Well...that's just...lovely

ok, allow me to step in and comment on some of what danny and other have said. i am an independent insurance agent and have been one for 26 years in an office that has been owned by my family since the 1920's.

first, you did not do anything wrong by reporting the claim to your insurance company, nor did you affect whether your rates will go up or not. the fact is that if you collect from yours OR the other person's company, it goes into a central database called CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) that allows access by any insurance company. So your company would find out anyway the next time they do a routine review of your policy.

you said it was reported to the police. in our state you can get in more trouble NOT reporting it (failure to file a report).

the standard for whether the accident will raise your rates has to do with (usually, this might differ slightly in different states) what percentage of your claim you collect from the other person. in new york, as long as you collect more than 1/3 of your damages from the other party, they can't raise your rates, all you have to do is send a copy of the payment from the other company. so you can be almost 2/3 at fault and still your rates will not go up. this system is more than fair, at least in NY. check the rules in your state. still it's not like the 'myth' that's out there, that rates automatically go up.

as for the doctor, i agree with danny. i was t-boned about 13 years ago and my neck has never been right. go and get checked out, and be on the records.

as for the loss in value of your new car because of the accident, there are now several companies out there that have some compensation in that situation. you have to check your own policy carefully.

as for danny's comment that insurance agents are just salesmen with computer access, that is true of some, but then there are good and mediocre people in every industry, as well as honest and dishonest ones. of course, i have a bias towards independent agents rather than one company captive agents like state farm or allstate... but that's because i am one. we represent multiple companies and have to solve more problems than the single company guys, so we tend to be more knowledgeable in a wider variety of situations.

and by the way, the claims agent has nothing to say about whether your rates go up. his job is to work with the body shop to determine the cost to put your vehicle back the way it was before, and handle things like the rental car and so on. he or she most likely will not be involved in any claim the other person might make against you, nor any determination of fault.

 

Yikes, that's terrible, Mike; my condolences. Nobody hurt...that's the critical part.

As today is my 5th day with my Prius, I think I'll stay away from downtown tonight.

Hope your repairs go well and quickly...

Rob

 

unfortunately, danny, what you are saying is true. i have seen it more with allstate than state farm in this area, but i (and thankfully most of the companies i represent) think it's ridiculous to cancel somebody for calling up to see if something is covered by their insurance.

now, to be fair, if somebody calls up 5 times a year trying to make a claim for something, then maybe you have somebody who is a little overboard. but i definitely have seen what you are talking about, and it's unfair and absurd.

 

Here in Fargo I've had nothing but good experience with State Farm. I've had the occasional fender-bender and one roll-over (in a CJ5 Jeep that blew a tire on a slippery road just as a blizzard was setting in) and I always go directly to my State Farm agent. I let him deal with the other driver's insurance company, and I figure he'll do much better with them than I would.

 

side note

mshappe....HAPPY BIRTHDAY.. :lol: