# Two accidents in one week-how should I handle this?



## cerralee (Feb 21, 2008)

This week has been tough on my son and the camry we got a few months ago.  Back in November I acquired a 2004 XLE Toyota camry.  Since this car has front, side, rear airbags and more safety equipment in general than our other cars, and my son is 21, I have been having him drive the Camry. It in my opinion (that has now proved true) to be a generally safer car than my other vehicle. 
 Now the saga begins.  Sunday night, my son was at a friends house, parked in his private driveway.  He (son) was inside the house when another vehicle slipped on the ice and crashed into the back of the vehicle.  The driver of the car turned the information into her insurance company and the camry was to be taken to the Body repair shop on Monday to be fixed with the girls insurance company paying the repair bill.
While going to class this afternoon, a deer jumped the guard rail and my son hit it with the camry doing a lot of damage to the front end, hood and windshield of the car. He had his seat belt on and does not seem to be hurt except where he got a few cuts from the windshield glass. I am just thrilled that he wasn't seriously injured.  The trooper who wrote it up blamed the deer-not my son. Now comes my questions.
The front of the car to me looks pretty smashed up.  When the adjustor looks at it and gives me the news, it is a possibility that he might say that it is not worth fixing compared to the cars value.  Will he take into consideration the value before or after Sunday's accident. Will there be consideration for the other insurance companys responsibility to repair the rear of the car.  Now the car is smashed both front and back with two seperate accidents and two insurance companies paying for a different end. Can the two insurance companies be convinced to hold hands and perhaps each give me the portion of the cars value that would allow me to purchase a like vehicle?  The back collision was definetely repairable and had been estimated and the cost was to be covered by the girls company that hit it.  I can just imagine all kinds of problems with this.  I'm just not sure whether it would be wise to fix the car considering the extent of the damages to both ends.  Any suggestions as to how to proceed with this.  At this point I am supposed to have two rental cars delivered to the body shop.  Of course I need to get this coordinated between the two.  I just don't know where to start.

Lee


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## lprstn (Feb 21, 2008)

Wow, you may not want the two insurance companies talking, then what they would pay to replace the car would cost you in an increase in your insurance bill.  Wow, I have 4 kids and am not looking forward to this stage of life....


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## cerralee (Feb 21, 2008)

I've also got a twenty year old daughter who is away at college-carless. Next semester the son will be at a different campus (same college). I think carless might be the way for both of them to be.  At least that is what my insurance premiums are screaming out.  The part that bothers me is that even though my daughter is away at school without use of a vehicle, I still get hit up super hard for just having a daughter with a drivers liscense that only uses a vehicle once in the blue moon she comes home.


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## chellej (Feb 21, 2008)

cerralee said:


> I've also got a twenty year old daughter who is away at college-carless. Next semester the son will be at a different campus (same college). I think carless might be the way for both of them to be.  At least that is what my insurance premiums are screaming out.  The part that bothers me is that even though my daughter is away at school without use of a vehicle, I still get hit up super hard for just having a daughter with a drivers liscense that only uses a vehicle once in the blue moon she comes home.



It may be time to change insurance companies.  I am with Geico and when my son went to college carless, they changed him to "unrated"  Basically he was covered when he was home and drove the cars but our rate dropped considerably.  The catch is the school has to be 100 miles away.

I have two kids 21 & 19 on now and my third will go on in April - insurance is a real killer.


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## rapmarks (Feb 22, 2008)

My daughter was using my car, it was parked in front of a friend's house and someone drove into it and totalled it.  that person's insurance paid and it was considered totalled. My insurance knew about it. I bought a replacement car on Wednesday evening, called the insurance company on Thursday morning, didn't register it yet.  On Friday at noon, my daughter totalled that car.  now that was the second car in one week.  Our rates never went up.  doesn't address your issue, except for the joy of teenagesers and young adults.


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## "Roger" (Feb 22, 2008)

While unusual, certainly not unheard of. Insurance companies deal with this sort of situation all of the time.  One thing that is fortunate is that you have an estimate for the first accident.  The helps eliminate some the potential wraggling between the two insurance companies as to which accident caused how much damage.

At this point, work with your own insurance company.  Tell them what happened, give them the estimate from the earlier accident, and then it is up to their adjustor to decide whether the car should be repaired or not.  They should make up the difference in what it costs to repair the car and what you already have; or, the difference in replacement value for a totaled car and what you already have.

As far as what will happen to your rates, cross that bridge when you come to it.  Different insurance companies will handle this differently. You just have to wait and see what yours will do.


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## Jim C (Feb 22, 2008)

Lee, notify your insurance company immediately(hopefully you've already done this). Neither accident is "chargeable" to your son.  If the vehicle was parked, unoccupied in a driveway, the other driver is at fault, period.  It sounds like they have accepted liability already.  This could also be covered under your the collision portion of your policy.  The car/deer accident is  covered under the comprehensive section.  By not chargeable to your son, I mean neither should effect his insurability, nor necessarily raise your premiums.  Hopefully, you have maintained collision coverage on the car.  I don't know exactly how far along you are in the claims process, but there isn't any reason why your company can't handle both claims and subrogate against the other driver's company at a later date.

I don't know what state you live in, but in New York State, the State Insurance Department, not the insurance company, determines at what point a vehicle is totaled. I believe at this time, that point is reached when the cost of repairs to the vehicle is 75% or more of the market value of the vehicle. If repairs reach that point, that's what will happen.

Good luck and, as mentioned previously, two accidents in one weeks aren't all that uncommon.


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## Don (Feb 22, 2008)

IMHO, your insurance should deside as to whether the car is totalled or not based on just the front end damage.  The rear end damage is a different matter and should not be considered in the desision.  If your insurance does total the vehicle, have the other company cut the payment check to you rather than a repair facility.


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## teachingmyown (Feb 22, 2008)

cerralee said:


> I've also got a twenty year old daughter who is away at college-carless. Next semester the son will be at a different campus (same college). I think carless might be the way for both of them to be.  At least that is what my insurance premiums are screaming out.  The part that bothers me is that even though my daughter is away at school without use of a vehicle, I still get hit up super hard for just having a daughter with a drivers liscense that only uses a vehicle once in the blue moon she comes home.



My apologies to the original question, as I can't really offer advice or experience, just sympathy and good wishes, but I had to respond to this.  I was a college student without a car many moons ago and when it came time for my sister to go to college I emphatically told my parents, "Get her a car!"   Students without cars are stranded.  Their options are limited and they frequently resort to riding with people they either don't know or barely know, friends of friends, names off bulletin boards, etc.  It was scary 25 years ago, but now as a mom of a college student I realize it is even more scary.  Yes, we pay dearly for the privilege of having a teenage male driver in the family (and we are about to add the second!) but I KNOW how he drives and I trust him more than I'd trust any stranger.   It's not always only about saving dollars.


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## Jim C (Feb 22, 2008)

Don said:


> IMHO, your insurance should deside as to whether the car is totalled or not based on just the front end damage.  The rear end damage is a different matter and should not be considered in the desision.  If your insurance does total the vehicle, have the other company cut the payment check to you rather than a repair facility.



As I mentioned, in NY State, State Insurance department, not the insurer, determines at what point a vehicle is totaled and that's based on the dollar amount of damages/repair costs vs value of the vehicle. It doesn't even matter what the damage is, only the costs associated with repairs compared to the vehicle value. I can't say with 100% certainty that every state does it that way, but I kind of think most do.  Once a vehicle is totaled, the company pays the insured.  The general rule in NY State and with many companies is that once it's totaled, the company takes the vehicle for salvage and does not return it to the policy holder. In addition, I don't think one company will cut the claimant a separate check while the other totals the car.  It just doesn't work that way. Again, for OP's peace of mind, it will be much easier for her to deal only through her insurance carrier and let them deal with the other company.


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## rapmarks (Feb 23, 2008)

when a deer ran into our car, it was covered under comprehensive, not collision.  it was covered the same as if a rock had fallen from the sky, a stone broke our windshield, etc.  We didn't even have a deductible on that and the accident was not chargeable against us.  (this was State Farm).


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## Wonka (Feb 23, 2008)

rapmarks said:


> My daughter was using my car, it was parked in front of a friend's house and someone drove into it and totalled it.  that person's insurance paid and it was considered totalled. My insurance knew about it. I bought a replacement car on Wednesday evening, called the insurance company on Thursday morning, didn't register it yet.  On Friday at noon, my daughter totalled that car.  now that was the second car in one week.  Our rates never went up.  doesn't address your issue, except for the joy of teenagesers and0 young adults.



That's incredible.  It's hard to believe your rates didn't increase.  I was sideswiped this summer at 75 MPH when a car tried to cut into my lane.  I avoided him but lost control spinning in circles slamming into the guard rail.  My car was totaled.  I'm still waiting to see how much of an increase I get.  I had just switched to AIG from State Farm after 20 years.  I just didn't like my agent here.

I've had the same problem with my sons when they were younger.  One totaled a new car before I got it registered.  The other hit a deer.  My insurance went up.


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## johnmfaeth (Feb 23, 2008)

Wonka said:


> That's incredible.  It's hard to believe your rates didn't increase.  I was sideswiped this summer at 75 MPH when a car tried to cut into my lane.  I avoided him but lost control spinning in circles slamming into the guard rail.  My car was totaled.  I'm still waiting to see how much of an increase I get.  I had just switched to AIG from State Farm after 20 years.  I just didn't like my agent here.
> 
> I've had the same problem with my sons when they were younger.  One totaled a new car before I got it registered.  The other hit a deer.  My insurance went up.



Since you avoided him, you were not technically sideswiped. By not making contact, the accident was totally your fault. If contact had been made, it would have been determined, who was in the improper "place" while driving.

I went through this 28 years ago, was driving a large, heavy Dodge and a tiny foreign car made an illegal uturn only to stop halfway, blocking both lanes in my direction. I went around them but skidded on wet pavement and hit a parked car.

They were in a tiny, tiny import, a mother and her young son. If I had hit them, it would have been their fault for the illegal u-turn blocking my right of way.

But they also would have been killed as a result of having 4,000 pounds plow through the driver's door, so I am muck happier having paid out $700 to settle without the insurance co. for the parked car I did hit.


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## Wonka (Feb 23, 2008)

johnmfaeth said:


> Since you avoided him, you were not technically sideswiped. By not making contact, the accident was totally your fault. If contact had been made, it would have been determined, who was in the improper "place" while driving.
> 
> I went through this 28 years ago, was driving a large, heavy Dodge and a tiny foreign car made an illegal uturn only to stop halfway, blocking both lanes in my direction. I went around them but skidded on wet pavement and hit a parked car.
> 
> ...



My fault a car turned into my lane inches in front of me & cut me off?  I don't think so.  Legally, maybe so.   

Since the driver left, unconcerned, and there were no witnesses that stayed I suppose the insurance company may see it as my fault.  We'll see.  There isn't much I can do about it.


.


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## bobcat (Feb 23, 2008)

rapmarks said:


> when a deer ran into our car, it was covered under comprehensive, not collision.  it was covered the same as if a rock had fallen from the sky, a stone broke our windshield, etc.  We didn't even have a deductible on that and the accident was not chargeable against us.  (this was State Farm).



When a deer runs into your car that is an act of God. If you turn to miss the deer and hit a tree, it is an accident.  That is what my insurance agent told me. We live in a high deer area.   This happens alot.


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## LauraS93 (Feb 23, 2008)

Insurance does vary greatly state to state, but most policies define a deer hit as a comprehensive loss and not subject to chargeability.  It falls in the same class of loss as a vehicle fire or a vehicle theft.  You'd better have collision coverage if you want paid under your own policy for your vehicle damage when colliding with a tree, pedestrian, or other vehicle.


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## LauraS93 (Feb 23, 2008)

Wonka said:


> My fault a car turned into my lane inches in front of me & cut me off?  I don't think so.  Legally, maybe so.
> 
> Since the driver left, unconcerned, and there were no witnesses that stayed I suppose the insurance company may see it as my fault.  We'll see.  There isn't much I can do about it.
> 
> ...



Next time, hit the car.  Unfortunately, you don't get any credit for successfully avoiding one crash to only be involved in another.


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## Wonka (Feb 24, 2008)

LauraS93 said:


> Next time, hit the car.  Unfortunately, you don't get any credit for successfully avoiding one crash to only be involved in another.



AT 70MPH on a major expressway with lots of traffic, I'm not sure that's good advice.  My guess is if I would have hit the van, there may have been several fatalities.  I'm lucky there wasn't one (me).  I was fortunate.  There was a large tow truck behind me, with a car on a flatbed.  He pulled over to help.  I didn't ask, but I think he turned on his flashing lights while I was spinning in circles on the highway.  It took over an hour for the police to arrive.  The first on the scene?  The Highway Maintenance.  They wanted to see how badly I damaged the guard rail, so they could bill me for it, didn't even ask if I was ok.


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## cerralee (Feb 24, 2008)

Wonka said:


> My fault a car turned into my lane inches in front of me & cut me off?  I don't think so.  Legally, maybe so.
> 
> Since the driver left, unconcerned, and there were no witnesses that stayed I suppose the insurance company may see it as my fault.  We'll see.  There isn't much I can do about it.
> 
> ...


Thinking back, when I was first married a driver cut my husband and I off along a stretch of interstate that had a rock formation bordering one side.  She swerved irratically into our lane and it was either hit her or try to avoid the accident.  My husband tried to avoid the swerving car and instead hit the rock wall with the front of our vehicle which caused it to swirl around and the back end crashed into the rock wall too.
The driver that swerved into our lane saw what she had done and pulled over.  My husband who is a hot tempered Italian, went to the car to "speak" to her.  When she rolled down the window the car was full of marjuana smoke and the driver and her passenger were obviously stoned.  She was telling us that everything was "cool" and she had tried to dodge a pothole but since everything was "cool" it was ok.  He started telling her everything was not "cool" and she began driving away, he had his hands on her partially rolled down window, and the window broke off in his hands.  The trooper came, didn't say anything about the pot smoking burnouts, just told my husband that he should really arrest him for breaking the girls window.  That accident did go against our insurance.  But not the window.


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