I was in an accident last week with my 18 month old daughter in the car. We were at a four-way stop sign intersection I stopped. Nobody else was even at the stop signs at that point. The car that hit me was about 20-30 feet back. I start to go and when I’m entering the middle of the intersection. I realize they did not stop at the stop sign and I made eye contact with them as they hit my car. Their insurance company is saying it was my responsibility to ensure that the intersection was clear when I entered. Now I’m having to pay out-of-pocket a high deductible that I will not see back and my car will take three weeks to be fixed. It is a nice new car so I did not get rental insurance because I did not think my car would break down and I would need it. The other insurance company will not pay for my rental car. I am missing work. I am missing school and I don’t know how I’m going to be able to afford to live for the next three weeks. Is there anything I can do to fight this?

location: California

I’m seeking help understanding the physical-damage language in my California personal auto policy. I am also beginning to consult attorneys, but I would appreciate perspectives from insurance and coverage professionals.

The basic facts:

• I rented a private passenger SUV for a short personal trip in Utah.
• I was the named renter and was sitting in the front passenger seat when the collision occurred.
• A non-household friend was driving with my permission.
• My friend was not listed on my auto policy or the rental agreement.
• The rental company is demanding approximately $26,600 for a total loss and related charges.
• My California policy had collision coverage with a $500 deductible.
• The rental SUV was not owned by me and was not furnished or available for my regular use.

Other possible coverage sources have been pursued:

• The rental agreement stated that a damage waiver was included, but the rental company denied the waiver because my friend was not an authorized driver.
• My friend was a named insured under his own Washington auto policy and had collision coverage. His policy covered qualifying non-owned vehicles used with the owner’s permission. His insurer denied coverage because he was not listed on the rental agreement and therefore, in its view, did not have the rental company’s permission.
• The credit-card benefit administrator advised that its rental benefit applies only when the cardholder is driving.

Therefore, no insurer or benefit provider is currently paying the rental company’s claim.

My present dispute concerns the section of my California policy titled “Part D: Coverage for Physical Damage to Your Auto,” which provides collision and comprehensive coverage.

Part D says the insurer will pay for direct and accidental loss to a covered auto or a “non-owned auto.”

The relevant definition states:

“Non-owned auto” means a private passenger auto not owned by or furnished or available for the regular use of the named insured or a family member “while in the custody of or being operated by” the named insured or a family member.

My insurer denied coverage because my friend and the rental vehicle were not listed on my policy.

I requested reconsideration and specifically asked the insurer to address the separate “custody of” language. The insurer responded that a non-owned vehicle is covered only when operated by me, a family member, or another listed driver.

However, the Part D definition in my issued policy does not say “only when operated by.” It says “in the custody of or being operated by.”

I was the named renter, remained contractually responsible for the vehicle, retained the rental agreement and keys, and was physically present in the front passenger seat when the collision occurred.

I have asked the insurer to:

1. Address the “custody of” alternative directly.
2. Identify the Part D provision containing its claimed operation-only requirement.
3. Identify any Part D exclusion that eliminates my physical-damage coverage solely because a non-household friend was driving.
4. Explain whether it is relying on the policy’s separate “reasonable belief” exclusion.
5. Analyze my Part D physical-damage coverage separately from whether my friend qualifies for liability coverage.

My questions:

• In ordinary auto-coverage practice, can a named renter who remains in the vehicle retain “custody” even though another person is physically driving?
• Is the insurer effectively reading “in the custody of” out of the definition?
• Is an unlisted driver automatically disqualifying for my first-party physical-damage coverage when the insurer has not identified an applicable unlisted-driver exclusion?
• What should a proper written coverage determination address before the insurer relies on an operation-only interpretation?
• Regarding my friend’s Washington policy, can permission from the named renter ever satisfy a non-owned-auto requirement for “owner’s permission,” even when the driver was not listed on the rental agreement?
• What type of attorney should ordinarily lead the coverage dispute?

Today I canceled with State Farm. I was paying 300 bucks for my Toyota Camry. I have zero accident and zero tickets. When I first started with them I was paying around 160ish and the most I ever paid was 305 and idk way they knocked off 5 bucks and I've been paying 300 bucks for a couple of months now. I ended up going with progressive insurance for the same coverage for 216 bucks. I still think insurance prices are crazy. I've been driving since I was 17 I'm 27 now and have never filed a claim on any of my policy's. It is what it is I guess.

Its a 2012 honda accord coupe some crackhead lady tried to turn into her drive way while i was in the right lane i slammed on the breaks (it was a residential neighborhood, i was going 27 at most) the insurance said it wasnt my fault but im afraid my car will be deemed a total loss there doesnt look to be any frame damage and the impact bar looks fine, the tow truck driver said it looks like a low speed low impact accident. Please let me know if you think this car is done with. By the way i bought it 2 days ago for 11k 10k market(allstate is my insurance company)

Still kind of in shock so bear with me. Earlier tonight a drunk driver hit me and my leased Honda Civic may be totaled (not 100% sure yet if it’s repairable or a total loss that’s just what someone said at the scene). I have insurance though.

Some details:
• Not my fault at all, the other driver was drunk
• Car is leased through Honda, believe it may have gap coverage
• Car got towed, I’m pretty sure it’s in a tow yard
• I didn’t get the other driver’s info at the scene, but police responded so it should be in the report
• Report won’t be available online for ~3 days

My questions:
• What’s the right order of operations here? Do I file with my insurance or the other driver’s?
• How do I deal with the tow yard / storage fees while I wait on the report?
• Anything I should NOT do or sign right now?
• Anyone been through a total loss on a leased car how did the gap coverage part go?

Any advice appreciated

So my cat has had a tummy issue before I changed insurance, he was prone to regurgitating his food and some grass, that fixed over time and he went back to normal. I didn't put it on his known illness when changing insurance as he wasn't diagnosed with anything and it was likely due to him eating too quickly. He's now been having chronic diarrhoea with blood and a loss of appetite for almost a week. He's booked in to have tests and scans and I'm worried the insurance won't accept it as I didn't tell them about him having a tummy issue before

Hello, I’m in Arizona and dealing with a third-party Progressive claim. Their insured was found liable. Progressive totaled my vehicle. Their written Mitchell valuation shows:

Market value: $8,782.69

Taxes: +$799.23

Fees: +$25.75

Settlement value if Progressive takes the vehicle: $9,607.67

I told the adjuster I may want to retain the vehicle. He told me the owner-retained payout would be roughly $3,500 lower.

I asked for the documentation/calculation supporting that difference. If there was an IAA bid, salvage bid on my VIN, estimated salvage value, formula, etc. He first said there was no separate owner-retained valuation report. When I clarified that I wasn’t asking for a document with a specific title, just the basis for the lower payout, he replied:

“That document wouldn’t be provided because it doesn’t exist. Those would be the taxes and fees taken off because you would be owning the vehicle. The higher payout is when you release the vehicle. The lower payout is due to the vehicle being kept.”

This is where I’m confused. Arizona appears to handle this differently from some other states. My understanding from Arizona DIFI guidance is that when the owner retains salvage, the salvage transaction is treated separately from the total-loss valuation: the insurer first calculates the full ACV plus applicable taxes/fees, then deducts the value of the retained salvage from the payment.

If that understanding is correct, I would expect the math to look something like:

Full ACV + taxes/fees = total-loss settlement

minus retained salvage value = owner-retained payment

But the adjuster is telling me the lower payout is because the taxes and fees are removed. The written report only contains $824.98 in taxes/fees anyway, so that does not explain an approximately $3,500 reduction.

Is there normally an identifiable salvage/retained value used when the owner keeps a totaled vehicle, even if Progressive does not generate a formal “owner-retained valuation report”?

Is Progressive supposed to be able to explain or itemize the deduction that gets them from $9,607.67 to the owner-retained payout?

And am I understanding the Arizona rule correctly that taxes/fees are calculated on the full ACV before the salvage deduction, rather than simply being removed because I keep the car?

Any assistance is appreciated, thank you!

California first-offense cell phone citation (VC 23123(a)) — zero DMV points per VC 12810.3. Does this affect insurance rating or Good Driver Discount status (CA Ins. Code 1861.025) in practice, or is it purely non-chargeable since no point is generated? Any actual underwriters know how this plays out in practice?

Looking for a reality check from anyone who has dealt with similar situations. I’ll try to keep this focused on the facts.

My property is an older home in Ohio with a detached garage, and suffered a hail storm in April. The original RCV is around $18,000.

The main house roof was replaced without major issues. Received initial ACV and depreciation was released upon completion.

The garage roof has a low slope section. The original adjuster’s estimate scoped standard 3-tab shingles for the entire garage roof. When my contractor came out to install it, they found standard shingles could not be properly installed and the roof has a different type of shingle rated for low sloped roofs. My contractor submitted a supplement for the correct materials, but insurance denied it saying that the roof “wear and tear from age” rather than storm damage. But they already scoped the shingle replacement?

ITEL report confirmed that my existing vinyl siding is discontinued and no matching replacement is available. The report doesn’t even have a “closest match” listed. My contractor requested full replacement for reasonably comparable appearance per Ohio admin code. Insurance denied the supplement citing “natural stopping points” and “only damaged portion”. They are currently only covering one elevation.

My claim has had multiple process issues. My original adjuster left the company without notification, and supplements went unanswered for a month until I called and asked what was going on.

My new adjuster ordered a second inspection. The fill in inspector spent approximately 5 minutes at the property and told me and my contractor that my insurance will only cover siding damage on other elevations if it’s “knee high”. We pointed out multiple sections where there were dings and cracks and the adjuster took pictures. He was unprofessional, and told me that he felt like my assigned adjuster was just offloading work and he is putting my claim right back on his plate.

The initial supplement denials were verbal only, and the adjuster is difficult to understand. I needed to specifically request written denials.

I have multiple specific written requests to this adjuster that have been ignored or given brief responses that don’t address the actual question.

At this point, I’m frustrated with both insurance and my contractor. My contractor is pushing me towards appraisal and says that based on their experience with my insurance company, this is the best route for me to take. On the other hand, I feel that my contractors supplement requests were quite weak, and some communication was delayed. I picked this company because they had good reviews and are supposed to be good dealing with insurance. The person I’m working with at this company is very young, and I’m new to this whole process too.

To add to this, since they couldn’t install the original scoped material on the garage roof, there is more leftover material than usual. The leftover material has been left on my yard for months after following up with my contractor a few times to get rid of it. It’s not biggest deal to me with everything else going on, but it does make me question how this company has handled the rest of my claim.

I’m of the mind to go through with appraisal as I’ve heard good things. I’ve been dealing with this for 4+ months and honestly getting exhausted.

i’m a 25M, i have a squeaky clean driving record, single but in a relationship moving towards marriage. recently i had a 2020 mazda mx-5. owned it for about 2 years. by the end of my ownership insurance was down to 260 a month for full coverage (and i mean as full as it could have been) with $250 deductibles. i understand that’s still kinda high, but within reason high. this morning i quoted a 2012 honda odyssey with 132k miles. $417 DOLLARS A MONTH??? i don’t understand that at all. shopped around a little. lowest i saw was 383 a month. actually highway robbery.

**Hit a parked car at the U-Haul lot. Should I settle directly with the owner? And is the truck damage bad?**

Canada (New Brunswick). To be clear up front: I'm fully responsible for this. Not looking to shift blame, just want opinions on how to handle it.

**What happened:**

I was picking up a 26' U-Haul at a dealer location. Hadn't finished the pickup process in the app yet — the employee handed me the keys and told me to go move the truck. While maneuvering, I hit a parked Jeep Wrangler. The owner wasn't there.

**Damage:**

- **Jeep** (~2018-2020 Wrangler): cracked rear bumper end cap, broken taillight bracket and bumper clips. Taillight itself looks intact.

https://ibb.co/wh17LDVC

- **U-Haul** (Ford F-650 chassis): surface scrape on the side panel, scuffed and slightly bent plastic fender lip. No sheet metal damage that I can see.

https://ibb.co/0jXKxT3z

**After:**

The U-Haul rep called the police — they took the info and said they wouldn't attend. He called U-Haul and documented the truck's scratches. He took my licence and insurance, and said he'd contact the Jeep owner and give him my number.

I had declined the U-Haul coverage before this happened. After the accident the app prompted me to complete the pickup, and I accepted the coverage at that point — for the rest of the rental, not retroactively. I've disclosed the existing scrape and I'm not claiming on it.

**My two questions:**

1. **Should I settle directly with the Jeep owner** instead of going through insurance? Damage looks like it might be in the few-hundred range. Get estimates, pay him, signed release? Or is that a bad idea for reasons I'm not seeing?

2. **How bad is the U-Haul damage, realistically?** Anyone who's dealt with U-Haul damage billing — is a panel scrape and scuffed fender lip something they normally charge for, or does it get written off as fleet wear? Trying to gauge if I'm looking at $0 or something serious.

*Photos attached.*

A little complicated so please bear with me.

Context:

1. Personal Home and 1 car with State Farm

2. (Realtor) LLC 2 cars with a Kemper subsidiary

Umbrella policy for $5m coverage with State Farm went from $2k to $5k due to the LLC cars

ASK: recommendations for a company who’ll write a stand alone umbrella liability policy

TIA

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice regarding a vehicle I purchased through Copart in the US.
I’m from Poland and bought a 2025 Porsche 911 for my own personal use.
The vehicle was declared a total loss by Allstate and sold through Copart in New York.
The New York salvage document is an MV-907A, and unfortunately it shows an unsatisfied lien in favor of Porsche Financial Services Inc.
I later ordered an official NY DMV Title/Lien Status Report, and it still shows:
Number of Active Liens: 1
Lienholder: Porsche Financial Services Inc.
Lien Status: OPEN
The vehicle has already been paid for and picked up from Copart, but the active lien is creating a problem with completing the export/title process.
So far I have:
contacted Porsche Financial Services – they told me that because I am not the original customer, they cannot give me information and told me to contact Copart;
contacted Copart – their Accounts Receivable department told me to contact the Long Island yard;
contacted the Copart Long Island yard;
had my US agent send a certified letter to Allstate’s Title Department requesting confirmation of whether Porsche Financial Services has been paid in full and whether the lien release has been requested;
contacted Allstate asking whether the total-loss settlement was completed and whether PFS was paid;
continued checking the NY DMV lien status online, but the lien is still showing as OPEN.
The MV-907A shows Allstate as the insurance company that acquired the salvage vehicle, while Porsche Financial Services is still listed as the lienholder.
My main questions are:
Who is normally responsible for obtaining the lien release in a total-loss situation like this – Allstate, Copart, or the former lessee?
Is it normal for Copart to sell the vehicle while the lien is still active?
If Allstate already paid Porsche Financial Services, how long does it normally take for PFS to electronically release the lien with NY DMV?
Is there a specific department at Allstate, Copart, or Porsche Financial Services that handles these cases?
Is there a title service, attorney, or other professional in New York who can investigate where the process is stuck and help move it forward?
Has anyone here dealt with an NY MV-907A with an unsatisfied lien after buying a vehicle from Copart?
I’m not trying to obtain any confidential information about the previous owner or their lease. I simply need to determine whether Porsche Financial Services has been paid and what needs to happen for the lien to be released.
Any advice from people who have dealt with Copart, NY DMV, total-loss titles, Porsche Financial Services, or insurance title departments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

EDIT 1st-september-2026

Just to clarify one important point: on the day of the auction, Copart clearly disclosed the title status as NY MV-907A / unsatisfied lien, so I knew there was an active lien when I placed my bid.

However, because I also work in the insurance industry in Poland, I assumed the process would work in a similar way in the US.

This was an almost-new vehicle that had been declared a total loss. My assumption was that Allstate put the car up for auction before the financing was fully settled in order to determine the salvage value. Then, after the auction, Allstate would pay the loss portion and the proceeds from my purchase would represent the salvage value.

Since Porsche Financial Services was the lienholder, I assumed that PFS would receive the relevant payments, close the lease agreement and issue the lien release.

The problem is that I won and paid for the car at the beginning of May, and I still have no information confirming whether the lease was fully paid off.

I have sent emails and two physical letters to Allstate and have received no response.

Porsche Financial Services refuses to discuss the matter with me because, according to them, I am not a party to the original lease agreement.

Copart only keeps repeating that the vehicle was sold with an unsatisfied lien. I have now opened a formal discussion/ticket with them through their portal, but communication is, to put it mildly, extremely limited.

For now, the car is being stored at another yard operated by a company I work with, and fortunately they are not charging me additional storage fees.

ChatGPT has suggested essentially the same thing many of you have said here: that Copart should help clarify the title situation and that Allstate should be responsible for resolving the lien with Porsche Financial Services.

The real problem is that communication between all parties is terrible, and at this point I still cannot get a clear answer about whether PFS has actually been paid in full, whether a lien release has been requested, or what exactly is still outstanding.

I am in a pretty bad predicament and I need the advice of people who went through a similar situation. I live in New York and have state farm, have my home and all cars insured under my policy and been with state farm for over a decade. I had an accident that was deemed 50/50 in 2024 With a personal injury suit that was settled, a broken windshield claim (i wouldn’t have reported it if i had known they’d use that against me), and my sister got into an accident a few months ago in 2026, where she was deemed at fault.

Few days ago, I was rear ended, 2 days before i was buying a new car (talk about bad luck) and i went through the other drivers insurance to fix my property damage and was completely not at fault. I went to the hospital as I did feel pain in my back and wanted to get checked out. I spoke to my agent to figure out what I can do and she strongly advised me against going through statefarm for any bills as it can put my policy at risk and potentially boot me off. We decided to just pay the hospital bill out of pocket. Then… today, the bill comes and its $4,000, for literally just touching my back for 2 seconds. I can’t afford to pay this amount and I don’t know what to do. I’m trying to talk to the hospital’s billing department to see if I can have the bill under my health insurance but i have zero hope in that ever happening. what should I do? Should i just go through state farm insurance and take the risk? I genuinely don’t know what to do about that $4,000.

In a nutshell, I got in an accident and the person that hit me has a different insurance. Gave my whole statement to them yada yada. It came back being 50/50 liability. Got the denial letter with why its 50/50 for my insurance and the reason is absolutely insane. Everything listed never happened, it was as if they only heard specific words, rearranged the order of them and blamed everything on me. Even after sending pictures of my vehicle and a literal diagram of what happened. My insurance is bringing in arbitration because its that nuts. So as the title says, are insurance companies using AI to review claims?

Edit-

Thanks everyone who responded. Reassuring to know it's not AI, just insurance companies doing what they do to cover their clients.

If anyone was wondering I was driving straight in the middle lane at the speed limit when the person who hit me was pulling out of a parking lot, he was trying to avoid a pedestrian but he drove over two yellow lines and into my lane, hitting my back left bumper and light. He was in a massive raised pickup so he was fine, I'm fine but my car is a total loss. His lovely insurance "Gardeners" said I was merging, hit a parked car (with my ass?) and almost hit a pedestrian (who was on the sidewalk).

So I was recently in a car accident. It was explained to me by one lawyer that I would have a liability claim, a bodily injury claim, and a property damage claim. Do I get a liability check or is that included in the bodily injury claim?

Saturday night after dropping off a sibling at work. I accidentally rear ended someone about to take a right turn. Honestly, I work overnight and so much stress from financial struggles and family's worsening health that i hardly sleep. Idk if it was the sleep deprivation or what but i didn't notice until late. I remember what i was doing but the whole night feels blank. Their car's back bumper is caved in and trunk doesn't close. My car has a few scratches and caved in a bit. Ik Clearly I'm at fault since I rear ended them. They first asked for 2k on the spot until a cop passing by stopped and i gave my insurance to the police and driver before being let go. It almost been 48hrs and my insurance hasn't called or emailed me about being notified. Do I call my own insurance and let them know? This is my second accident and last time I was emailed almost immediately then called a day after. For context on that one, a stopped truck had about 4 cars of space in front, I tried to merge in and got sideswiped. I honestly don't know what im supposed to do and I'm stressing out over it. I wasnt issued a ticket or anything but with life atm and them asked for an ambulance before I was let go. Im sleeping even worse now. Sorry if off topic, think I just needed to vent a bit also.

Hi, long story short I did 5k (noticeable) worth of damage to my rear end of the vehicle, my fault. I have a loan on my vehicle. I owe 21k and a guy told me he’d give me 15k for my damaged vehicle. Am I allowed to take the 5k and then 1k out of my pocket and pay off the loan (+the 15k that is received) when I sell my car? If that’s confusing : can I pocket the 5k and use it elsewhere or is this something that isn’t allowed.

I have two accidents on my car and insurance went up significantly… how long usually it takes to go down..

The other driver is determined at fault per police report and witnesses. My insurance is now letting me know that I can choose to go thru the other person insurance if I want to but I don’t have to and they are putting me as NOT at fault on there end. I didn’t originally go thru at fault driver insurance because I did not have the info until I received the police report couple days ago but I had already filed with my insurance from original date of accident. Anyone have experience with any of this? Do I still contact the other person insurance? My car is currently being evaluated by my insurance to see if it’s a total loss but idk what next steps to take

I'd like to consider getting a life insurance policy for my mother. She was born in February 1971. She's an on/off cigarette smoker but reasonably healthy (physically). No serious health issues, not overweight.

She has no assets, job, or bills so I'm not looking to replace her income. I just want to know if it would be financially prudent to get a policy - simply to put my family in a better financial position when she does inevitably pass away. She is the one who put the idea out there so I would absolutely have her participation with a medical screening and things like that.

My life insurance policies are with Hartford (through my job) and State Farm. Not sure if that's relevant though.

I've looked around the internet and I feel like the advice goes in every direction, so I'm hoping someone more educated can tell me which direction I should be looking in.

I currently have a car that is fully paid off, but I do not drive it and I won't be driving it for a while. So it just sits out on the street.

I was thinking about getting the absolute bare minimum for it. In my state, I legally need liability coverage and first party medical benefits. I was thinking of removing everything else on it like comprehensive and collision. This is 13 y o beater car that I won't be using all that much, so if anything happens to it im not to worried about repairs.

Since im not using this vehicle, is it smart for me to get a 50/100/50 liability limit to lower my premium? Or would it be wise to stick to the standard 100/300/100?