Well, I was stopped at a red light, and so was the car behind me.

However, this high school kid didn't see that the lights were red (?) and ended
up hitting the car behind me pretty hard. That car ended up hitting my car
hard too, my whole body jerked back, my radar fell off, and smoke started coming out of my hood Not to mention 2 holes in my bumper from her license plate..

Anyways, I was just glad that nobody got hurt and my bumper is still attached. Don't know why smoke came out of my hood though..

The girl in the middle had some bruises on her arm, and the back of her car was damages pretty bad.. The high school kid's car front was damaged but not too much.

Well, I called the cops and a cop came and took down our information (drivers license + insurance info) and told us that he will file a police report later tonight. The kid's dad came, and we all exchanged info and we parted our ways.

I called my insurance company (Geico) to file a claim and they gave me 2 choices.

To file with Geico and pay the deductible (for me $500) and they will cover everything above that.
Or file directly with the high school kid's insurance company (USAA) company.

Which one would you guys choose?



Cliff:

Rear ended
Filed a claim with my insurance company and now have to choose
to get repairs done by my insurance company or by the insurance of
the person who caused the accident.

 

Its always best to go through the high school kid's insurance first. They should cover the repair costs.

 

Yeah you file with the kids insurance and they pay for everything and you don't pay a deductable. the only time you should pay a deductable is if the person that hit you was uninsured or if the accident was your fault otherwise you shouldn't pay if it wasn't your fault.

 

Cool, thanks for the information!

 

Let me reword something you said.... I'm sure you mean to say "my body jerked and I'm aching all over the place."

Let me give you a word of advice since I used to work as an insurance adjuster... Call your company and ask if they can waive your deductible since this is a clear liability accident. If you go through yours and not pay your deductible, you will save yourself whole lot of headache. If they will not waive your deductible.... try to go through his carrier. Believe me it is much better to go through your carrier since you are the one paying the premium and they typically treat you slightly better.

I believe you will be feeling the aches a day or two later since it sounds like you got hit pretty hard. Just make sure to file an injury claim with either your company or his. I'm almost certain you will start feeling the pain.

 

I see lots of pain as well: usually neck and back. remember: more medical bills = more money in your pocket after they settle.
As Mongolian said: it's always better to use your own carrier. Even if you have to pay $500 now, you'll get it back once other company settles. up to a year I believe. it's hard to get anything out of other company if you deal with them direct. I have been in many accidents. just seems to be my luck.
Sometimes good body shop will save you dedactible if there is a lot of damage, but it doesn't sound that way.
What ever you do - don't let other company of the hook just by fixing your car. it's your time and your car. whole thing will be a pain. you should always get at least $2000 on top of repairs. last accident I received $1000 without any medical bills. now if you have medical bills it's whole another ball game. give it a try. you do have to feel pain very soon or it looks like BS. emergency room same night sound about right. next morning in big pain is good too.

GL

 

....my family and I got rear-ended / hit and run a few months back while driving a rental car... since it was HIS fault and he ran, I came nothing out of pocket.... it was almost $6K in damages...so do what these guys are saying to protect yourself... most times your insurance agent is someone you know, which is a huge help in the long run ( a year is about right for most injury/accident claims )...your insurance co. will recoop any expenses of yours (they basically ask for and /or sue the other person's insurance co. for whatever they pay out for you)

...God Bless you...praying this works out for the best and you feel better...Rick

...and if you are hurt in the least way, go to the ER or a doctor pronto... what you don't start fixing now can be a huge problem for you 20 years down the line...I have been doing trauma in the ER for years...when you wait... its never good...

 

Don't make a recorded statement without talking to a lawyer first.

 

Thanks for the great info! I called my agent, but since tomorrow is 4th of July,
I guess she went home but left a message asking about the 'waiving the deductible' +
'injury claim'.


How do you settle? Did you use a lawyer??

 

Good that you're OK.

When I got rear ended I called my insurance company and they contacted the other driver's company. Unfortunately he didn't technically have insurance that covered other parties. DON'T ASK. Anyways, they lead me to believe that they usually take care of contacting the other company. They covered the damage to the car and my sister's injuries. It cost me my deductable which I should get back later this summer. Only 4 years after the accident.

 

 

This is what keeps accident lawyers in business!!!!

 

You only have to use a lawer if they don't want to settle. This is what you need to do:
#1 Go to ER and let them know what hurts.
#2 Let your ins.co. know what happened.(I'd say go with your own ins.co. if other company sux).
#3 Get a rental car. What was that smoke? Does car drive ok? is it safe? Usually ins.co. will provide with min of $25 a day.

They will not pay you much unless you have medical bills. They will not settle until you're done being treated. Physical therapy is usually about 6wks. This will take time, but do it right.

My fee is 10% LOL

PS: This is personal opinion. I'm not a lawer. Take it for what it's worth.

 

Make sure you get the rear end inspected as well- the plactic bumper might not look too bad, but you can be almost be certain that there is damage underneath