Who knows auto insurance? Ins outs loopholes

[HotWheelsBurban]

The police report "should be" the definitive statement, but sometimes it can be inaccurate. When my truck got hit last November, the West University Place PD said that my mother (she was driving it, had just dropped me off at work) was at fault, when she was hit by a car that moved over into her suddenly. The damage angles reflect that she was hit from the side, not a direct front to rear hit. However, the report was written up that "she failed to control her speed", and hit the car that actually hit her, pushing them into a third vehicle. She has not gotten any citations....The speed limit on this street is 30 MPH, and I know she was not doing over 25 in that big ol truck (97 C3500 CCLB,5.7). We drove that same route six days a week so we are quite familiar with it.
The insurance company we have (progressive) said we only have state minimum liability and no collision coverage. They also said they can do nothing (and several attorney reps told me this too) with the report being written the way it is.....
So I got NOTHING for my truck, that was in great mechanical condition before it was wrecked through no fault of ours, and the other two drivers got their cars replaced..... My 79 year old mother had a mild stroke after the accident, and isn't sure if she'll be able to drive again (so I'm the family chauffeur).
All those ads for personal injury lawyers, that talk about how much $$$$ they can get you.....in my experience that's a load of fresh manure.

 

[Grit dog]

The police report "should be" the definitive statement, but sometimes it can be inaccurate. When my truck got hit last November, the West University Place PD said that my mother (she was driving it, had just dropped me off at work) was at fault, when she was hit by a car that moved over into her suddenly. The damage angles reflect that she was hit from the side, not a direct front to rear hit. However, the report was written up that "she failed to control her speed", and hit the car that actually hit her, pushing them into a third vehicle. She has not gotten any citations....The speed limit on this street is 30 MPH, and I know she was not doing over 25 in that big ol truck (97 C3500 CCLB,5.7). We drove that same route six days a week so we are quite familiar with it.
The insurance company we have (progressive) said we only have state minimum liability and no collision coverage. They also said they can do nothing (and several attorney reps told me this too) with the report being written the way it is.....
So I got NOTHING for my truck, that was in great mechanical condition before it was wrecked through no fault of ours, and the other two drivers got their cars replaced..... My 79 year old mother had a mild stroke after the accident, and isn't sure if she'll be able to drive again (so I'm the family chauffeur).
All those ads for personal injury lawyers, that talk about how much $$$$ they can get you.....in my experience that's a load of fresh manure.

That sounds unfortunate from almost every angle. And while collision coverage would probably double your policy $, it sounds like you were unaware your truck wasn’t covered. Beyond that it’s a risk decision on the value of the vehicle or more accurately the value to you personally vs the cost of the policy. Where do the diminishing returns cross the cost line?

Assuming Progressive paid out on the other 2, its against your insurance record however less so, as a presumably unlisted driver was behind the wheel. Although if you share a residence then they are or should be listed and have thesame effect as if the policy holder was driving.
Subjectively I know how tough the front ends on those OBS are and at only 25mph that looks like a VERY solid hit on a stopped vehicle or one that was braking hard (with a back bumper taller than your front bumper by a smidge).
But it’s mom’s word against the cops report.
That was a very clean lookin truck.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

That sounds unfortunate from almost every angle. And while collision coverage would probably double your policy $, it sounds like you were unaware your truck wasn’t covered. Beyond that it’s a risk decision on the value of the vehicle or more accurately the value to you personally vs the cost of the policy. Where do the diminishing returns cross the cost line?

Assuming Progressive paid out on the other 2, its against your insurance record however less so, as a presumably unlisted driver was behind the wheel. Although if you share a residence then they are or should be listed and have thesame effect as if the policy holder was driving.
Subjectively I know how tough the front ends on those OBS are and at only 25mph that looks like a VERY solid hit on a stopped vehicle or one that was braking hard (with a back bumper taller than your front bumper by a smidge).
But it’s mom’s word against the cops report.
That was a very clean lookin truck.

No, Mom was the listed/insured driver at the time; she and I co-own that truck. Apparently she'd dropped the collision coverage earlier and didn't mention it to me.... We've had times of poverty so things get cut.....
Yes it was, just over 150K on it, immaculate inside except for cracks in dashboard like they all do down here.

 

[Grit dog]

No, Mom was the listed/insured driver at the time; she and I co-own that truck. Apparently she'd dropped the collision coverage earlier and didn't mention it to me.... We've had times of poverty so things get cut.....
Yes it was, just over 150K on it, immaculate inside except for cracks in dashboard like they all do down here.

Understandable. Wasn’t being judgmental. Good news is it’s not on your insurance record. However Id be leery of putting mom on your policy if you’re in the same household. For obvious reasons.
Although now car ins rates not only follow your age, claims and driving record but also credit score, financial strength, whether you have a homeowner’s policy etc. Doesn’t seem fair but technology has given ins companies far more metrics by which to judge “risk.”

 

[electoqute]

I don't know how your state works but Texas laws suck. If the person who caused and at fault for the accident only has state minimum ($30,000 in Texas) that's all insurance will pay regardless of damages or injury. My car was parked and hit totalling it. $60,000 truck gone. They had state minimum, I got $30,000 and a kiss our ass on the rest. I had to finish paying off a truck I didn't even have anymore. I learned 2 things after that. Get full coverage with CYA money (currently $250,000), also agreed upon value on my vehicles (insurance and you agree on value and policy pays said value). It costs a little more (about $23 a month, but we'll worth it if something happens. My kids 20 year old clunker was insured for $11,000. Guy ran a red light and hit him. He had a ruptured intestine, totalled the car. My insurance paid the medical bills and $11,000 for the car even though KBB said $6,500. Then they went after the guy who hit him for the money. Guy had state minimum. Didn't cost me a penny and no fighting on my part. M2CW

 

[Sad Sack]

That was one thing about being on the Autobahn in Germany in 2001, if you are in the passing lane and get rear-ended, it's your fault and the citation you get I believe, the naming is "Failure to Clear the Rear", love that country.

 

[Grit dog]

I don't know how your state works but Texas laws suck. If the person who caused and at fault for the accident only has state minimum ($30,000 in Texas) that's all insurance will pay regardless of damages or injury. My car was parked and hit totalling it. $60,000 truck gone. They had state minimum, I got $30,000 and a kiss our ass on the rest. I had to finish paying off a truck I didn't even have anymore. I learned 2 things after that. Get full coverage with CYA money (currently $250,000), also agreed upon value on my vehicles (insurance and you agree on value and policy pays said value). It costs a little more (about $23 a month, but we'll worth it if something happens. My kids 20 year old clunker was insured for $11,000. Guy ran a red light and hit him. He had a ruptured intestine, totalled the car. My insurance paid the medical bills and $11,000 for the car even though KBB said $6,500. Then they went after the guy who hit him for the money. Guy had state minimum. Didn't cost me a penny and no fighting on my part. M2CW

Interesting. What’s cya? UIM?
Are you saying your full collision coverage on your $60k truck didn’t pay the rest?

 

[Sydney]

Do you really think a person that runs from an accident ,,,has car insurance,,or no warrants,,,drivers license?

 

[Ricko1966]

Do you really think a person that runs from an accident ,,,has car insurance,,or no warrants,,,drivers license?

Maybe he has insurance, no warrants,and a drivers license and was under the influence. Who knows, all I care about is the police write a report stating they are the cause and hopefully they have insurance. Even if they have warrants or no license, I'd hope their insurance if they have it will be liable.

 

[Grit dog]

Insurance has nothing to do with the driver. It’s thru the registered owner unless they are the same person.
Been a week, police report should have a bit more detail on who what when where and it will list the reg owner if the car is/was registered recently.
Again, hope your son didn’t give up his ins info and there is no reason for him to file a claim because he’s not covered. As such I don’t think his ins will go to bat for his collision damage with another potential ins co as they have no dog in the fight since they don’t cover his car for collision.
But that would be a question for them. You can ask questions without actually filing a claim.

 

[Ricko1966]

Insurance has nothing to do with the driver. It’s thru the registered owner unless they are the same person.
Been a week, police report should have a bit more detail on who what when where and it will list the reg owner if the car is/was registered recently.
Again, hope your son didn’t give up his ins info and there is no reason for him to file a claim because he’s not covered. As such I don’t think his ins will go to bat for his collision damage with another potential ins co as they have no dog in the fight since they don’t cover his car for collision.
But that would be a question for them. You can ask questions without actually filing a claim.

No police report yet Vince calls everyday. Friday the lady on the phone at the Police dept told Vince "we have 14 business days to file a report" so he just calls everyday hoping to get some info. No dice yet.

 

[Frankenchevy]

Interesting. What’s cya? UIM?
Are you saying your full collision coverage on your $60k truck didn’t pay the rest?

Maybe GAP coverage..

Been a while since I financed a vehicle, but I remember having to get GAP to cover depreciation.

 

[Grit dog]

Maybe GAP coverage..

Been a while since I financed a vehicle, but I remember having to get GAP to cover depreciation.

Has nothing to do with gap. He said the other party only paid half its value because that’s all the coverage they had. His collision coverage would pick up the rest, ( or most of it even if upside down a bit ) unless he didn’t have collision. What he said doesn’t make sense.

 

[Frankenchevy]

Has nothing to do with gap. He said the other party only paid half its value because that’s all the coverage they had. His collision coverage would pick up the rest, ( or most of it even if upside down a bit ) unless he didn’t have collision. What he said doesn’t make sense.

I may have a misunderstanding of the purpose of gap. Again, been a long while since I’ve financed anything and have been fortunate enough to not have any accidents or claims in over a decade.

I thought gap served to cover the difference of what a person owes vs what the vehicle’s replacement cost is. Insurance only wants to pay replacement cost of the vehicle and rates their policy premiums on that amount. Gap covers where people are upside down in that equation.

I thought Terry was saying he was hit, responsible party’s insurance paid up to their limit and his policy’s comp/collision stepped up to pay the difference up to replacement cost, but not enough to cover what he owed the bank.

 

[Grit dog]

^I too could have been mistaken. Thought he said he got $30k and was stuck with the rest, meaning his insurance didn’t cover the difference. Assuming the truck is actually worth more than $30k.
With gap covering the remainder IF he has gap.
If I had to finance a new or newer vehicle I sure as heck wouldn’t buy something that was likely to require gap insurance either due to any controllable or foreseeable factors.
At that point imo if one needs gap they are spending more than they should responsibly spend.