Rear ended today - tow hitch damaged

[Mojave2021]

Thanks again 4-Play - just saved $100 and likely some shipping time.

State Farm just approved the supplemental estimate from my body shop - they had estimated $2300 for parts and labor for the bumper, tow hitch and tow hook replacement.

I have a $1K deductible which State Farm said they'll pay to me as soon as I drop the car off at the shop. Under an uninsured motorist claim, State Farm has to be me my deductible.

I have an attorney now helping me on the bodily injury and diminished value claims.

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[Mojave2021]

Yup. Summit is great. You'll have that in no time!

Keep us posted on how things work out with your injury and how State Farm handles it. I hope you don't have any long-term issues.

Thank you!

 

[4-Play]

Good deal. Hope your chiropractor takes good care of you. I insisted my daughter got uninsured motorist coverage. She was stopped while 2 other cars hit each other. The one that caused the accident hit her car after the initial impact. He did not have enough liability coverage to cover the cost of the other drivers car let alone, his own. And her uninsured motorist coverage is paying for the repairs to her car.

correction: the uninsured/underinsured coverage I believe is only for medical payments. The collision coverage she has is paying, with a promise not to increase her rates because she was clearly not at fault.

 

[Labswine]

In any accident that is NOT your fault, especially getting rear ended, YOU are not responsible for your deductible. The other driver's insurance must pay for any and all repairs on your vehicle or the total value of the vehicle if totaled. If your company issues the check to cover the costs (also NOT taking out your deductible as it wasn't your fault), they will go after the other insurance company to get their money back.

In any accident that was NOT your fault and your vehicle is totaled, INSIST that the insurance payout includes additional monies to cover the sales tax on the replacement vehicle.

If the accident was determined to be your fault then, yes, you'll have to pay out your deductible.

I know in my case when one of my cars got totaled, my insurance company paid full book value plus 6% to cover the sales tax on a replacement vehicle, and went after the other driver's insurance company to get their money back. That's how it works.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

In any accident that is NOT your fault, especially getting rear ended, YOU are not responsible for your deductible. The other driver's insurance must pay for any and all repairs on your vehicle or the total value of the vehicle if totaled. If your company issues the check to cover the costs (also NOT taking out your deductible as it wasn't your fault), they will go after the other insurance company to get their money back.

In any accident that was NOT your fault and your vehicle is totaled, INSIST that the insurance payout includes additional monies to cover the sales tax on the replacement vehicle.

If the accident was determined to be your fault then, yes, you'll have to pay out your deductible.

I know in my case when one of my cars got totaled, my insurance company paid full book value plus 6% to cover the sales tax on a replacement vehicle, and went after the other driver's insurance company to get their money back. That's how it works.

No, not always. Case in point - the kid that hit and killed my father (and totaled Dad's truck) did not have enough insurance to cover everything. In fact, they had no assets to go after, either. They rented a house, it was the family's only vehicle, and it was minimal insurance.
We spoke with Dad's insurance and the first thing our attorney - and Dad's company - did was to do a discovery, an investigation of assets and more. Before we could make any more, Dad's insurance company had to complete their investigation and then give us the go-ahead of things proved out.
There wasn't enough for us or Dad's insurance to go after.

If you want your money fast, you get it through your company - and you pay the deductible. Then your company goes through subrogation and gets their money back and your deductible - and you get a refund for the deductible. That's assuming there's enough insurance, and so on, etc.
Otherwise, it can take a lot of your time and effort to get the other side to pay.
(My bro says typical can take average of 6 months for that process, but if things are clear-cut and the other insurance is good and so on - it can be only weeks, even a couple of weeks. )

So maybe in a perfect world it's as you say - but watch out for the other guy who in these days, may not have a pot to piss in and is carrying only the minimal required insurance.
Oh, go after wages and so on? Yeah, looked into that. The TV and forum lawyers always make that look SOOOO easy. HAHAHA - wrong.
I've been through this exact thing as executor of an estate. And - I also went through it years ago when a guy pulled out in front of me and caused a chain reaction accident. Months and months of court battles, my company standing by my attorney going after the other guy - it was totally exhausting and totally expensive. In the end - I came out with enough to replace my car, lost wages and medical bills - barely. Attorneys get a chunk of this sort of money when they are involved. And if the other guy doesn't have squat, well, it's not as simple as you make it sound.
(I had help with Dad's stuff as my little brother has been deeply involved with the insurance business on the inside for years)

Best bet - don't rely on forum attorneys. Rely only on one who has passed the bar and knows law.

 

[4-Play]

Me thinks that we kind of hijacked the OP’s thread. On a lighter note, if you can’t wax your Gladiator without thinking of The Karate Kid, or Peewee Herman, you may be entitled to compensation.

 

[Sandevino]

It helps that Summit racing is right down the street from me.

Negative Ghost Rider…. That place is one of my candy stores I try to avoid but often fail.

 

[LCF]

Quick update: The body shop didn't find any frame damage and also mentioned that Jeeps don't tend to have even panel gaps out of the factory. Basically I should only need the rear bumper, tow hitch and the left tow hook replaced.

As the OEM bumper is on back order I've decided to order a Rock Hard 4x4 rear bumper to replace it. The body shop had provided this list of parts for the OEM replacement. I'm assuming that I shouldn't need all of the OEM bumper related parts denoted below when installing an aftermarket bumper like the one from Rock Hard? The rear sensors on my damaged bumper seem to be working fine so I'd figure I can reuse those.

Mines bigger then yours pal !!!!!!!!

 

[Sandevino]

No, not always. Case in point - the kid that hit and killed my father (and totaled Dad's truck) did not have enough insurance to cover everything. In fact, they had no assets to go after, either. They rented a house, it was the family's only vehicle, and it was minimal insurance.
We spoke with Dad's insurance and the first thing our attorney - and Dad's company - did was to do a discovery, an investigation of assets and more. Before we could make any more, Dad's insurance company had to complete their investigation and then give us the go-ahead of things proved out.
There wasn't enough for us or Dad's insurance to go after.

If you want your money fast, you get it through your company - and you pay the deductible. Then your company goes through subrogation and gets their money back and your deductible - and you get a refund for the deductible. That's assuming there's enough insurance, and so on, etc.
Otherwise, it can take a lot of your time and effort to get the other side to pay.
(My bro says typical can take average of 6 months for that process, but if things are clear-cut and the other insurance is good and so on - it can be only weeks, even a couple of weeks. )

So maybe in a perfect world it's as you say - but watch out for the other guy who in these days, may not have a pot to piss in and is carrying only the minimal required insurance.
Oh, go after wages and so on? Yeah, looked into that. The TV and forum lawyers always make that look SOOOO easy. HAHAHA - wrong.
I've been through this exact thing as executor of an estate. And - I also went through it years ago when a guy pulled out in front of me and caused a chain reaction accident. Months and months of court battles, my company standing by my attorney going after the other guy - it was totally exhausting and totally expensive. In the end - I came out with enough to replace my car, lost wages and medical bills - barely. Attorneys get a chunk of this sort of money when they are involved. And if the other guy doesn't have squat, well, it's not as simple as you make it sound.
(I had help with Dad's stuff as my little brother has been deeply involved with the insurance business on the inside for years)

Best bet - don't rely on forum attorneys. Rely only on one who has passed the bar and knows law.

I carry high insurance coverage and have used my underinsured motorist policy three times in the last 24 months for accidents my girls were involved in but we’re not at fault. My oldest daughter got t-boned at a red light by a Tesla driver that had state minimum ($25k/$50k) insurance where her car was totaled. Our insurance dealt with our issues and sued the pants (subrogated) the other parties insurance. Pay your deductible, let them deal with it and get a mad money check in the mail 6 months later….

 

[Labswine]

No, not always. Case in point - the kid that hit and killed my father (and totaled Dad's truck) did not have enough insurance to cover everything. In fact, they had no assets to go after, either. They rented a house, it was the family's only vehicle, and it was minimal insurance.
We spoke with Dad's insurance and the first thing our attorney - and Dad's company - did was to do a discovery, an investigation of assets and more. Before we could make any more, Dad's insurance company had to complete their investigation and then give us the go-ahead of things proved out.
There wasn't enough for us or Dad's insurance to go after.

I didn't think about that...the other driver not having enough to cover anything that might happen.

I guess just from my own experiences with this, this was how it happened for me. I got the check in full, no deductible withheld, plus the extra 6% to cover the taxes on the replacement vehicle. This took all of two weeks. Plus, I was in a rental car the next day waiting for the check and searching for a new to me vehicle to replace the one that was totaled. The insurance company went after the other driver's insurance company to get their money back.

Guess I got lucky (and have a great insurance company).

 

[Mojave2021]

All back together again - replacement Mopar hitch and Rock Hard rear bumper. It took a couple of attempts to get a good Mopar hitch as Mopar has absolutely zero packing material in their boxes. Half the hitch was sticking out of the box when I got it. The 2nd one was poking out a bit too but no damage at least.

The Rock Hard bumper on the other hand arrived in pristine condition. Installed them both with a little help from my son and wife. I decided to paint the tow hooks black while I had them off. Still debating if I like that look. Rock Hard aluminum front bumper is on order - got a good Black Friday deal on it and it should be here Thursday.

 

[MOJTAVE]

Thanks again 4-Play - just saved $100 and likely some shipping time.

State Farm just approved the supplemental estimate from my body shop - they had estimated $2300 for parts and labor for the bumper, tow hitch and tow hook replacement.

I have a $1K deductible which State Farm said they'll pay to me as soon as I drop the car off at the shop. Under an uninsured motorist claim, State Farm has to be me my deductible.

I have an attorney now helping me on the bodily injury and diminished value claims.

Please let me/us know the outcome of your settlement or the progress made.

Thank you

 

[Mojave2021]

Unfortunately I cannot go into the details of my settlement.

 

[JRobes]

I decided to paint the tow hooks black while I had them off. Still debating if I like that look.

I bet your tow hooks would look pretty sharp color matched to the body color.

 

[Mojave2021]

I bet your tow hooks would look pretty sharp color matched to the body color.

I may have to try that out. Nice idea!

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