On Wednesday, May 6th, I was involved in an accident where the other driver is at-fault. I'm located in Idaho and I ended up going through my insurance mostly because I was unsure of how this process works given I've never been in an accident before. I was additionally stupid enough not to call the police as the accident wasn't super serious and no one was hurt. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess. I was informed by my insurance rep that it may be a potential loss but nothing confirmed.
After researching and finding out I could've gone through the at-fault driver's insurance I am wondering if going through mine is a mistake. I have GEICO and when I first got the policy back in 2022, I did not select rental coverage due to ignorance. I am currently renting a car to get to work utilizing the discount provided by GEICO.
Is it too late to go through the opposite party's insurance to get reimbursement? Is there anything I can do at this point to better benefit my situation? Current advise I've gotten is to get comparisons for the claim and document receipts for any upgrades I've made (all-season tires that I bought a month ago on credit).
I'm already frustrated that I may have to buy another car and go through car payments again after moving into a new apartment this month so any advice that I can follow to soften the blow is greatly appreciated.
Posted by Necessary-Isopod-
2 Comments
Just stick with Geico, you are already in this, no reason to reset now. Nothing wrong with using your insurance, probably faster and easier than using to deal with the other insurance anyways. You never know what issues you might have had trying to go through them.
You can submit the rental invoice to the other insurance later.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. This sub regularly sees people asking how to get the at-fault parties insurance to process the claim faster. Sometimes it’s because the insured isn’t cooperating with the insurance company. In those cases, the only real option is to let your insurance company handle it. You’re a few steps ahead of many. Processing the claim can take time. You have options if they decide to declare your car a total loss. You can accept the offer or buy it back and handle the repair yourself. Since you’re in an apartment, handling the repair may not work for you. If you feel the appraised value is too low, you’ll need to prove why with current listings of local cars with similar trim and miles. Good luck!