do it. Which means having to possibly fight the insurance company to pay for the damage. This is where the lack of a police report may bite me in the ass. (Give me some slack here, this is the first accident I've ever been in.) I'm not sure how hard it's going to be to get them to admit it was her fault and pay for it, unless she just admits it to them, which she may do if they ask, she seemed an okay person.
I have a problem with confrontation though, that's the biggest issue. Having to call someone else's insurance company and tell them one of their clients hit me and they owe me money isn't going to be easy for me. And if they fight me on it, I don't know how I'll defend myself.
It's almost enough to make me just say screw it and not even bother to get it fixed or pursue the claim. I've been wanting to get a new car for some time now, but I also hate using this as an excuse and backing down from the confrontation.
I guess it all depends on how much they fight me on it. If she just admits it was her fault, it might be okay. (We didn't discuss the cause at the scene. What it looked like to me is that she just assumed I was going to take an opening she saw and decided to go without making sure I HAD taken the opening.) But even if she does admit it, I fully expect her insurance company to try to think of a way to avoid paying for it.
Just needed to vent. I feel better now. Thank you. Problems like this scare me and I get very emotional very easily.
The accident happened on an off-ramp from the highway, getting onto another state road into the city I work in. The offramp is usually backed up for a good distance, and everybody inches their way forward because whoever's in front has to wait for an opening in traffic before going (and nobody EVER drives in the far left lane so that people on the ramp can get into traffic easily in the right lane).
I got to the front, and I was waiting for an opening, and I glanced up just in time to see a woman in a Taurus right behind me start moving forward very suddenly. Just before it happened I knew what she'd done and that she was going to hit me. I couldn't go anywhere though to avoid her without going into traffic on the road. She hit me, not going very fast but accelerating when she did. Pushed me forward a little bit, not into traffic.
We pulled over and got out and exchanged insurance and license and registration info. We didn't call the police (which I'm now thinking was stupid) because it was a minor looking hit and neither of us was hurt (actually it loosened up my back and I was able to get out a kink that had been there for days). What I saw right then was that my rear bumper had been push in and upwards at an angle, so that the front part of the bumper assembly was pushed downward and the back went upward. So the side panel part of the bumper is loose now and not attached to the car (but not hanging free really). The rear part pushed up against the trunk, so that the trunk door is pushing upwards on the right side, which twists it so the left side is pushed lower than the sides. It still opens and closes okay, but it's not sealed anymore because it's pushed up too far. The metal near the trunk door is also slightly bent, could probably be bent straight again.
Last night I found that the rear passenger door doesn't open and close right now as well. The side panel seems to have been pushed forward just enough to make it a tight fit, so the door doesn't just pop open when you pull the handle.
Neither of us had our insurance info with us, other than the company names which is printed on the registration, so we exchanged phone numbers so we could call with the info.
After the accident, I went to work and called the insurance company about an hour after it happened. They told me I don't have collision insurance, which didn't sound right to me because I thought I was smarter than that. They advised me to call the other person's insurance company and file a claim with them, if they don't call me first.
It turns out I don't have collision insurance. It was something I didn't get when I first moved here because I had a limited budget and only got the state minimums. Then when I got a better job, I was going to add full comprehensive coverage to it, but my father talked me out of it, saying it wouldn't be worth it due to the total value of the car being low (a few thousand dollars). (This just leads into the many reasons I hate my father.)
So anyway, no one has called, either the other person or her insurance company, and now I have to figure out what to do. I'm going to call mine back and find out why they aren't going to file the claim with the other company for me. I suspect it's because no matter what, my carrier isn't going to pay for it because I'm not covered. If I'd had coverage, I think they'd have filed the claim with the other carrier in order to avoid having to pay for it themselves.
I haven't yet taken the car for an estimate, so I have no idea how much it will cost to repair. Probably more than it's really worth, since the car is no longer worth as much as before the accident even if it's repaired.
If my carrier won't do the filing for me, that means I'll have to do it. Which means having to possibly fight the insurance company to pay for the damage. This is where the lack of a police report may bite me in the ass. (Give me some slack here, this is the first accident I've ever been in.) I'm not sure how hard it's going to be to get them to admit it was her fault and pay for it, unless she just admits it to them, which she may do if they ask, she seemed an okay person.
I have a problem with confrontation though, that's the biggest issue. Having to call someone else's insurance company and tell them one of their clients hit me and they owe me money isn't going to be easy for me. And if they fight me on it, I don't know how I'll defend myself.
It's almost enough to make me just say screw it and not even bother to get it fixed or pursue the claim. I've been wanting to get a new car for some time now, but I also hate using this as an excuse and backing down from the confrontation.
I guess it all depends on how much they fight me on it. If she just admits it was her fault, it might be okay. (We didn't discuss the cause at the scene. What it looked like to me is that she just assumed I was going to take an opening she saw and decided to go without making sure I HAD taken the opening.) But even if she does admit it, I fully expect her insurance company to try to think of a way to avoid paying for it.
Just needed to vent. I feel better now. Thank you. Problems like this scare me and I get very emotional very easily.
And I hate my insurance company but it's been easier to just let this policy finish out since I've paid it off through the end of the contract.
Facebook
Twitter