Re: Just had my cherry popped
I used to be an adjuster so I'll give you a few tips. Take it as you want.
1) Go to the doctor if you are in pain. In most car accidents, pain and stiffness will continue to show up for the first 24-48 hours. However, know that the other insurace company is only going to pay you for what they deem to be reasonable. If you get in a little 5 MPH rear ender and get treatment for 18 months, their likely going to call BS and pay only what they think is reasonable.
2) They owe you a comperable vehicle while your's is in the shop.. Someone above said they got a Lexus to replace their Camry...they got lucky. We wouldn't have paid that. You have a Camry, you get a Taurus or a Malibu or what ever 4 door sedan is available. However, if you were driving a luxury vehicle, they do owe you something comparable.
3) If you have another car and don't need a rental car, you can often settle a claim just for the loss of use...usually somewhere around half of what a rental car would run.
4) You can choose whatever body shop you want. Often times they will reccomend one and you can choose that if you want, but if you have a preferred place, take it there.
5) Get 3 estimates or more and make sure they are all comparable as far as what is being fixed and replaced. If your car is running and you want to get it fixed later, often times the insurance company will cut you a check and you can take it at your convenience...this is also beneficial in some cases and you can get cashed out for the most expensive estimate and take it to the cheapest one if you want.
6) Most adjusters can usually settle your Bodily Injury Claim to a certain threshold without seeing any medical bills. Our limit was $1,000 and I know others are typically $500-$1,000. Adjsuters are typically encouraged to make an offer for even the slightest injury. I can't count how many $100 -$500 headache claims I settled.
The reason is, is that once you sign the settlement form, you are done and forfeit the right to make any other Bodily Injury Claims. So by us offering a few hundred bucks for a sore neck or a head ache, we prevented the possiblity of any future litigation.
Take it for what it's worth. If you go to the Dr. a few times, make sure you get paid for that + Pain, Suffering, Inconvenience to what you think is reasonable.
You will have two claims, one for the car (PD - propery damage) and one for your injury (BI- Bodily Injury). The settlement for one has no impact on the other.
I used to be an adjuster so I'll give you a few tips. Take it as you want.
1) Go to the doctor if you are in pain. In most car accidents, pain and stiffness will continue to show up for the first 24-48 hours. However, know that the other insurace company is only going to pay you for what they deem to be reasonable. If you get in a little 5 MPH rear ender and get treatment for 18 months, their likely going to call BS and pay only what they think is reasonable.
2) They owe you a comperable vehicle while your's is in the shop.. Someone above said they got a Lexus to replace their Camry...they got lucky. We wouldn't have paid that. You have a Camry, you get a Taurus or a Malibu or what ever 4 door sedan is available. However, if you were driving a luxury vehicle, they do owe you something comparable.
3) If you have another car and don't need a rental car, you can often settle a claim just for the loss of use...usually somewhere around half of what a rental car would run.
4) You can choose whatever body shop you want. Often times they will reccomend one and you can choose that if you want, but if you have a preferred place, take it there.
5) Get 3 estimates or more and make sure they are all comparable as far as what is being fixed and replaced. If your car is running and you want to get it fixed later, often times the insurance company will cut you a check and you can take it at your convenience...this is also beneficial in some cases and you can get cashed out for the most expensive estimate and take it to the cheapest one if you want.
6) Most adjusters can usually settle your Bodily Injury Claim to a certain threshold without seeing any medical bills. Our limit was $1,000 and I know others are typically $500-$1,000. Adjsuters are typically encouraged to make an offer for even the slightest injury. I can't count how many $100 -$500 headache claims I settled.
The reason is, is that once you sign the settlement form, you are done and forfeit the right to make any other Bodily Injury Claims. So by us offering a few hundred bucks for a sore neck or a head ache, we prevented the possiblity of any future litigation.
Take it for what it's worth. If you go to the Dr. a few times, make sure you get paid for that + Pain, Suffering, Inconvenience to what you think is reasonable.
You will have two claims, one for the car (PD - propery damage) and one for your injury (BI- Bodily Injury). The settlement for one has no impact on the other.
Best post ever.
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