You know those movies which show you what your life would look like if you had chosen a different path? Well, yesterday morning I chose the wrong one quite literally, and ended up smacking right into a brand new car as it cut across my lane without looking. Ugh…
All of us are safe and sound and no one hurt at all (or else I wouldn’t be able to blog this right now, haha), but nonetheless it shook us up a bit. And luckily the person I hit freely admitted she was in a rush and wasn’t paying attention when she made the turn so she agreed it was her fault.
We’ll see if that story translates okay to her insurance company (Progressive), but I’d like to think she’s a good person :) Turns out it was also her first crash of her life (she was maybe pushing 19), so a good way to learn the hard way I suppose… at least she wasn’t texting and driving!! Especially with a little kid in the car! :(
SOOoooo…. now we wait and see how the insurance companies play with each other. I relayed all my info to USAA who will keep everything on file in case it’s needed later (they recorded parts of our call for their archives which was pretty cool), but if all goes as planned I’ll get word from Progressive on how we go from there. And hopefully that it doesn’t touch my insurance at all – the way it should be when the party isn’t at fault.
The whole thing was pretty surreal, especially since I avoided what I thought would be a crash only 60 seconds earlier (guess it was meant to be?), and whenever that happens I tend to get into duper deep thought and play the “what if” game.
- What if one of us got killed?
- What if one of us didn’t have any insurance?
- What if I just waited TWO more seconds before getting into my car??
- Why didn’t I just go down the OTHER street instead of this one?
- Am I living my life as best I can right now???
- Is there a potential for me to get sued and lose all my savings and future savings for years and years to come??? (That what if was courtesy of USAA, btw, when they advised I may want to look into “Umbrella insurance” after seeing all my financials I have with them :) Apparently it’s pretty cheap (couple hundred a year?) and can cover you for millions of dollars once all other insurances/etc tap out. So like if someone got seriously injured in today’s crash and my car insurance ran out at $300,000, then the umbrella one would kick in and cover the rest in a crazy situation. I’ll be checking on that in the near future, you can bet on that…)
A little blown out of proportion considering there was minor damage to our cars (well, at least mine as you can see in that picture above – hers was banged up a bit more since I rammed right into her side door there), but nonetheless that’s how the brain works. I was due for a crash any day anyways – I’ve been getting in them every 4 years like clockwork, so it’s kinda expected now :) I swear I’m a good driver though!
HAH! The person I hit just texted me… let’s see here…. awww, check it out:
Thank you for being calm about the whole accident this morning, I am truly sorry. I called insurance company and everything. God bless you.
So sweet!! If only everyone could be like that afterwards :) One of my first ones involved a guy who rear ended me at a stoplight at 2 am, and then got out and started swearing at me up and down as if it were MY fault he drank 10 too many beers that night, haha… I was at a red light – completely stopped – minding my own business! And we were the only cars around in like a 5 mile radius??? What an idiot… And an even bigger one when he decided to pick a fight with the cop who showed up on the scene who then promptly arrested him and took him on a nice trip back to the station ;) You never argue with the police – that’s rule #2. After #1: Never DRINK AND DRIVE.
Boy, what a day… I love it that technology makes this stuff easier too – like how we both took pictures of our insurance cards and then texted them to each other instead of writing it all down like it used to be done :) That accomplishes three things off the bat:
- You get the other person’s number, which has to be accurate since you’re standing next to each other waiting to see the pictures show up!
- You don’t mess up any of the numbers/spelling of the names/etc
- And more importantly, it’s quick and easy. Especially when your mind is racing a mile a minute and you’re trying to remember everything amidst a bundle of nerves.
Other things to do which I *completely* forgot:
- Call the police to report the crash. I’m not sure if you have to do this with ALL accidents, or just the serious/problematic ones, but either way it’s probably a good thing to do anyways.
- Get the driver’s licenses of everyone involved. A) to make sure they are who they say they are, and B) to get their address and license plate number – if it’s on there. If not, snap a pic of that too while you’re there doing the insurance card. I actually meant to do this but then forgot!
- Get the names and numbers of any witnesses that were kind enough to stop and check in with you after the crash. We had two of these good Samaritans even though we didn’t record their info (again – forgot! so hard to do when you’re processing the shock and what’s going on, jeez…)
There’s probably more to do there, but y’all get the point. Just get as much info as you can while there, and usually it’ll all work out just fine. The most important thing is when no one’s hurt!!
So that was my day yesterday – how about you? :) Any one else get in any crashes, either with cars or their finances? Haha… I’ll let you know if anything turns out awry over here, but for now I’m counting my blessings and just happy to be alive and able to talk with you all today.
Life is good, my friends. We gotta do our best to appreciate it!
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PS: Here’s what my caddy now looks like with my tape “fix”, haha… Contemplating leaving it that way too depending on the size of the check. If it works, it works, right? ;)
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I drive a big sedan and I am happy to pay extra for gas for the security that it provides.
How much damage would their have been if you were driving one of those crazy little Smart cars?
Oh man, it would be totaled! Guess it’s good I drive a gas guzzler too in this case :)
Glad you’re okay!
Wow dude. I’m sorry. That kind of stuff shakes you up.
I got into my first accident shortly after my brother was killed in one. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that I should have called the police after somebody hit me. He changed his story…and my insurance ended up footing my bill.
I hope it all works out for you, and I’m glad everybody is OK!
your brother? oh man, that’s horrible :( I’m so sorry man, jeez.
Sorry bro. Didn’t mean to be a downer. It is just the mortician in me. :)
haha… I always forget you’re one :)
Glad you’re OK! Hopefully it’ll give you the opportunity to do what you want getting everything in order financially so if something bigger happens you’re ready. Good luck with the insurance companies. I know USAA shouldn’t give you any problems.
Hopefully they don’t total your car… it’s so old and worth so little they just might!
So sorry that you got in a car accident! Those can be such a pain. We just finished a settlement from me getting rear ended over 2 years go!
two years??? ugh… that sucks.
Sometimes it can be hard to get an insurance company to pay without a police report. That was a large part of my issue when I was rear-ended in Chevy Chase several years ago and the police insisted they didn’t need to come out if there were no injuries reported.
That said, if her insurance gives you any issues at all about paying, all you have to do is show them that text she sent you. By apologizing, she admitted fault, and that is taken over any other evidence. Even if you had been technically at-fault, by her apologizing, she is made at-fault. I learned THAT one the hard way!
As a claims adjuster for a large insurance company, the text doesn’t guarantee payment or even mean that she is at fault. I have people accept fault all the time but it doesn’t mean they are. If she wasn’t at fault, it just means the claims adjuster has to establish a better case as to why they arent at fault.
I hope it doesn’t come to any of that!
That car? I started hearing the theme from the Lincoln Lawyer the second I saw it….not that it’s a Lincoln, but dude, that’s vintage.
yeah it is! and it’s pimp too – you better believe!
Glad J Money is okay. No crashes over here. I am not going to say that I haven’t had a crash in quite a while, that is likely to jinx me. ;-)
You shouldn’t beat yourself up with the “what ifs.” Here’s the way I see it: If you had left 2 seconds later, or taken a different road, you might’ve gotten into a much worse accident. Who knows if there was some drunk driver going 80 mph down that other road? If you HAD taken that other road, it might’ve turned out much worse. Who knows if a car swerved into your lane 2 seconds after you were in it yesterday? If you had left 2 seconds later, you would’ve been hit. There’s just no way to predict what will happen, so you might as well just take whatever route, or leave whenever you want. No matter what you choose, it can either save your life or kill you. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know which one until after it happens.
well said my man :) you speaketh the truth!
Wow, sorry about the accident but glad you’re ok. As one who has USAA (and absolutely LOVES them) they’re great to deal with in terms of an accident. We got in a minor fender bender a few years ago and other than the accident it was a great experiment.
I have always heard that if it looks like more than $1,000 in damage you should call the police.
I should have DEF called then!
I was lucky (if you can call it that) when I was in an accident the other driver and I had the same insurance through the same person so it was a very smooth process. I guess that was a benefit of living in a small town.
hah! that is awesome!
That’s good that no one was hurt! I hate getting in car accidents. I’ve never been at fault, it’s always been the other person which makes me hate them even more! haha
Last August I took my big ole Mercury Grand Marquis and rammed into a parked Audi. Broke the rear axle and totaled the darn thing. Marquis Mark was fine, some damage in the passenger side headlight (light bulb didn’t break and the light still worked), nothing that couldn’t be lived with.
It was totally my fault, I looked down because my bottle of water got knocked over as I turned the corner. It happened in an instant and is costing me about $18 a month now. My insurance paid out $6600 and my really good rates went up! I hate that because I have never been in an accident before, perfect record at 38 years old. One accident and BOOM! But I’m with Progressive too and that’s just how they roll. I plan to shop around for a new company very soon.
Glad everyone is ok over there!
Marquis Mark!! Ahahahhahhahahahahahhaha… that is too awesome.
I haven’t been in car accidents myself…welp I backed up accidentally into a concrete pole. Still haven’t fixed the paint damage to my car.
I have been in car accidents with my mom, and my mom freaks out and freezes. I have had to take over and gather all the information, all at the young age of 14. Seriously! I did learn a lot though.
Those concrete polls get you every time ;) My wife did the same thing years back, and then I did too trying to get around a corner – they suck!
Glad to hear everyone’s okay and the text the other lady sent is so sweet! I backed into a car two summers ago and was relieved that there was no visible damage. I left my name and number on the windshield and to date, the person hasn’t called (and I haven’t changed phone numbers!).
Awwww well good for you for doing that too! Most people just take off!!
That’s definitely unfortunate, but at least she’s being nice about it!
Sorry to hear about it, but it looks like everything should be good. Glad no one got hurt. I was in a crash back in November where I was stopped in bumper to bumper traffic on the highway. The car behind me stopped quickly (not paying attention), but the car behind it slammed right into it. That pushed the car behind me into mine and created a lot of damage (about $12,000 worth). It wasn’t my fault, but my car was in the shop for over a month. What a fun time.
The most important thing is that you are okay. Did you go get checked out just to be on the safe side? I didn’t think anything was wrong from my accident but from my x-rays I had several herniated discs in my neck and lower back. Insurance companies to me are a joke and half the time it seems like most of the lawyers know one another. Took me three years to settle my case and my friends mother’s case took 5+.
ouch! sorry to hear. neither of us got checked out (well, at least I know I didn’t) but so far so good. I wasn’t going all that fast – maybe 30-35? – and then slammed on my breaks for a hot second or two which slowed me a little, but I guess you never know.
Wow, glad to hear everyone’s okay. Crashes are scary and can definitely shake you up. I’ve only been in 2 my entire life (and 1 was just by myself), but both made me be a bit more cautious for awhile after it.
Definitely a bummer about the accident, hopefully the other insurance company will play nice for you and pay up. You will most likely be looking at a total loss due to the age of the car so be prepared to bargain for the payout.
As an adjuster, I definitely recommend cell phone cameras for an accident. Take pictures of the driver license, license plate, insurance card, and the scene of the accident. And then when you get home, write a detailed statement of what happened and draw out an accident scene if its complicated. Memories will fade but having it written out helps.
that’s a GREAT idea!!! def. should have taken more pics, but at least I got a cple on there…. just mainly of my car only :(
I still have the cell phone pictures from my really bad accident. I look at them every couple months to remind myself how lucky I am to be alive and how important seat belts are. Funny thing is, I was less bothered by the accident that the guy who hit me. I guess he thought he had killed me at first, but when I got out of the car and walked over to the paramedics I guess he burst into tears and then he hugged me. It was all pretty surreal.
oh my gosh, wow. I can’t even imagine what that would feel like! have you two talked or anything much after? were you totally unharmed?
Sorry to hear about your accident. We have USAA as well. They are great for many things but I would try to get them on the record saying this won’t impact your rates. Last year my mother-in-law backed into my husbands car in our driveway. We both have USAA and both of our rates increased slightly due to this minor ($600 of damage) event. Insurance companies are out to make a profit… even if it wasn’t your fault.
really? Both?? that’s so strange?
I hope you’re Okay. Buying smaller cars are surely taking risks but so is getting on the freeway and other nation’s highways. No one expects to get into an accident. Therefore, folks are willing to buy smaller and more efficient autos. I once owned Pontiac Bonneville – 1982. A friend of ours said its seats are better than the sofa chair inside our home. We didn’t buy it because it was a full size car and it would better protect us in case of accident. We bought it because the price was good and we definitely needed a car.
Getting into an accident with someone that doesn’t have insurance is no fun. I was hit, as a passenger, in a car head on by an idiot driving the wrong way on the highway. She was sober, it was like 5pm in the evening, it wasn’t raining, she was 22 or so at the time. Anyways, I ended up with a broken back, in the hospital for a few weeks, surgery to fuse my spine and remove some of my spine since it shattered, and then months of physical therapy. I didn’t have time to deal with working out all the payments for everything so my parents helped me find a lawyer to take care of all that payments and stuff. It also depends on your state how things work out. I live in a right to sue is left to the insurance companies so I couldn’t really sue her for bills and stuff…which end the end turns out well since my health insurance covered pretty much everything. I have a few thousand I have to pay back but she is being held responsible for my 600,000 dollars worth of medical expenses!
holy crap!! I’m glad you’re relatively healthy after all that – so scary! physically AND financially!
You should file a police report just for record. I think the insurance company looks for that when they payout. Actually you should research a bit.
I had to file a police report in order to get my convertible top repair (someone slashed it.)
can you report stuff well after it happened? like if i did it tomorrow – 2 days after the incident?
Glad everyone is ok, and good on you for being calm. My last accident had a lady who was super worried I’d be all mad, but I was super kind and made sure she was ok, and that made a world of difference. If you’re up for repairing your tiny bit of damage you got there, you could make out with some sweet cash AND not have a branded title. I wrote about it here (not sure of your commenting policy, so remove link if you want):
http://www.iheartbudgets.net/2012/09/how-to-strike-it-rich-get-in-a-car-accident/
haha I’ll check it out in a bit – great looking url! :)
Sorry about the car accident! I almost dumped my car in the middle of the interstate on Monday. It was raining and I guess I forgot how to drive in water lol. That and it was a 12 hour boring drive!
Wow, glad everyone is alright. I’ve been in a few car accidents over my life, most of them in the parking lot! Loving the tape fix on your car! I’ve done the same thing a couple times. Most people prefer hillbilly chrome where I’m from (duct tape), but packaging tape is almost invisible!
“hillbilly chrome” – haven’t heard of that one before :)
Wow, you’re lucky she was so nice about it. I’ve heard tons of times that you’re not supposed to admit that you’re at fault, even if you really think you were, just because you don’t know all of the circumstances. But it’s nice for you that she did. On another note, we have umbrella insurance and yes it’s really cheap. It will probably only be $100-200 per year for $1 million of coverage. In my opinion, totally worth it, especially since you can not only have your assets taken away but your future income garnished as well if you really mess up.
Glad to hear you are OK. We’ve had great experiences with USAA in the past. Keep us posted.
Good to hear you’re in one piece! Maybe this is a good time to rid yourself of the expense of a car, and try car sharing. Because I want to retire early (in about three years), I’ve been optimizing my costs. I just donated my 12-year old car. Instead of replacing it, I walk, take the bus, and use Car2Go and Zipcar. Love it! http://giddingsplaza.com/2013/03/01/goodbye-saturn-sl1-hello-carsharing/
wow, good for you. I don’t have the patience for that quite yet – I love being able to jump in and go at a moment’s notice :) and I literally drive it like once or twice a week anyways – for like 5 miles – so usually doesn’t cost me much in the long run. especially with a 20 y/o car and no payments/etc.
Hang on there! It does not seem too bad. I had a minor accident just a couple of months ago. That was my first one in 15 years. I was very disappointed but then found out that many insurance companies forgive you for the first accident and don’t raise your premiums, especially if they did not have to spend too much on your accident. So keep your fingers crossed, I think you will be all right!
Well it was certainly not MY first accident, haha… but yeah – I’m sure the girl who hit me will be fine when all is said and done. I bet she still pays some hefty increases though in the time being.
Ugh that sucks. But no one was hurt and the only damage was to the cars. Thank god the girl was chill. I wish everyone could be like that. Getting angry doesn’t help anything.
Wow! I just saw this…and like the others very glad you’re OK. A “just so you know” moment occured to me as I read through your blog: you give some great advice on what to do at the accident scene, but sometimes, as you say, things are crazy following an accident. On the USAA smartphone app, we walk you through what you should do following an accident and youcan file the claim right from your phone. Check it out and let others know! See you at FinCon13.
You know what’s funny? I literally thought of that like 2 seconds after we drove away from everything :) A little too late, but at least somewhere in the back of my mind it was there! Now if only that app would magically pop open when it felt in impact of a crash ;) THAT would be dope.
Phew! Glad you’re OK man!
Keep the tape for the headlight. Good character and keeps it real!
I’ve only ever been in a couple of parking lot bumper-denters (one where we were both equally at fault and happened to back out at the same time while at bad angles for seeing one another, especially with the height differences of the vehicles) and one where a driver pegged me as I sat still for a pedestrian to cross in front of me. He pulled out without looking at all, so it was totally his fault.
Always, always, always insist on a police report. Even if the police say they don’t “have to” come out, politely request that they do so when they have an officer available. Not getting a police report is basically ASKING to have someone change their story and/or for the other insurance company to sue. Even if the other driver “admitted fault”.
In both of my incidents, the police came and had a report done within 30 minutes. Granted, it’s a small town. Well worth the peace of mind, and I would have insisted even though both parties were nice as pie at the time. In the first case, the other driver was in a rented truck from Enterprise due to a previous accident in their regular vehicle, and Enterprise later tried to sue, saying it was 100% my fault, which was totally ridiculous, as the police officer had interviewed us both and determined that it was equal fault. The police report shut them down pretty fast.
My second happened a mere couple of months later and I got hit in exactly the same corner of my brand new replacement bumper. In the second, the college kid in question was, again, totally willing to accept fault to my face, and to his credit, also ‘fessed up to the officer that he hadn’t even looked before gunning it out of his parking space, while I was sitting totally still. He begged me not to report it to insurance since he had a previous accident and didn’t want his rates to go up. He didn’t want his parents to know, he would pay for my repairs in cash, and so on. I calmed him down and told him that I was willing to do so, but the police report was just a way to protect us BOTH. Having it officially documented meant no one could suddenly change their story, even if we didn’t report it to the insurance company.
Turns out he had no proof of insurance with him, but swore he had insurance. They couldn’t cite him for that as he was in a parking lot at the time, but warned him that they could have if he had been about 25 feet away on the street. He did indeed end up paying for my repair bill in cash and was a hell of a lot less enthusiastic about it when confronted with just how expensive a bumper replacement can be. I have a feeling the police report might have just helped a tad, and if he had reneged, I wouldn’t have been out of luck in getting my insurance to go after his insurance or him for my repair, if need be.
Contrast that with a friend’s experience in the exact same town. She also got hit in a parking lot, the other car was completely at fault, the local police officer who showed up claimed there was “no need” to do a police report. He didn’t exactly refuse, and obviously, given my experiences, that’s not their policy to skip a report for non-injury accidents, he just heartily *discouraged* it. Initially, she and her husband chalked it up to laziness. She did not insist and the police officer didn’t do one. Turns out the lady who hit her had a forged insurance card and did not actually have insurance. The friend also later found out that the officer in question seems to have been quite well acquainted, possibly romantically involved with, the driver at fault, which may explain why he discouraged the idea of getting a report. The woman who hit her was all nice as pie and “oh it was all my fault” at the scene, but skipped town and stuck her with the damage.
Takeaway? Call the non-emergency number and ask for a report, even in a non-injury accident where the vehicles are in no one’s way. Just be up front that you’re not their highest priority call and most departments are happy to send someone as soon as they can. Usually they’ll tell you to get out of traffic’s way (if possible) and document the damage, but get an official report and get contact info for any witnesses. Even if the person in question is honest as the day is long and accepts fault, their insurance company’s lawyers may NOT be so nice and honest.
Man, that’s crazy about your friend!! What are the odds?? I think you pretty much convinced me to get a report going forward too – as long as I can remember it in the heat of the moment :) Def. good points
Glad everyone is OK. I can tell you from personal experience that getting a police report in an auto accident without injuries in the DC area is practically impossible. If you can, it’s very nice to have one, but every time I’ve called, they won’t send folks out. I’ve dealt with USAA three times for accidents (neither my fault, and one with an uninsured driver), and have been mostly pleased.
The one thing to keep in mind if both parties have USAA, is that you need to call the right folks to answer questions, etc. My husband got rear-ended with baby and carseat in the car, and I insisted that they replace the carseat (manufacturer recommendation, even for minor accidents). If we called “our” USAA agent, we got nowhere. If we talked to “their” USAA agent, we got it all straightened out in about 5 minutes.
Really? that’s kinda strange. But awesome that BOTH of y’all had USAA! That’s a dream for me, haha… Although so far working with Progressive has actually been pretty good. We’re just in intro talks with how it all works for future, but so far been impressed.
Catching up on the read – glad everyone is alright! Any update from insurance companies since I am visiting a week later?
Yup! About to write up a new post on it actually :) Goods and bads are coming from it :(