Car insurance question

muninn

I have a few basic questions concerning car insurance, so if someone could give me some pointers, it would be great.

If I get into an accident, and the other party is at fault, would I get my deductible back? Also, if I have rented a car during repairs, and my insurance covers 60% of the cost, would the other insurance party cover the remainder?

I am kinda uncertain about who pays what in such circumstances...

Chanus

If the accident is not your fault, your insurance shouldn't be covering anything... theirs should.

Dog

I'm not an insurance agent or anything, but my dad was recently in an accident and from what I understand from talking to him he had to pay the % of the rental that his insurance didn't cover, but ended up being reimursed by the other insurance party later down the line.

muninn

robothero wrote: »

I'm not an insurance agent or anything, but my dad was recently in an accident and from what I understand from talking to him he had to pay the % of the rental that his insurance didn't cover, but ended up being reimursed by the other insurance party later down the line.

Was the reimbursement received through your own insurer, or did you have to contact the at fault insurance yourself?

Dog

I'd have to ask him, I don't know how it really worked other than he bitched about having to pay for a few months.



Your best bet would be to call your insurance company and find out. As long as you call your local office instead of the corporate hotline, they're pretty straight forward with you.

PeregrineFalcon

muninn wrote: »

If I get into an accident, and the other party is at fault

You take every red cent of your expenses out of the other party's insurance.

The only reason to talk to your carrier is if the other guy or his company are being dicks, and even then it's just "Hi, I'm muninn, here's the police report for the recent incident that found Douchey McDoucherton at fault for the accident. Start beating him and his company until they pay up."

YMMV, but that's how it worked in Canada when my dad got T-boned by some guy who ran a stop sign and totaled his car.

Edit - Reimbursement may come through your carrier in some cases if they have to go after the other party but it should not be coming from your carrier. The difference is in whose premiums go up.

Dog

Thanks Falcon. I was under the assumption he had been reimbursed by the other party via his own insurance. Which it sounds like might have been the case.

Djeet

When the other person's been at fault I've never been out of pocket for the rental, not sure who footed the bill, thought it was the other guys insurance. There was a limit to how long they'll payout (4 weeks I think) and how much they cover (30$ per day, but they won't cover the loss damage waiver), but that may vary by policy.

prfntbtr

The following is standard for the majority of insurance companies:

If you go through your own insurance policy for a loss, and the other part is at fault, your insurance carrier has the right to go after the responsible part for anything they have paid out. While they are getting back their money, they will usually attempt to get your deductible amount back for you as well and will return it to you once they get their hands on it. Alternately, if you have Uninsured Motorist coverage on your policy, and the other party does not have insurance, your deductible will either be less, or possibly waived entirely, depending on your policy.

If you end up out of pocket for rental car expenses, you should request that money back from the responsible persons insurance company, or have your insurance company try to retrieve that for you when they are going after what they paid out, your deductible, etc. from the other party. They will owe you for the rental car, HOWEVER, if, say, you drive a Civic and you rented a Mercedes, they usually will only reimburse you for a comparable vehicle.

Deebaser

If the other party is at fault their insurance should gladly pay for your repairs and 100% of your rental car costs.

It's 'liability' insurance. The other party is 'liable'. If they dick around you can sue them for the damages.

muninn

prfntbtr wrote: »

The following is standard for the majority of insurance companies:

If you go through your own insurance policy for a loss, and the other part is at fault, your insurance carrier has the right to go after the responsible part for anything they have paid out. While they are getting back their money, they will usually attempt to get your deductible amount back for you as well and will return it to you once they get their hands on it. Alternately, if you have Uninsured Motorist coverage on your policy, and the other party does not have insurance, your deductible will either be less, or possibly waived entirely, depending on your policy.

If you end up out of pocket for rental car expenses, you should request that money back from the responsible persons insurance company, or have your insurance company try to retrieve that for you when they are going after what they paid out, your deductible, etc. from the other party. They will owe you for the rental car, HOWEVER, if, say, you drive a Civic and you rented a Mercedes, they usually will only reimburse you for a comparable vehicle.

Ah, that makes sense.
It looks like my insurance is going after the at fault insurance tho get what they are owed for getting me fixed up.
So far I had no contact with the other party's insurance, so I guess I should ring them up to get my remaining balance from the car rental all squared away... or tell my insurance to get it for me...

They sure make this business confusing.

japan

If the other person is at fault then their insurer should pay out for your expenses. It can make life easier if you claim from your insurer in the first instance, and let them use their highly trained attack lawyers to recover that money. If your insurer is successful in this then they'll refund your deductible.

The other benefit to going through your own insurer (or a solicitor they appoint, some policies give you legal expenses cover for this purpose) is that they'll be able to tell you exactly what you can and cannot claim back. In the UK at least, there is a whole mess of case law and legislation concerning what you can legitimately claim, but fundamentally the important thing to remember is that you have to take reasonable steps to mitigate your losses. For example, you can claim for a hire car, but you can't claim for a Merc S-Class when your car is a Ford Focus.

Thanatos

Do not call your insurance company and ask hypothetical questions about getting in accidents.