Got Rear ended and asking for insurance advice

[ORFynder]

Thanks, Spoke to my insurance, State Farm and made them aware but advised I deal with Geico unless I don't feel that they are being fair.

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[Dirty_B]

Damn, I’m sorry that happened!

Geico may not report it to CARFAX, but you should still check the body shop won’t report it either. Other than that you should be in the clear.

https://www.carfax.com/company/vhr-data-sources

You will never know till it happens- ask for diminished residual value now!!!! Don't count on someone NOT reporting it to carfax.

 

[ORFynder]

Was rear ended in December by someone, damaged was limited to bumper and a few trim pieces. Damage added up to ~$3500 with labor. Checked carfax just now, doesn't look like it was reported. Used other drivers insurance which was Geico (was a pain). They couldn't give an estimate. Tried to force me into their body shops. Gave me issues at all steps (dropped truck off late Thursday and Monday morning Geico was threatening to pull my rental because body shop hadn't submitted any information Monday morning).

Thanks, Assume since my tailgate is damage pretty bad, it will probably be around$7-8K. I am only getting an estimate from a rivian certified repair facility

 

[Lizardo]

Thanks, Assume since my tailgate is damage pretty bad, it will probably be around$7-8K. I am only getting an estimate from a rivian certified repair facility

Yeah, I took mine to a rivian repair facility as well. Refused to let the geico body shop do anything.

 

[ORFynder]

You will never know till it happens- ask for diminished residual value now!!!! Don't count on someone NOT reporting it to carfax.

Will do.

 

[twistedpair]

I used talk to other insurnace and if they say anything stupid I just say never mind calling my insurnace. If you talk to them less is more. They can try to find a way to blame you for part of the accident. One time my wife got hit by a car making a left turn across three lanes of traffic and it wasn’t even an intersection. They tried to put 20% blame on her. At that point I just had a call with our insurnace and told them to make sure it was 100% other parties fault. Dumbest thing I ever heard, hitting someone Turing left is as bad as rear ending someone.

 

[Lizardo]

I used talk to other insurnace and if they say anything stupid I just say never mind calling my insurnace. If you talk to them less is more. They can try to find a way to blame you for part of the accident. One time my wife got hit by a car making a left turn across three lanes of traffic and it wasn’t even an intersection. They tried to put 20% blame on her. At that point I just had a call with our insurnace and told them to make sure it was 100% other parties fault. Dumbest thing I ever heard, hitting someone Turing left is as bad as rear ending someone.

With mine, they tried to say it was all wear and tear. I had 3?k miles.

 

[ORFynder]

I used talk to other insurnace and if they say anything stupid I just say never mind calling my insurnace. If you talk to them less is more. They can try to find a way to blame you for part of the accident. One time my wife got hit by a car making a left turn across three lanes of traffic and it wasn’t even an intersection. They tried to put 20% blame on her. At that point I just had a call with our insurnace and told them to make sure it was 100% other parties fault. Dumbest thing I ever heard, hitting someone Turing left is as bad as rear ending someone.

Thanks for the advice. I have a video of the driver admitting she was at fault and a text from her admitting fault as well. When I spoke to Geico, they also admitted that their driver admitted fault as well

 

[Hillbilly]

There are businesses that will handle your diminished value claim for a small fee. I've always seen them recover at least their fee plus more when used.

 

[jekadad]

I’m a retired insurance agent. My suggestion, and I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong today already, and it’s not even 6 o’clock, is to go through Geico. Depending on the state laws, if you go through your own carrier, you may or may not be entitled to recover depreciation from your own carrier. Also, whether at fault or not, if you go to your carrier, it may affect your insurance rate. Insurance rate calculation today is often subject to thousands of data variables, all of which cannot be ascertained. The programs used to calculate rates are considered to be company secrets. By going through Geico, you can definitely ask for depreciation as well as ask to be provided a rental car. Couple of things, Geico will try to steer you to their preferred auto repair shop. My suggestion is you go to the auto repair shop of your choice it is your car. It is your choice. Then after repairs are complete, tell Geico you want depreciation for loss of value. I don’t care whether they report to Carfax or not. Your car has been depreciated. It can be repaired to the same condition, “state“ it was in previously, but it cannot be made “as new”. Therefore, you ask for depreciation. Be prepared for a fight. if you are not satisfied with their offer and you likely will not be, there are many good appraisers out there who should be able to appraise your vehicle and work on your behalf with Geico. They typically charge a fee of $500 or thereabouts if they are successful in getting you a higher value for your car. All of the above is subject to error or opinion.

 

[ORFynder]

You will never know till it happens- ask for diminished residual value now!!!! Don't count on someone NOT reporting it to carfax.

Will do. In OR, we have 6 ye

I’m a retired insurance agent. My suggestion, and I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong today already, and it’s not even 6 o’clock, is to go through Geico. Depending on the state laws, if you go through your own carrier, you may or may not be entitled to recover depreciation from your own carrier. Also, whether at fault or not, if you go to your carrier, it may affect your insurance rate. Insurance rate calculation today is often subject to thousands of data variables, all of which cannot be ascertained. The programs used to calculate rates are considered to be company secrets. By going through Geico, you can definitely ask for depreciation as well as ask to be provided a rental car. Couple of things, Geico will try to steer you to their preferred auto repair shop. My suggestion is you go to the auto repair shop of your choice it is your car. It is your choice. Then after repairs are complete, tell Geico you want depreciation for loss of value. I don’t care whether they report to Carfax or not. Your car has been depreciated. It can be repaired to the same condition, “state“ it was in previously, but it cannot be made “as new”. Therefore, you ask for depreciation. Be prepared for a fight. if you are not satisfied with their offer and you likely will not be, there are many good appraisers out there who should be able to appraise your vehicle and work on your behalf with Geico. They typically charge a fee of $500 or thereabouts if they are successful in getting you a higher value for your car. All of the above is subject to error or opinion.

thanks. Assume I would need to pay out of pocket to get the repairs done prior to asking for the diminished value? Assume Geico will want me to sign an agreement to authorize repairs and I should not sign that until we agree on diminished value? Is that how you see it? Thank you!

 

[Hillbilly]

Will do. In OR, we have 6 ye

thanks. Assume I would need to pay out of pocket to get the repairs done prior to asking for the diminished value? Assume Geico will want me to sign an agreement to authorize repairs and I should not sign that until we agree on diminished value? Is that how you see it? Thank you!

Your claim against the at fault driver isn't over until and unless you execute a release to that effect. Authorizing repairs doesn't mean the insurance company is done paying out. You could wind up having rental car expenses and so forth that will need reimbursement (but do check with insurance to see what their daily cap is).

 

[NY_Rob]

I see people giving advice to "ask for diminished value".. well, it doesn't work like that folks... you don't simply "ask for it"...

We just went through this with one of our cars.... After the body repairs are 100% done, you need to shop the vehicle around to at least three car dealerships and get offers in writing for your vehicle after disclosing full details of the damages and repairs performed. You then need to collect comp sales data on retail sales of same vehicle undamaged, same year, with same options and same mileage.
You then submit all the above figures to the other party's ins co and wait for their offer for diminished value. You can challenge that offer and eventually sue if they seriously low-ball you.

And, FWIW- our claim was against Geico and it was in 2023.

 

[ORFynder]

Thanks for

I see people giving advice to "ask for diminished value".. well, it doesn't work like that folks... you don't simply "ask for it"...

We just went through this with one of our cars.... After the body repairs are 100% done, you need to shop the vehicle around to at least three car dealerships and get offers in writing for your vehicle after disclosing full details of the damages and repairs performed. You then need to collect comp sales data on retail sales of same vehicle undamaged, same year, with same options and same mileage.
You then submit all the above figures to the other party's ins co and wait for their offer for diminished value. You can challenge that offer and eventually sue if they seriously low-ball you.

And, FWIW- our claim was against Geico and it was in 2023.

Thanks for the detail. We’re you successful with the diminished value you received from Geico or are you challenging it?

 

[NY_Rob]

Thanks for

Thanks for the detail. We’re you successful with the diminished value you received from Geico or are you challenging it?

This was for our 2017 i3 (which I purchased used for $22K in 2021) with 50K miles on it at the time of the accident. With that in mind it would have been very difficult getting legit dealer offers because most dealers don't want that vehicle unless it's a trade in, so we didn't pursue it after seeing the requirements and knowing that by the time we eventually sell it that rear end accident (which was 100% fully repaired at $0.00 cost to us) wouldn't be a factor.

If something happened to my brand new Rivian, I would 1000% file a diminished value claim.

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