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Sandy, UT
reply to drew

Re: Car Accident & Insurance Claim Questions

Why do I always want to kick an agent in the nads when I hear something like this. If you were speak to someone in your agents office who "recommended" you file your claim with the other party then they really should just shut up and mind their own business. Sorry... just the way I feel. The reason I feel this is because I can't help but think that they recommend this _only_ because they don't want the claims exposure on their block of business. I could be wrong.

Anyway.... what your adjuster mentioned is your duty to mitigate your loss. This means that you have a legal responsibility not to inflate your loss or to make it a little as possible. If you did nothing and just left your vehicle at a storage yard (incurring daily storage) for weeks on end, then you'd probably not be paid for all the storage. However, leaving it there for 4 or 5 days... especially if it's a probably total loss is not that big of a deal. What else are you going to do with it during that time? If you knew it was repairable you could move it to a repair shop but you don't know in this case. It's reasonable that it's going to take a few days for anyone to inspect it. It's not unreasonable to leave it where it is at for at least one person to inspect it and let you know if it's a total or repairable so that you can know where it should be moved. While that person at your carrier was correct in effect... 4 or 5 days is quite common and not a big deal. As I mentioned before... what are you going to do in the meantime... have it moved to your home? First, most people can't store a damaged vehicle at their home. Second, that's an additional towing expense anyway. That could be equal to two days storage. So would it really save any money? Also, that vehicle would become a moving target to be inspected.

If the other carrier is not able to accept liability by Tuesday, consider filing the claim with your carrier at that time. That is how you mitigate your loss.

You've not done anything wrong and have done everything right. Your carrier is not leading you down the wrong path... perhaps just jumping the gun a little in the "excessive storage" area.

You took photos with your phone?? KUDOS my friend!!!!! Someone thinking on their feet! Best thing anyone can do after an accident and something _everyone_ SHOULD do!

My recommendation... when you tell either carrier about the accident, give your version of the accident in your favor. I'm not saying lie but you certainly don't need to give the other person the benefit of any doubt. For example, did you have any time to react and avoid the accident? Nope. Did you do everything in your power to avoid the accident? Yup.


What is wrong with filing claim with the other party when other party is likely the fault party? Why would I in his situation want to pay deductible to my insurance company and then wait for them to settle and get the deductible back.

Port Orchard, WA
reply to tcope

Thanks for your expert opinion - I was hoping you, specifically, would chime in here.

I have already filed the claim and asked State Farm to be involved. I did this during my phone conversation this evening where she informed me of the "duty to mitigate the loss" (thanks for the proper term). She made a bigger deal about it than you are, so I was very worried.

The Hartford rep said that while they were not ready to accept liability, she was leaning towards that as the other driver had been cited. I imagine it'll all shake out... God is good to us and we actually have a spare vehicle, so I'm not having to rent a car. I did ask the State Farm lady about any kind of claim for lost wages due to having to take a half day or so off work to deal with getting my belongings tomorrow and she said I was pretty much SOL but could try and get paid out on the rental coverage since I'm not using it.

I normally have my DSLR or mirrorless camera with me EVERYWHERE but not that evening... wish I'd had my flash and everything so the pictures didn't suck.
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