Wife in an accident

[LongbowIP]

Hey all,

The wife was in a accident last week. She was not hurt but there was 3000 worth of damage. She was stopped at a stop light and a fellow not paying atttention slamed into the back of her. His insurance is paying. But, they (his insurance company) are saying that they will only pay for a rental car for 5 days. The bodyshop says they need it for 8 days. The insurance company says that they will only reimburse her after she pays for the rental.

Am I wrong or are should they be paying for the entire time that the car is in the shop. All she is asking for is the car be fixed back to original and pay for a car. She was not hurt and is not asking for anything else.

She has been dealing with them. I think that I need to call them and talk to them. What do you think?

 

[jwcfbd]

First I glad your wife wasn't hurt.
You can either call them and try to get something done or turn it over to your insurance company. I had some lady pull out in front of me one night about 6 years ago. Witnesses and everything said that she didn't stop but her ins. was fighting hard. I called my ins. paid my deductible, and rented a car for almost two weeks. They (my ins) totaled the car and I got back every penny that I spent plus the value of the car.

 

[justintime2]

If they won't accept their responsibilities, file a complaint with your states insurance commissioner. They are required by law to respond to the complaint and they can also be a good source of info on the responsibilties of the at fault party. You should have a car for as long as it takes to properly repair yours.
JT!

 

[†WÃ￾§†ëD]

actually, your wife needs to complain of neck pain, it will take the focus off the car rental.... :-)

 

[Big O]

actually, your wife needs to complain of neck pain, it will take the focus off the car rental.... :-)

oooh my neck would probably feel a WHOLE lot better if I had a car to drive until my car is fixed.

Really glad she wasn't hurt though!



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[BigBSBusa]

I had a young girl rear end me about 5 years ago and her insurance paid for the rental car during the repair time. The only question was the amount they would cover per day. If I remember correctly I was sportin' a small Ford for about a month because it was the cheapest thing and only thing that cost less than her insurance company's $20/day limit.

 

[BigBSBusa]

And by the way, I forgot to say that I am glad your wife wasn't hurt during this. Definitely the most important part of it all!

 

[LongbowIP]

Thanks for the replies, Yes she was lucky that she did not get hurt. The guys car, that hit her, was totaled. He hit her about 45 mph.


Tony

 

[STUNNAH]

Yeah...They should pay for the period the rental car will be needed...And most of them do require that you pay up front and they reimburse you...If you have problems with them taking care of the rental for the entire length...Your agent should assist you without you having to pay for his service...Glad your wife is O.K....

 

[dezzy7]

Glad she wasn't hurt. The insurer is suppose to provide your wife with a vehicle for as long as she is without a vehicle. If they don't refuse to settle. Regardless of what your wife is feeling now have her see a good chiroprator, most will tell her that the difficulties of whiplash don't become noticable for 5-7 years, by which time there is usually severe damage. Hopefully there is nothing more than "soft tissue damage". Which is almost an automatic 3-5k insurance settlement because its as hard to dispute as it to prove...Stictly a chiropractors call..

 

[VaBusa]

So glad she's okay...I was almost afraid to open the thread for fear that she wasn't...too much bad news around here lately...

I'd certainly fight with the guy's insurance co over this...they should pay for the entire time she needs a rental car, no questions asked...and, not trying to encourage any type of fraud here, but she really should go to a doctor and get checked over as a precaution, and his insurance should cover that as well...can't believe she doesn't have any kind of pain after being hit by a car going 45 mph while she's sitting still! Tough gal!

Best of luck!

 

[Revlis]

Call your insurance and tell them what is going on, they have all kinds of lawyers that are hungry for work to do. USAA is a prime example, they have really helped me out of a couple of tight spots...

 

[Orion]

Longbow,

First, Thank God your wife was not hurt.

I used to work for an insurance company and for us the general rule of thumb was 3 days of rental per thousand dollars worth of damage.  In your case that would work out about right, I have also had many dealing as a claimant over the years.  

You have a legitimate gripe you are not trying to take advantage of anyone here but Insurance companies in general are not going to make it easy to get money out of them.  My advice is to call and find out who the adjusters supervisor is and only leave 1 voice mail for them explaining your situation if he/she is not in.  Give them 4 hours max to return your call then call back and zero out to talk to a live person.  Ask if that person (adjusters supervisor) is in the office, if that person is in then tell them you left a message and that you want to wait on hold until you talk to him/her.  Insist on talking to the supervisor only to avoid re explaining your whole situation more than you have to.  If you don’t get the desired results from the supervisor repeat the above steps with the supervisors supervisor.  PERSISTANCE IS THE KEY if you want your money.

Hope that helps

Orion



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[Rob'sBus]

The insurance company should be paying for a rental the entire time it takes the garage to fix her car. No questions asked. If they refuse, tell your insurer you want to make a claim on your own underinsured/uninsured motorist policy to get them to pay for the remaining days needed for a rental car.