Not At Fault Accident - But Over State Limit

[brettnussb]

I am completely fine, but was in involved in a not at fault accident last week. I have Progressive insurance + the driver who hit me had Geico. I live in Atlanta, GA.

I received the estimate back from bodyshop (I've only been to one, but it's a body shop that I was recommended by numerous friends in the auto industry down here) and after the disassembly, I am being quoted $22K, 3+ month of repairs and another $2K+ of rental fees. According to Geico, the GA state limit that they'll cover is $25K. My car is a lease of a 2018 Audi Q3 with sale price of about $38K.

If this goes over $25K, what are my options? I've also now opened a claim with Progressive to see what my options are as well with them, but could take 2 days or so to get back to me. At what point is it declared a total loss of 3 months+ of repairs and 65%+ damage before the final bill comes in.

 

[adjusterjack]

The only sane option is to use your collision coverage and have your own company cover the repairs. Then your company will go after GEICO for whatever reimbursement it can get.

If you have rental reimbursement on your policy it will defray some or all of your rental cost.

If you don't have the rental coverage you will probably have to eat the cost because whatever GEICO pays your insurance company is likely to go toward the repair cost.

You can, of course, sue the other driver for the full amount of your damages, but people who buy minimum limits generally don't have attachable assets and you'll never collect on a judgment.

Georgia uses the Total Loss Formula (not percentage).

Fair Market Value less salvage value. If the cost of repair is over the result, it gets repaired, lower gets totaled.

You can talk to your claim rep about how that might work out on your car. Keep in mind that "sale price" has nothing to do with Fair Market Value at the time of the accident.

I can guarantee that you won't be happy with the results of your claim, no matter which insurance you use. Nobody ever is.

If you want a chance for any additional money I suggest you develop some aches and pains and seek medical treatment. An injury claim is always worth something, even subjective. And it's almost inevitable that there would be aches and pains even a week later after an impact.

 

[fed up]

Let us hope that the OP has sufficient property damage coverage on his own policy

 

[adjusterjack]

Let us hope that the OP has sufficient property damage coverage on his own policy

What do you meant by "sufficient" property damage coverage on his own policy?

 

[fed up]

I am shocked at how many people carry state minimums for property damage and uninsured/underinsured coverage. I wrote business in Pennsylvania where the minimum is 15/30/5, Maryland 13/30/15, Virginia 25/50/20. He stated that the person who hit him has Georgia 25K in property damage, the state minimum. If he has the same coverage he only gets 25K from his own carrier for damages which may not be enough for his claim.

 

[adjusterjack]

He stated that the person who hit him has Georgia 25K in property damage, the state minimum. If he has the same coverage he only gets 25K from his own carrier for damages which may not be enough for his claim.

The original post was about damage to the poster's vehicle. The at-fault driver doesn't have sufficient "property damage liability" limits but if the poster has collision coverage on the poster's own car his policy doesn't have a limit. Collision and comprehensive coverage is bought and paid for based on the car. You buy coverage for a Cadillac Escalade you have "sufficient" coverage for a Cadillac Escalade. You buy coverage for a Ford Taurus you have "sufficient" coverage for a Ford Taurus.

It's Underinsured Motorists Coverage (for injuries) that you might be referring to. If you have low limits they might not be enough to add anything to the other driver's limits for bodily injury liability.

On the other hand if you are referring to Uninsured Motorists Property Damage Coverage then you are correct that it's written with a limit. Georgia allows drivers to buy or reject UMPD so we'll need the poster to clarify which coverage he has.

 

[geneseehill]

I handled a similar claims years back in WA state which raises some questions you need to consider. The 22k is just a preliminary estimate. That figure can and will go higher, additional damages may be found. Parts prices increases, etc. The Loss of Use aspect is a portion of the claim which may be paid under the Underinsured Motorist Property Damage along with the direct damages to the car. You need to check with Progressive what your limit is.

In the claim I had, the repairs were nearing completion when the shop discovered that the Alternator bracket (welded or forged to the engine block) was cracked. The car manufacture claimed that the Warranty would be voided if it was repaired and not replaced. State Farm replaced the engine on the Porsche Cayenne. Needless to say the repairs approached the full value of the vehicle (approx 60K). The car was returned to the insured after 60-90 days (the engine had to be ordered from Italy).

The State Farm insured immediately turned around and filed a Dimunition of Value claim under the UMPD portion of the policy. The Collision coverage portion of the policy has exclusionary language not allowing such a claim. UMPD coverge does not have this exclusion. In hindsight, State Farm paid over 100% of the value of vehicle in repairs, loss of use and Dimunition of Value. They filed a subrogation claim against my insured and another third party, insured by (Geico) who had minimal PD limits (also 25k in WA State).

We were able to point out that the car was a total loss at the outset and that no Dimunition of Value claim & Extened Loss of Use should have been considered. In addition, we should have been entitled to a Salvage offset.

Payment to State Farm was made on a pro-rata basis after Intercompany Arbitration decided the vehicle damages portion.

 

[WolfpackAgent]

My understanding is Georgia does not have UMPD?