I was driving yesterday and a pick up truck (per his report) had to swerve to avoid a semi truck that was attempting to turn left from the right lane. He ended up rear ending me at very high speed and then pushing my card forward into a fender bender with the car in front of me. Police and EMS arrived and I was ok at the time but they said my car was not drivable and called a tow truck to a nearby autobody shop. We have a police report of everything and I called Nationwide (the pick up driver's insurance) to start a claim. The insurance adjustor called me yesterday afternoon and immediately said the process can take a long time and I should instead start a claim with my insurance (State Farm). I thought this was sus since if the other driver is at blame, why would I file the claim with my insurance…
I ended up starting a claim with State Farm so that I could use my rental car benefits and pick up a rental ASAP; they told me this claim would be just for the rental car benefits. Both workers at the autobody shop were like "dude your car is almost certainly totaled". I ended up in the ER overnight and was diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy and will need orthopedics follow up. I gave the claim number with Nationwide for that encounter.
The issue I am now having is that Nationwide will not make a determination on the claim until they can reach the third driver (the driver at the front that I was bumped into). They don't have a phone number for her, just insurance info, and neither Nationwide nor her own insurance can get a hold of her. So Nationwide is telling me this process will take a long time, they only cover storage fee for 5 days ($100 per day at this autobody shop) so they recommended going through my insurance instead so I don't get a huge bill just for storage fees. Obviously, State Farm is saying since I was not at fault I should go through Nationwide. I understand its in both their interest I go through the other party but I am a broke student, I can't afford insane fees, I don't even know what the next steps would be if the car is totaled, and I need a car for school. Also, how does it work with the medical bills. My health insurance (UHC student resources) is terrible and I don't want to get stuck with large bills. I'm just so depressed, my car was totaled and everyone else was able to drive off, and the semi truck that caused the whole situation fled the scene. Any help would be greatly appreciated, everyone is giving me conflicting advice.
Picture of the car if that matters: https://imgur.com/a/WRWwBt4
Got badly rear ended – need advice
byu/Ok-Coat-7067 inInsurance
Posted by Ok-Coat-7067
4 Comments
Going 3rd party will take longer. That’s just the way it is cause they have to do their investigation and part of that includes talking to all parties. Then seeing what all damages are, comparing that to the liability limits of their client, etc…
Much faster to claim on your policy, pay your deductable and get your car repaired faster
With multiple vehicles involved you might run into policy limits.
If the at fault has state minimum limits that will have to cover your vehicle and the one you were pushed into.
Damages, rental car costs, Towing and storage all count towards the limit for both vehicles. They have to know the total for both vehicles before you will get a cent out of them.
Ok, the answer is staring you right in the face… use your insurance, that’s why you have it. They can handle this all right now for you. Why you you sit around waiting for Nationwide? SF’s advice makes sense in general, but given the situation it makes no sense at all, especially since you already have the rental set up. Could take days, weeks…. who knows?
What state?
Not sure why SF is telling you to wait for Nationwide if you’re accumulating storage fees. State Farm will pay up to 7 days as well. It’s in your best interest to start with State Farm. Those storage fees are no joke if you just let it sit there. Liability investigations take a while sometimes. It’s on you to mitigate your damages as well. You could also run into limits issues with the other insurance.