Some good news came yesterday. Our appraiser met with State Farm’s appraiser, and they were able to come to a settlement on our total loss. That was far faster than expected, once we had someone assigned to our claim.
What have we learned from our car accident?
- Have rental coverage on your policy. The cost is minimal, but if you lose a vehicle, you don’t know how long it will take to get fixed or totaled. It won’t cover everything, but it’s better than getting nothing.
- Take photos of your accident
- Call the police and get a policy report always. The police report will note down the other party’s insurance information, what happened at the accident, and other pertinent details.
- Track and submit every medical expense. In our case, we won’t get reimbursed for medical expenses until every expense is submitted. See an emergency room if needed, see your primary care physician, medical massage therapist, a good chiropractor, or physiotherapist. Your health is lifelong. Take care of it. Many injuries don’t show up for weeks to months.
- Paying for medical care, rental, and your old car payment at the same time is expensive. It’s very tempting to take the first offer given. Don’t. Hire professionals to get what you are owed. Our final vehicle appraisal was 40% more than our original appraisal. That’s a lot of money. I am glad we waited. A total loss specialist and lawyer if needed are worth the money.
- Watch your credit card debt and savings. With all the expenses and a cash shortage, it’s easy to run up credit card debt. Think of money lakes and streams as we mentioned before.
- That will impact your credit score. Which means, through no fault of your own, you may end with worse terms to buy a new car than before the accident. We’re dealing with lower credit score right now and rebuilding our emergency savings.
- Tell your bank that your car is totaled. They may be able to help you with payments or deferrals. It is in the banks interest to get paid back for the loan.
- Have a good insurance company that has good claims service. That’s what matters and why you pay for insurance. Don’t go cheap to save a few dollars when your life is on the line.
- Check around for a reputable collision repair company. Again, reputation and service matters. You don’t want parts replaced by an unscrupulous dealer, as what happened to my dad.
- Don’t forget to keep track of any time missed from work. Get reimbursed for your time missed.
- It’s okay to take time to decompress. Accidents are stressful. It took us weeks to calm down from what happened.
- We are now paranoid and vigilant at intersections and watching for aggressive driving.
- Accidents happen. Don’t take blame or play what if. It’s not helpful for recovery.
What else have you learned from your accidents? As a species, we love our cars. They are not the best for us. They give us freedom, yet cause climate pollution. They can injure and maim. They cause stress during commuting and road rage. Cars take up valuable land in the form of roads and parking lots. And they are darn expensive to own and fix. That may require a huge shift in how we operate.
Until next time.
Sincerely yours,
smilingdad
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