Got Rear Ended, do I file with my insurance or not ?

[farmo83]

I live in Texas and was rear ended about 2 hours ago.

The driver was driving a company truck, didn't speak English and his ID was expired from Nicuragua. He gave me his company insurance card. I called the police and got an accident report for insurance the cop came and wrote it up clearly stating he was at fault etc.

I asked the cop what to do for insurance( I have state farm) and he said call my insurance and let them deal with it, I'm not at fault. The wrecker driver said file with the other guys insurance as if I tell mine what happened my rates will go up. I would think my insurance company would represent me so I would want them involved on my behalf but I dont' want to have higher rates for someone else.

Realistically I don't expect to get my car back based on how old it is and I believe the frame is damaged.

What do the inmates say ?

 

[Ace in the Hole]

I can almost guarantee you will never hear from the illegal, nor the “company” or their “insurance”

 

[f12517]

The easy way is file with your insurance. Even though you’re not at fault insurance companies look at all claims history for underwriting purposes.

I’d start by not filing with your carrier. File with the at fault party’s carrier and see how it goes. You can always file a claim at a later date with your carrier if the other party’s carrier is being stupid or it turns out there is no actual insurance for the other party. Now you’d have an uninsured motorist claim with your own carrier. And that’s a different story on how that plays out.

Another reason to use the other party’s carrier is you’ll have more ability to argue about how your car is repaired and with what parts. If you use your carrier you’ll have little say on how it’s fixed. You’ve agreed to their parts when you signed up for the policy. Same goes for a total loss. You’ll have more room to argue value, etc. Fighting your own insurance just sucks. And that’s where you’ll be if you have them fix it and you don’t agree with them on how it’s getting done.

You can also claim for a rental or loss of use of the vehicle with the other party’s carrier. You won’t get those from your own insurance.

Are you injured? If you are, go see a doctor. If you’re feeling ok now, give it a few days and see how you feel. Do not under any circumstances tell the other party’s insurance you’re not injured.

Do not give a recorded statement. Tell them you’ll be happy to provide a written statement of your account of the accident.

 

[hallett21]

You want to file with the other drivers insurance. Now if they won’t move quickly enough you can file through yours. Your insurance will deal with everything but you may have to pay a deductible initially. And your rates may be effected moving forward.

 

[4Waters]

Let your insurance handle it

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Let your insurance handle it

Texas is weird on this…when I got broadsided by the dementia lady who ran a stop sign geico left me to deal with the other parties insurance (the vehicle was insured, the driver was not but lived in house. Was a mess and the reason I’ll never have Geico again….they had amica and drug every medical bill until collections etc. they paid me 1 day prior to 1 year from accident.

 

[pronstar]

How much time do you have to spend chasing the other party, who by now is gone like the wind?

Make things easy on yourself, go thru your insurance and let them deal with the other party, then you move on with your life.

That’s what you pay them for.

 

[BabyRay]

I don’t know about other States, but under Washington law you would file with your carrier, and use the repair shop of your choice. Your insurance company would have to pay for new parts if needed. They go after the other party or their insurer. Under this scenario, my rate did not go up (well, it did, but inflation….thanks to Brandon).

 

[4Waters]

Texas is weird on this…when I got broadsided by the dementia lady who ran a stop sign geico left me to deal with the other parties insurance (the vehicle was insured, the driver was not but lived in house. Was a mess and the reason I’ll never have Geico again….they had amica and drug every medical bill until collections etc. they paid me 1 day prior to 1 year from accident.

Really? Your insurance will get your car fixed or replaced and collect from the other insurance because you are there client. Sounds like a Geico issue

 

[jetboatperformance]

Got rear ended a couple months back , Disabled persons Van , the driver hit us so hard we both were "restrained" by the shoulder harnesses. Their insurance was some "non profit" deal from the bay area took about a month for the 4k payout

 

[bowtiejunkie]

This was 26 (?) years ago and in California, but was rear-ended by a person driving a company vehicle. I never notified my insurance company. About a week later the company's auto insurance carrier (Farmer's) called me and took care of the repairs. This was on my 1971 Chevelle. They said take it wherever I wanted, so it went to the local Chevy dealer collision center. I guess the key here was the person who hit me and her company were on the up and up. Good luck!

 

[DWC]

Did you get your back pain checked out?

 

[Sleek-Jet]

Call your insurance, that's what you pay them for.

 

[2Driver]

If you call his insurance make damn sure you are careful, what you say about the accident and any injuries. Don't rule out having something pop up in a few days from being nailed.

If its a no name insurer I doubt you'll be happy with their total loss settlement. Magically they are quick to settle your vehicle loss when you have pending medical. Take a stab at seeing how an initial non disclosure call goes then go to your carrier. Non fault wont effect your rates.

 

[TrollerDave]

I live in Texas and was rear ended about 2 hours ago.

The driver was driving a company truck, didn't speak English and his ID was expired from Nicuragua. He gave me his company insurance card. I called the police and got an accident report for insurance the cop came and wrote it up clearly stating he was at fault etc.

I asked the cop what to do for insurance( I have state farm) and he said call my insurance and let them deal with it, I'm not at fault. The wrecker driver said file with the other guys insurance as if I tell mine what happened my rates will go up. I would think my insurance company would represent me so I would want them involved on my behalf but I dont' want to have higher rates for someone else.

Realistically I don't expect to get my car back based on how old it is and I believe the frame is damaged.

What do the inmates say ?

Just went through this.
Call their insurance and make the claim.
Like others have said, if they don’t act fast enough you can contact yours and they should handle everything and they deal with the other guys insurance. We just had to pay the deductible. Still waiting to get that back, but it should since the other party was at fault.
We have Mercury and they were good to deal with. But our car was totaled and once they say they are totaling it, you only get at the rental car for 5 days. The payoff for our totaled car came about 2 weeks later. So, basically 5 days to find a new car.

I’m in CA so not sure if there is any difference in TX, but we needed to get the car out of the tow yard ASAP, to avoid extra storage rates. Try to get it to an insurance approved body shop so adjuster can check it out to see if it’s worth fixing or totaling. Once it’s at the body shop, it’s the insurance co’s call.
Our accident was a Friday night, tow lot was closed until Monday, so we had 2 days of storage fees, but I think they were picked up by insurance.

Good luck. Hope you’re all OK.

 

[rivermobster]

Call your agent immediately.

IF you have a good agent, he will take care of Everything for you.

That's what you pay the guy for!!!

 

[Boat 405]

I live in Texas and was rear ended about 2 hours ago.

The driver was driving a company truck, didn't speak English and his ID was expired from Nicuragua. He gave me his company insurance card. I called the police and got an accident report for insurance the cop came and wrote it up clearly stating he was at fault etc.

I asked the cop what to do for insurance( I have state farm) and he said call my insurance and let them deal with it, I'm not at fault. The wrecker driver said file with the other guys insurance as if I tell mine what happened my rates will go up. I would think my insurance company would represent me so I would want them involved on my behalf but I dont' want to have higher rates for someone else.

Realistically I don't expect to get my car back based on how old it is and I believe the frame is damaged.

What do the inmates say ?

Just call your insurance company and be done

 

[SoCalDave]

Beware that insurance companies are in it to make money and not pay out wither it be yours or the driver at fault...call a law firm and be done with it.

Sweet James Accident Attorneys

SweetJames.com is a personal injury law firm with experienced accident attorneys. Call 800-900-0000 to get your FREE case evaluation.

sweetjames.com

 

[Melloyellovector]

Call your insurance. They will deal with other party insurance.
So your insurance has all info, and your rates should not change and deductibles waved.

The problem with going direct, you have a report. The report automatically will be filed with DMV, DMV records accident. Insurance companies pull info from MVR and nexislexis they compile info for insurance companies and they list every accident as at fault. So if your current company doesn’t have all the info they will go off report they get and points will be added and policy will go up. Literally just dealt with this problem last month

 

[oldman]

Call your Agent and report it, You can call outside counsel if you want, but call your agent at a minimum.

From the advice of my personal subrogation specialist, My wife has been in the industry 28 years, Ran her own arbitration company for contract to Ins Co.'s

Call your agent and report it,

 

[Big B Hova]

I was rear ended in the beginning of May. The whiplash took 3 weeks to fully set in. Back pain at first. Then neck and left shoulder. About 15 doctor appointments or urgent care visits, and 2 months of psychical therapy I'm 95% back to normal. Still some shoulder pain now and then.

Still waiting on settling with the at fault insurance company

 

[propcheck]

File with your insurance. I have had two not at fault accidents and the first one I went through the other drivers insurance and learned it is better to go through your insurance.

 

[bbrownster]

I would let the insurance company handle it, but also get legal representation. We had this happen to us and almost totaled the care, air bags deployed. Insurance company fixes the car…so poorly we sold it immediately. We lost our deductible and the insurance company won’t pursue further action. We lost at least 15 k in equity, had to pay for a rental car for six weeks, etc. just felt like nobody represented us. Will immediately hire a lawyer next time even if minimal results.

 

[77charger]

Only been rear ended twice one was company truck boss just turns into insurance company they go after the others. Other was my truck turned in let them deal with it.

Both cases other drivers were insured though.

 

[RiverDave]

Just out of curiosity was the other guy cited?

 

[hallett21]

So I just had a kid pull out in front me last week. He’s at fault. When I called my insurance broker/agent his words were to go to the kid’s insurance first. The reason being that it will still be marked as an incident on my policy even if I’m not at fault.

Now if their insurance won’t do right by me then of course my insurance will handle the whole thing.

When my insurance’s investigator called me I asked her if I should go through them or their insurance. She confirmed that there would be an incident on my policy and that it’s better to go through their insurance. She also said that if they are playing games, not paying, not covering rental etc etc to immediately call her (or my agent) back and that they would handle it all.

 

[Racey]

File with the other carrier, if they give you static just immediately call the state insurance board and file a complaint against them.

My GF had a guy make a left right in front of her, his fault, she had to do an ER visit, totalled her car, etc. The other carrier was dragging their feet for months on her ER bill, i had her call the state insurance board, 2 days later they cut a full check.

 

[02HoWaRd26]

Currently dealing with the same thing, call your agent and talk with them. Then call claims and get them up to speed, they will deal with the other guy for you.

 

[dribble]

We have had four “not at fault accidents” in the past three years. Went through our own insurance each time. Our rates have not gone up due to any of those accidents.

 

[farmo83]

Just out of curiosity was the other guy cited?

Yes he got a ticket for driving without a license

 

[Mandelon]

So there you have it. All this great advice. Clear as mud. LOL

 

[farmo83]

I called state farm.and they said try the other place and if I got kicked around they would get involved.

 

[2Driver]

I called state farm.and they said try the other place and if I got kicked around they would get involved.

LOL “Like a good neighbor, dont call us first”.

 

[zbudman]

I'd call Grads, heard he got rear ended all the time.

 

[FreeBird236]

I called state farm.and they said try the other place and if I got kicked around they would get involved.

You need a new agent. I've had State Farm for over 50 years and although haven't had that many claims, although a few, I've never handled my own claims with the other agent.

 

[Tooms22]

Beware that insurance companies are in it to make money and not pay out wither it be yours or the driver at fault...call a law firm and be done with it.

Sweet James Accident Attorneys

SweetJames.com is a personal injury law firm with experienced accident attorneys. Call 800-900-0000 to get your FREE case evaluation.

sweetjames.com

If OP isn't injured, personal injury attorneys won't take it.

There are no fees from helping with property damage and some firms will not help with property damage.

 

[Orange Juice]

 

[lbhsbz]

Last time I got hit, I just took it to a body shop of my choosing and paid cash for the repairs done the way I wanted them done.

I wrote up a bill at the end and emailed it to the insurance company and hand delivered a copy to the at-fault party, with a 30 day deadline to pay.

The insurance company sent me a check a few days later.

I’m done dealing with insurance companies…not worth the mental pain. If they hadn’t paid, I’d have simply sued the at-fault party.

 

[NIKAL]

Bottom line, insurance is a legalized scam. You never get truly compensated as they pay out less then the vehicle could have sold for, and your now stuck with another vehicle payment and higher reg & insurance on a new vehicle,

May 10th I was in a pretty bad accident, where I was on the freeway, traffic stopped but the guy behind did not. I got hit & turned into the concrete center divide. This totaled my 2001 Silverado. Like others this was a Friday, so the truck was towed to a tow yard and could not get removed until Monday. All tow yard charges get paid by the insurance company’s. They want you to sign a release to allow the insurance to get it picked up and moved to their yards asap.

It’s important you notify your insurance that you were in an accident. Does not mean you need to file a claim through them, but they need to know. Also in some cases your rental coverage is better then what you might get from the other guys insurance, and get it for longer. And when over, all charges will get invoiced to the other guy’s insurance.

In my case I notified my insurance, and since we knew it was going to be a total loss, my insurance agent suggested letting my insurance cover the total loss claim, as your own insurance company typically pays out better, as you are their customer, and they just turn around and invoice the other insurance company as it was their clients fault. The other insurance might fight and try to low ball the payout as that’s in their best interest as they ultimately are going to be paying the claim no matter what. So they have zero incentive to pay you the most you can get.

Also I suggest speaking with an attorney. I did not originally want to go that route, but after daily phone calls from the other guys insurance, and pressure to pay out and close the case. I knew I need someone to handle this. Once I got an attorney, the calls stopped and the attorneys deal with it all.

 

[gqchris]

What cracks me up is that people get in small fender benders on the freeway and dont pull their cars off to the right. They think the police are going to come and do some Accident Crime scene investigation and document who was at fault. In the mean time, they are in betweens cars one feet about to crushed by oncoming traffic!

They dont give a shit, trade insurance info. Move on. Like Nikal said, the insurance company trade is a sham. Not like the old days!