Had my 1st accident & a truth about renting

[Craft99]

It wasn't my fault.  I was in a parking lot and stopped at a stop sign.  Some genius decided to go around me on the right (driving into a vacant parking spot to do it) and when I made my turn, I swiped her car.  She was screaming it was my fault, but thankfully there were witnesses and I also had a camera and after making sure there were no injuries, started taking pictures.

This is the second accident I've been in, but I worked in car rental for 12 years, so I do have some advice to give and this is something that is not widely known.

She was at fault and her insurance company took responsibility.  While the damage to my vehicle appears minimal (mostly scratches) but thankfully she broke my electric step which I didn't have a lot of confidence in before the accident, and she tore my door, so I am getting a new door and step.  The estimate from her insurance company is $3,000

When you are the claimant in an accident, you are entitled to rent an equal car of equal value.  Which means I can rent a motor home for the time my vehicle is being repaired and her insurance company has to pay for it.

When I worked in car rental, I rented a Rolls Royce to a man $500 a day plus $1.00 a mile.  His rental bill was more than twice his repair bill because he had my car for almost 2 months while he waited for parts for his. 

Insurance companies rarely tell you about this and they will initially deny it (usually the insurance rep doesn't even know about it).  The legal precedent is based on a guy who had a refrigerated truck and was hit.  They tried to rent him a compact car while his truck was being repaired.  He fought it (said he bought a refrigerated truck because that's what he needed for work) and he won.

Over the years, when I had customers in accidents and they had cars that were something other than sedans (SUVs, mini-vans, luxury cars, trucks) every time I presented the argument to the insurance company, I got my customer into a car that had the features of the one they owned and billed the insurance company full price.

If you own a motor home and you are the claimant in the accident (don't let it be a "no fault" accident if you can help it), you are entitled to rent a motor home for the entire time your vehicle cannot be used.  In my case, my vehicle will only be "out of service" while it is in the repair shop, maybe a day or two, but the only rental expense I will have will be for the "insurance" if I choose to get it.  I haven't made that decision yet, but no credit card will cover an RV and though the rental insurance is often (rightfully) viewed as a rip off, it isn't always and I don't know my insurance policy well enough yet to make that decision right now.  Otherwise, gas and any excessive mileage are the only charges I should have .  I don't yet know how many miles they will include in the daily rental (I've never rented an RV) but I will insist on at least 50-75 miles per day be paid for by the insurance company.

Equal car of equal value.  That is real and, though I hope no one here ever needs to use it, if you have any questions or want more info, this is one area where I can give something back to this community.

Thankfully, no one was hurt in my accident.  I took a lot of pictures at the scene and made sure I got pictures of her car in the vacant parking spot.  Keep a camera handy and document the scene.  In addition to having proof, I think the State Trooper was also more detailed because he saw me taking pictures.

 

[Wendy]

Interesting to know. A few years ago when our classic VW was squashed by a gravel truck, her insurance company paid for a rental car for us after we asked (they didn't offer). I wonder what they would have done if we told them we wanted a "like" vehicle LOL

Wendy

 

[bucks2]

I had an accident with similar statements from the insurance company that they would only authorize a compact car. When confronted with 2 legal cites from the state Insurance Commissioners office the rep said he would, as a favor to me, authorize a full size replacement car. When I got my credit card statement I found that the rental company had only been paid for a compact and billed me for the difference. I called the other party's insurance company again to complain about the short payment and he shot from the hip with a sarcastic "what did you think, that we were going to rent a Mercedes for you?" When I replied that his customer had wrecked MY MERCEDES, he decided that perhaps he would forward a check for the difference. It quickly became apparent that he didn't want this exchange to escalate any higher up the food chain.

As I understand the law in my state they now interpret it as meaning you need a reason to have a similar vehicle. It can be as simple as I have a bad back and the harsh ride of a small car hurts it. I would definitely check with my state insurance commissioners office to see exactly what I was entitled to.

Ken

 

[dylandrewlukesdad]

Good to know and glad no one was hurt.

 

[demoon]

Things are different in different states, so you do need check the insurance regulations.  If you are in a "no-fault" state it is a mess.

 

[Cant Wait]

Craft99: hows that going to work here in NY where car insurance is classified as "No Fault" Insurance. It seems that the only way you'll get a vehicle equal to yours, especally i.e RV or TV, is to almost force the police that are on scene (if there is any) to issue a ticket to the other person, and clearly state in their report that the other person was at fault.  Usually all that's done in NY is you exchange Ins info and go on your way unless there's a personal injury involved.

 

[BLAKDUKE]

This one thing has always confused me.  I had this situation a number of years ago.  I got rear ended pulling into my rooming house.  Police came, took the report and gave us both copies.  My car was driveable.  a couple of days later I took the car to the body shop and arranged to have the car fixed.  The other guys insurance arranged for a rental car for the week that my car would be down.  All good so far.  The end of the week came and my car is finished, I went to the rental car company and he hands me the bill for 250 miles worth of gas.  I said no way.  He said well there is alway the fuel charge or mileage charge.  I said not a snowballs chance in  hell.  I put gas in my car( the car your insured disabled) I drive my car, I DO NOT pay a mileage charge on MY CAR.  He saw the wisdom of my logic and tore up the bill.

 

[Joezeppy]

No Fault laws, such as those in NY, relate to Bodily Injury not Property Damage. In a No Fault state, even if the accident is not your fault, your insurance company is obligated to pay your medical bills if you ask them to. With regards to damage to the vehicles (and ultimately injury, too), it's called comparative negligence (there is another term, too, but it's escaping me right now). In states with comparative negligence laws, even if you are found to be 1% responsible for the accident, you can be held responsible for paying for medical bills and car repair to the other party. Those situations can get very ugly! All an insurance company or lawyer needs is a witness to claim that they thought you could have done something to avoid the accident - could have been as simple as honking your horn or hitting the brakes quicker. Even if that person has no idea what he is taking about, it can be used against you.

 

[Ned]

The term you're looking for is 'contributory negligence'.  Yes, in states with such a law accidents can get ugly usually needing a lawyer to resolve.  Been there, done that

 

[Craft99]

OKay, I had an idea this would cause some discussion.

When I started in car rental, I worked in Beverly Hills for one of those luxury rental companies.  That's where I learned about the "equal car of equal value."  I worked there for about 8 years. 

Then I moved to NJ.  We have no fault insurance here, and everyone will go for the no fault accident when given a chance.  In my last accident, it was clearly her fault.  The only thing I did "wrong" was I was too cautious.  There were 3 or 4 people lingering outside of the SUV and I didn't know if they were coming or going, but I didn't know if there was a child around, so I sat at the stop sign longer than usual to make sure who was there and a kid wouldn't run into the street.

THe woman clearly passed along the side of my vehicle and crossed into an empty parking spot to do it.  NJ is a no fault state, but I insisted at the scene that the woman was clearly at fault, negligent and created an unnecessarily dangerous situation to those people.  Of course it helped that I had a camera in hand and was snapping a lot of pictures at every possible angle at the time.

After the accident, I was shaken up and parked in the rest area and immediately wrote out my account of what happened and then called my insurance company.  While speaking with them, again I insisted this was not a no fault accident -- my insurance rates go up if my insurance company pays any money to fix my car, if another company pays, my rates don't go up.  In NJ, I was paying $2500 a year for a Mustang Conv, but I only pay about $750 for my RV.

I told my adjustor that I would prove with pictures she was at fault.  Anyway, even though NJ is a no fault state, her insurance company took complete responsibility for the accident.  What surprised me is before they even saw my vehicle, they told me repeatedly she only had $5,000 liability and that was all I could get out of them. 

I told them I would rent an RV while mine was being fixed.  The first guy didn't agree, but didn't say no.  I told him that while I had little experience in being involved in car accidents, I did work for 12 years in car rental and I knew I was entitled to rent the RV. 

They did the estimate at my house.  Her adjustor came out and I had one from my company come out anyway.  I got their estimate of $3,000 and I'm waiting to see what my company comes up with.  I'm also interested to know what the Camper's World is going to say it will cost.

Different states have different laws.  Just because it is a no fault state does not mean every accident is a no fault accident.  If you are clearly the victim in the accident, you need to speak up from the moment the collision occurs.  You need to be proactive and take pictures.  My camera is decent and I shot over 200 pictures in about 15 minutes.

I'm not looking to make money off of this.  Believe it or not, I'm actually really honest and when her adjustor was marking pre-existing damage on my vehicle, I corrected him and showed him only the damage she did and pointed out the dents and dings that were there -- I could have gotten a new ladder and drain pipe, but she didn't damage them.

I have not worked in every state, but I have rented cars to people from NY (I worked in Ft Lee and had a lot of NY customers) NJ, PA, and CA.  I can see no reason why it wouldn't apply elsewhere.  Logic is logic.  You may need to argue for it, and you may need to educate the insurance agent, but you are entitled to it. This is a "fight" I have engaged in many times for many people and I have never lost.  If you own an RV, a refrigerated truck, or a Rolls Royce, you bought it for a reason and if someone damages your vehicle and you are not at fault, you are entitled to have a car that meets the requirements of the car you purchased.  Only the Rolls seems debatable to me, but I actually enjoyed submitting a rental bill for about $20,000 and was amazed when they paid it, but they did.

$20,000 for 6 weeks of a rental.  Yes, it was Beverly Hills, but that bill was paid by the insurance company.

I'm surprised the rental agent let the gas charge go with that rental.  Even though it doesn't cost the company any money, it is one of those things that the customer is responsible for because whether you used the gas in your car or yours, you used the gas and would have to replace it in either vehicle.  As a rental agent, I charged top dollar, but freely gave discounts, but would never waive a gas charge.

Like I said, I hope no one here ever needs any help with this, but if you do, I will be happy to help.  I'm new to this community and everyone is so helpful and this is one area where I can (potentially) give something back to help.  That is my only reason for bringing this up.

 

[SargeW]

Good advice, I appreciate your information and experience.  Thanks for sharing your situation with us.  Let us know how the resolution works out.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

As Joezeppy says, "no fault" applies only to bodily injury, not property damage. The purpose of "no fault" is only to assure that the injured can get medical treatment while the insurers wrangle over who is "at fault".

 

[bucks2]

Every state has different laws. If you assume that because NY and CA did it this way, WA or OR also do it this way, you are opening yourself up for a big surprise. Laws and supreme court opinions change regularly. You MUST get current information from the jurisdiction you are in, if you want to make sure you are covered properly. Call your states Insurance Commissioners office or Attorney Generals office to find out what laws are applicable to your specific problem. What one car rental agent did/does in another state across the country isn't going to help you much when push comes to shove for your incident.

Ken