Had an interesting weekend. Friday, we were driving to visit my daughter in Lincoln, NE and got rear ended outside of Des Moines, IA by a guy who didn't react in time to a traffic slowdown. Luckily, neither my wife or I or the 2 guys in the car that hit us were injured (except for a pretty good headache and feeling like I got hit by a linebacker). His insurance company (Progressive) called us about 2 hours later and wanted to talk to us, but I declined talking to him at that point because we were still pretty shaken up.

Now it's Monday and they are calling again. Incredibly, apart from a couple of minor fender benders, this is the first significant accident I've ever been in. So, before getting on the phone with the other driver's insurance, I thought I would ask if there are any "dos or donts" I should be aware of.

In particular, I want to be sure that our car is completely repaired beyond the obvious damage to the rear end. We've already noticed that the exhaust sounds louder and suspect that there is some damage there. Plus, my wife noticed that one of the fold down seats in the back (we have a Highlander SUV) no longer works.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Get your insurance company to handle it. Take the vehicle to a shop to have them give it a thorough examination for any potential hidden damage.

They are wanting a statement of what happened. I wouldn't have a problem telling them exactly what happened and nothing more. No statements regarding your health, damage to your vehicle. Get the police report and a good body shop estimate before you go further. Wouldn't hurt to get checked by a Dr. for your aches and pains

Have you contacted YOUR insurance company?
If not do so NOW. A claims specialist will get in touch with you to tell you what to do next.
Do not talk to the other drivers insurance company or fill out any paperwork they send you. They are trying to establish that it is your fault.
Your insurance company will pay for the repair of your car, and they will get that back from the other drivers insurance.

I would call my OWN insurance and file a report. Get a copy of police report and file it to your OWN insurance. If the OTHER insurance calls, I would just tell them that their client hit you and tell them to call YOUR insurance. As stated earlier by another member, I wouldn't tell them anything about pain, etc. Unless you are definite that you WILL not need medical attention now or in the future. Otherwise, I would get checked by a doctor for physical injury, and if needed, get a lawyer.

Few years back, I was rear ended by a driver who had medical emergency and passed out behind wheels. He hit total of 4 cars. I felt that there is no need to see a doctor since I was not hurt, and no need to see a lawyer because I have no intention of suing. I just want my car repaired. I had to pay $250 for towing and storage as the traffic cops need to move my disabled car immediately and will not wait for my own towing via AAA. I am also out $500 deductible since I used my OWN insurance to fix my vehicle. The OTHER insurance was ONLY willing to pay me $500 since THEY apparently have to SPLIT the insurance coverage to pay for all 4 cars, making my car the last one to be paid. My total repair cost was around 4K. I reported this to MY insurance. MY insurance paid for my repair and they went after the OTHER insurance. I asked the OTHER insurance to reimburse me the $750 I paid out of pocket for towing and deductible. They REFUSED initially. They only paid when I filed a complaint with the NV Insurance Commissioner and when I refused to sign the release form so they can pay all 4 claimants.

Mrs. Lee got hit by a neighbor backing out of the driveway right across from ours. The other driver's mom came over later that day, admitted her daughter was at fault, handed me her insurance info and said to file a claim. When we did so and also notified our insurance company, because the other driver refused to give a statement to our insurer, they agreed on a 50/50 at fault split. So I'm not sure refusing to speak to the other insurer is a good move.

As you've probably gathered the answer is an overall "don't" with a side-dish of call your own carrier and work the process through them.

Also go see a doctor for any potential injuries.

Yeah, you feel "ok" but who knows in a week or month.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it.

At the scene, I insisted we call the police. Since we were on the interstate the IA State Patrol responded and wrote up a report. They also cited the other driver.

As soon as I got back on the road, I called and reported it to my insurance company (AAA) and told them that we had already been contacted by Progressive. Contrary to what I'm seeing here, AAA basically said 'go ahead and take care of it with Progressive'.

I’m not sure I’d accept that.

Hire a lawyer...

If the police report states what happened, I would refer them to that and make no other statements regarding what happened.

Sounds like a clear at fault by the other driver. Also don't say you feel fine or make any other statements about your physical condition. If you have any doubt of any sort as to being injured, make an appointment to see your doctor for a check over.
I would get an estimate from the best body shop and then run the repairs through the other guys insurance, not yours. That doesn't mean you can't ask your own insurance for help later if they don't fix something right.

Also check on "diminished value". There will be a record of your car being in an accident and even when fixed properly, it will affect the value.

I am insured by a Travelers subsidiary, via an independent agent.

About five weeks ago, my truck got slammed by a woman who ran a red light in her Mercedes -- I posted the video on this forum.

The Mercedes driver is insured by Progressive.

My agent tells me that we are not even going to bother our company -- Travelers -- with this, as I have the video from my dash camera that shows that Progressive's customer is CLEARLY at fault, 100%.

The hitch is, Flo from Progressive is trying to low-ball me on the repairs. That is absolutely NOT acceptable, and we are still working on how to deal with it. Bottom line for me is, Flo's driver was 100% at fault and there is no reason that I should be even one dollar out of pocket. If necessary, I will lawyer up and Flo's cost will be way more than if Progressive had been straight with me in the first place.

I've never had a problem with Regressive taking care of repairs.

In fact, I had their body shop make a mistake and the gave me another rental car on the spot while the mistake was corrected.

It was absolutely perfect when I got it back and I am a complete asshole when it comes to my vehicle being repaired because of someone else's fuck up.

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it.

At the scene, I insisted we call the police. Since we were on the interstate the IA State Patrol responded and wrote up a report. They also cited the other driver.

As soon as I got back on the road, I called and reported it to my insurance company (AAA) and told them that we had already been contacted by Progressive. Contrary to what I'm seeing here, AAA basically said 'go ahead and take care of it with Progressive'.

If that were the case I’d be shopping for a new insurance provider.

I get hit, I take it for the shop of my choosing, pay $100 deductible, State Farm gives my deductible back after they are done fooling with the other insurance.

Let your insurance company handle it.

My car was hit by a driver with Progressive Ins a couple weeks ago. The driver said it was their fault.

Progressive called me and they were very professional.

This was a minor accident. Body work only. I got an independent estimate, and then Progressive made an estimate. Progressive found more damage than my independent estimate.

They gave me a rental car while mine was being repaired.

So I had a positive experience w Progressive. (They are not my ins company)

DO NOT settle on any potential bodily injury until after the property damage is taken care of to your satisfaction. You’re not a doctor and something may pop up. You had a headache, give it time to just to be sure you’re OK. Adjusters always want to settle the bodily injury portion of a claim quickly and first to minimize their exposure. They can then haggle with you or lowball you on your property damage. Use the repair shop of your choosing to get the best work done. Don’t threaten and don’t say you’ve got a lawyer. Be nice but be firm.

quote:

Originally posted by tleddy:
Hire a lawyer...

With respect, this is the last thing I want to do. I am a lawyer and, even though I work in another area of law, I know what happens when lawyers get involved.

So far, apart from some residual soreness, both of us are ok. Progressive did call a little while ago and I told them that. I did say, however, that if circumstances change and either of us did need medical treatment, I would expect them to pay for it 100%. They said no problem.

My number one concern right now then is to get the vehicle fixed by a good shop. Progressive agreed to have the body work done by a shop I chose (I've used them before). I also said I wanted to have the car looked at by a repair shop for other damage (e.g. the exhaust) and would expect them to pay for that too. Progressive agreed to that as well.

As soon as I got off the phone with Progressive I called my carrier (AAA) again to give them a status update and also asked if they planned on getting involved.

So far, Progressive seems like they are playing ball. So far, so good. If things change, I will demand that AAA get involved. I won't sign off on the vehicle repairs until I'm confident it's been thoroughly checked out. And, I won't sign off on any physical injury at all because they haven't paid me anything and so I can wait to make sure nothing develops in the future.

I'm reminded of a different insurance thread where a number of folks raved about their insurance agents. I am in uncharted waters which is why I am very appreciative of the help here. Going forward, I want to find a good insurance agent so that if there is another accident, I can call them and not have to worry about whether I'm being scalped or not.

First off, do you have collision? If you don’t you'll have to deal with Progressive, but they’re pretty good as Mars_Attacks mentioned. They’ll fix the car and you won’t pay anything. In a rear ender it’s pretty straightforward so you shouldn’t have any problem as far a them trying to get out of paying.


If you do have collision and go through your company they’ll fix your car but you’ll have to pay whatever your deductible is and wait for reimbursement when they get paid by Progressive, and that can take awhile. My last one took several months.


Either way, you get to choose the body shop so make sure it’s a good one that will check for any hidden damage along with what’s obvious. They will deal with the adjuster regardless of which insurance company you go through, so selecting a body shop should be your biggest concern.