Auto insurance experts unite - Car accident last night

My wife was hit last night while on the way home from work. In our nearly brand new Hyundai Ioniq 6 (3100 miles). She was traveling east on a main thoroughfare when a driver exiting a shopping center (headed north) pulled into the side of her. Caught her in the right rear passenger door, quarterpanel and wheel. Other driver pulled over and is insured (2006 Ford F-150). She was about a mile from home so I went down to the scene to keep her company. Cops were called. Police report is (or is being) filed.

For additional background, my wife had an at-fault accident in 2022 and our son (19 y.o) had an at-fault accident in 2023. So I am loath to report this to my insurance company, as our bill is already eye-wateringly expensive. On to the questions.

1. Next step - What do I do now? Call the other insurance company and deal directly with them?
2. Repair facility - If the other company is paying (which I certainly hope is the case), am I free to use the collision center I want?
3. Diminished value - This car is the most expensive car we've ever bought. I'm incredibly frustrated that it is now an "accident car". Can I pursue diminished value?

Thanks in advance for the help and advice.

File with the other company

Yes

Yes, but you need to do it the right way, which is have a diminished value company write the report, will cost @$500 for that service.

Call the other company and go from there, that is the first step.

Agree with Steve on all points.  Liability should be clear here.  Try to go through them first directly.   Once repairs are complete then you can work on potential DIV

If the other guy isn't arguing fault, then call his insurance and go from there.

Steve_Jones said:

File with the other company

Yes

Yes, but you need to do it the right way, which is have a diminished value company write the report, will cost @$500 for that service.

Call the other company and go from there, that is the first step.

Thanks you both.

Steve - Should I just google "diminished value company and start there?

FWIW, Nicole was lightly hit a few years ago and getting diminished value (in Florida) was relatively easy. It took a few phone calls complaining, but finally the other insurance company said "okay fine, how about $3k." This was on a 5-year-old car worth maybe $20k, so I thought that was close enough to fair and called it a day.

Thanks Tom. That is great to hear. I hope we have a similar experience. 

dyintorace said:

Steve_Jones said:

File with the other company

Yes

Yes, but you need to do it the right way, which is have a diminished value company write the report, will cost @$500 for that service.

Call the other company and go from there, that is the first step.

Thanks you both.

Steve - Should I just google "diminished value company and start there?

Add Florida to the string :)

On a newer car I would 100% use a company and not just guess an amount.  Work does not need to be completed, they just need the estimate from the shop as it's a formula. I made a call, they called the shop and did it all, that's the easy button.  I had the insurance company agree with his number, then said "Plus the $400 the report cost" and they were ok with it.

Thanks! Just to be clear, I engage the DV expert after the car has gone to my shop of choice? 

In reply to dyintorace :

Yes, good chance the shop has one they recommend

Don't be shocked if the at fault driver's insurance company gives you the runaround. I had a police report where it clearly stated the other driver was at fault and provided it to their insurance company on the day of the collision. 10 days later I filed with my insurance because they were still giving me the runaround. Suddenly after my insurance got involved they wanted to take care of me.  His insurance company has ads with a character named "Jake".

If there is one thing I've learned from having various cars smacked into by bad drivers, never assume that the other driver/insurance will admit fault until you hear it out of their mouths and they agree to pay up. If you don't hear that right away, get your company involved. They should not ding you if the other party was at fault. Twice I've had the other party try to claim my vehicle was at fault when they were on the wrong side road. I also had one who drove on the sidewalk and hit my truck in the driveway who wouldn't admit fault. 

secretariata (Forum Supporter) said:

Don't be shocked if the at fault driver's insurance company gives you the runaround. I had a police report where it clearly stated the other driver was at fault and provided it to their insurance company on the day of the collision. 10 days later I filed with my insurance because they were still giving me the runaround. Suddenly after my insurance got involved they wanted to take care of me.  His insurance company has ads with a character named "Jake".

Same thing happened to my parents.  Sometimes trying to do it the easy way isn't the easy way. I always file with mine first. The protections are huge in a case like this. 
 

Lots of people change their stories 24 hrs later, usually after getting 'advice' from the internet or their brother's wife's second cousin who is a self-proclaimed expert on the subject. 

You can ALWAYS choose your own repair shop, though some companies can be overly forceful trying to convince you to use their in-network shops.

Diminished value claims vary by state. Any advice given here from personal experience isn't worth much as a result. Some states don't even recognize it. Others have a pre-set formula for it based on the repair cost, age of vehicle, etc.  You can usually ask the insurance company what is required to file a DV claim, believe it or not.

Thanks again everyone. I called the other insurance company yesterday and filed a claim. I'm awaiting a call from their adjuster. 

Quick update. Just heard from their adjuster. "We've accepted liability for this accident". So far so good.

All 50 states recognize the right to make a DV claim, but they shy away from determining how it's done.  Every company does it a little different, though they're all based on similar guidelines.  I wrote the DV guidelines for the last two companies I worked for.  There is a "formula" that's used, but the figures in the formula have some subjectivity so it's not an exact science.  At least for me, I always taught people to use the formula as a guide and not a concrete rule.  

You can hire one of the DV experts, just shop carefully.  Just like any other business there are some that are better than others.  You can ask the carrier to reimburse the cost of the person you hire and they might.  They're not required though, so be prepared.  If you want, feel free to share the estimate with us here and we'll be happy to help.  The dollar amount of the estimate isn't the key, it's the parts replaced or repaired, along with age and mileage. 

Don't borrow troubles unnecessarily.  The claim has started, and if it goes well, let it go well.  

Some adjusters and companies are awful, some are fine.  Wait and see what you're dealing with.

I'm not sure how it works in FL, but I can tell you in AL, GA, and SC it made no difference whether I made a claim with my provider or not. Future different companies were able to see a "claim" across state lines that was associated with my policy even when I was not at fault and switched insurance companies.  
 

Hope it goes well for you. 

In reply to SV reX :

This - my wife and I have had two cars hit by other drivers who were at fault. Went through the other person's insurance and were paid out by them, never spoke to my own provider. Both still showed up as claims I was involved with with my own company and rates went up a bit.

I've done it both ways and, in the future, will always engage my own company (USAA).  Obviously, this will be specific to the insurance company but I know how it will go with USAA while I have no idea what will happen with random-insurance company and it's not worth the aggravation.

mfennell said:

I've done it both ways and, in the future, will always engage my own company (USAA).  Obviously, this will be specific to the insurance company but I know how it will go with USAA while I have no idea what will happen with random-insurance company and it's not worth the aggravation.

Not sure why this popped up. Canoe?

Anyway, I found a particular edge case to my experience that was truly exasperating.  Another person rear ended my wife.  Very minor damage. I engaged USAA, the other ins company accepted 100% fault, we are good to go.  My company will pay and then subrogate with the other (Geico IIRC), right?

No.

It turns out that they only subrogate IF the repair costs exceeds your deductible, even if you're not at fault.  If the repair does not exceed deductable, you have to go to the other insurance company.  OK, fine, agent at the other company seems nice enough, we'll just send this final bill over an I'll get paid, right?

No.

The other company has do do their own estimate and - guess what? - they pay a lower labor rate than USAA.  Out of pocket turned out to be $50 but it was really a slap in the face after all the aggravation.  (there was a lot more - I'm just hitting the high notes)

My career has been in collision repair and I'm currently a consultant for shops that are upper tier when it comes to quality and customer service. I'm happy to answer any questions about the repair or the claims process.

Yes you can go to ANY shop of your choosing (so choose wisely). Any good shop will guarantee your repairs for as long as you own the vehicle

A couple of things come to mind:

• What kind of car do you need to get repaired?
• Vehicles are exponentially more complicated to repair now than they were even 5 years ago. Choosing a shop that isn't invested in staying ahead of this curve (and passionate) is a huge mistake that could be literally deadly when advanced safety features aren't restored to pre accident condition.
• Are you OK with some out of pocket cost if it means the repair will be done 100% correctly?
• Who is the insurer covering the repairs? 
• Who is your insurer? Do you have an all OEM part replacement policy? The reason I ask is you get what you pay for with insurance. Most people are underinsured.

The insurance company covering the damage will try to steer you to a shop in their network. This is called a direct repair program. With a DRP you get quite a bit of convenience (things like fast repair time, a guaranteed repair from the insurer that would be honored any shop in their network, and no hassles with payment of the claim). This comes with an agreement between the shop and the insurer to control the cost of the repair. You will see them use aftermarket and LKQ parts. This isn't 100% bad depending on the repair but it is a cost cutting measure

I will start by saying what I would NOT do:

• Go to a corporate chain body shop. These shops are all about volume over quality, and have some of the most stringent agreements with the insurers to control cost.
• Go around and get estimates... This is colossal waste of your time. There is no way a shop can write an estimate with any accuracy without taking the vehicle apart.
• Use a shop that will eat your deductible or save you money
• Use a shop that looks like a chit hole... How you do anything, is how you do everything .

What I would do:

• Go to an independent shop that has amazing reviews
• Ask if they have a DRP agreement with the insurance company
• Make sure they can talk clearly, and in detail about their use of OE procedures to repair your vehicle.

If you would like PM your location, I may be able to recommend a shop.

In reply to rob_mrl :

Saving this one. Thanks for the tips.