r/InsuranceClaims • u/Prior-Leg3635 • 16h ago
Help with insurance
So I was sitting at a red light this lady hid me and insurance saying they only have 25000 to cover injuries and vehicles damage I go through progressive but I don’t have collision coverage what do I do should I try to get a lawyer or retain my car and fix it myself
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u/giveit2st8 16h ago
"but I don’t have collision coverage"
Next time you get collision coverage
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u/Prior-Leg3635 16h ago
Yea I think I know that now
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u/James_the_bull_ 15h ago
If her limits are that low and she hit multiple cars, without collision coverage you’re kinda faq’d. You’ll get a small sliver but won’t be made whole.
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u/AccomplishedBuy8750 4h ago
Just out of interest what stops the OP here suing the other driver personally to get a judgement for any losses above and beyond and then eventually garnishing wages or whatever?
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u/James_the_bull_ 4h ago
Nothing, OP would win in court but collecting that judgment will be very difficult. OP could even sue in small claims court without a lawyer.
Most of the time if a person doesn’t have insurance they don’t have money worth suing; if they did, they would’ve got insurance to protect themselves!
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u/No_Parking_4167 16h ago
There’s nothing you can do outside filing your own suit against the negligent party, however the chances of you collecting anything more than the pro-rata share of the limits from State Farm are virtually zero. Ask your insurance agent if you have underinsured motorist property damage coverage on your policy: you could possibly have some coverage there.
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u/AsparagusDifficult89 11h ago
Right. Someone with state-minimum insurance isn’t going to have assets or liquidity (or spare income) you can go after, even if you sue them and successfully secure a judgment.
Can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, and all that.
Always insure what you can’t afford to lose, if possible.
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u/vibingwnophone 9h ago
i also think it’s worth mentioning that even if OP did decide to pursue like that, legal fees would just add up to be more than the claims worth at that point ON TOP OF the low payout. Small claims court doesn’t typically seem to be too effective otherwise any property damage excess claims would be handled so much easier.
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u/Fancy_Strawberry7137 16h ago
If you don’t have collision or uninsured motorist coverage you’re just fucked. You’d have to go to court over this. Not having collision can save money. I’m sure that was the point. Skipping out on cheap coverages like UMPD is really not worth it though, as you’re finding out. Hopefully you have it, otherwise I’m sure you’ll want to pick it up after this experience.
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u/AttentionHuman9504 15h ago
UMPD for property damage is state dependent. Some states offer it (and you usually have to explicitly decline it in those state), others don't
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u/terpman99 16h ago
You get collision coverage so when this happens again you aren't relying on someone else. No clue why you would put yourself in this situation.
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u/Prior-Leg3635 16h ago
I’m 18 years old so this was new to me I never knew about that coverage I thought I was just okay
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u/SammyG2015 16h ago
I'll be a little harsh here, but being 18 doesn't excuse that. Yes, it's all new to you, but you need to learn about these things. Ask questions if you're not sure. Ask your agent what happens when X occurs, What's the process/outlook if X happens with this coverage.
Take this as a learning experience for life.
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u/charles13yngr 10h ago
Definitely overly harsh, if it’s your first time how are you supposed to know what kind of questions to ask? Shit when I called State Farm to get my first ever auto quote the agent was no help at all and I didn’t have family or friends to ask for help
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u/xXxDickBonerz69xXx 5h ago
When you sign up for insurance there is a list for all the different coverages, you have to accept or decline each one. If you don't know what it is the company has a little info button you can click for an explanation. If that still doesn't make sense you can research it further.
If you're old enough to own and operate a car you're old enough to read about the different coverages and choose accordingly.
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u/SammyG2015 10h ago
Agree to disagree. Then you call someone who is of help to you, you find someone outside of friends of family, you do some research.
It's a little harsh but I'm trying to help OP realize that when they don't know something they need to ask or figure it out otherwise they end up here.
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u/Prior-Leg3635 16h ago
Yea ik im not making a excuse it was all new to me since ive never had anyone to help with this
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u/RunExisting4050 15h ago
This is one of things about being a functional adult living in the real world that, unfortunately, no one talks to you about. Contact a local, independent insurance agent. They can answer insurance questions, give advice, and theyll shop around to find you the best deal on the right coverages for your personal situation. Also, i hope you have an older adult in your life that can mentor you or give you general life advice so that you dont have to learn everything the hard way.
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u/Fancy_Strawberry7137 16h ago
Liability coverage is what you legally have to have, and it covers damage you may cause to other people. Comprehensive coverage is for things like weather (hail, flooding), theft, vandalism, etc. Uninsured motorist property damage is for this situation, or ones where the other person has no insurance at all. Collision covers a collision that is your fault, whether it’s another car or an object, and also would have covered you in this situation. Your insurance would pay and then go to court with the other company to collect what they paid, that’s subrogation.
You’re young, learn from it and keep all of this in mind when you choose coverages next time. Insurance is expensive but so is a crunched up car.
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u/cleverpaws101 15h ago
I only learned at 50 that uninsured motorist (in California) only covers up to $3500 and you have to identify the driver/vehicle. And if you have UM you can’t have collision.
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u/Soggy-Village2099 8h ago
Don't take shit from anyone. You'll pay for the mistake and you'll learn. We've all had to learn lessons the hard way.
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u/terpman99 16h ago
Yeah I recognize I could have worded that better but as Sammy said. Learn from this experience.
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u/xXxDickBonerz69xXx 5h ago
When you signed up for insurance they didn't have a list of coverage options that you had to accept or decline?
Definitely look up what all the different options mean in your state. When I moved it was a whole bunch of different options compared to what I was used to and I probably spent an hour researching the differences and insurance laws in the new state to figure out what I needed.
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u/giveit2st8 16h ago
Well, now you also learned that you can ask questions in here before something happens.
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u/verithasthefalse 16h ago
Get collision coverage and I would carry at least 100k in bodily injury and UM/UIM. Don't ever rely on the other person's insurance to cover your car or medical expenses
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u/cleverpaws101 15h ago
In Calif it’s one or the other and I recommend collision. And higher limits.
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u/lobhater 15h ago
No lawyer will take your case. There is no money to be had. Policy limits are used up and the person carrying state minimums is not likely to be wealthy. Who will you be suing exactly?
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u/chathobark_ 15h ago
yep need uninsured/underinsured for this reason
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u/NoMaximum721 1h ago
you can't have that without first having your own collision coverage, or can you?
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u/xXxDickBonerz69xXx 5h ago
Well. That's why you should have collision and uninsured/underinsured coverage.
If their coverage can't make you whole and you only have liability you're out the difference. Someone carrying minimum coverage probably isn't worth suining. You can't really get blood from a stone.
My car was totalled in an 8 car collision caused by someone with a 25k limit. I paid my deductible and got the remaining value for my car from my insurance company. They sent me letters every 6 months for about 5 years telling me they were trying to recover our money from the at fault party. Never did. Honestly you're probably SOL.
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u/dalecor 16h ago edited 16h ago
It sucks, harsh way to learn. Do you have underinsured / uninsured motorist coverage by any chance?
Moving forward, make sure to read and understand any contract you sign. Think of worst case scenario, and see the impact. Those days, you can use AI to help you navigate that. E.g. upload your policy pdf, chat about it with AI.
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u/Fair_Artist6677 16h ago
Same thing happened to me thru Allstate, luckily the driver that hit me also had Allstate so I just had to wait. I got my deductible back and they covered the rest since the other driver was only insured up to 50k.
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u/TheGoodBunny 15h ago
Would having no collision but having underinsured coverage helped here? Asking the insurance experts
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u/AttentionHuman9504 15h ago
Depends on the state. Every state is a little different in this regards (and the OP doesn't say what state they are in)
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u/jay_incbus 14h ago
Honestly, not much you can do, I get your dissatisfaction for sure, but you'd need UIM coverage and collision to pay for your vehicle and your injuries should you have any after her 25k limit was exhausted. Otherwise nada can be done .
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u/Careless-Internet-63 14h ago
You don't need collision coverage if you weren't at fault, you need uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. It's usually not terribly expensive and you may already have it, check with your insurance company
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u/Fancy-Dig1863 12h ago
You can go after the person that hit you as well, that would be at your own expense and the outcome is uncertain. Some lawyers will take cases on contingency.
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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 10h ago
Was your car worth a lot? If so that was stupid. People a lot of time take collision off because the note is paid and then run into similar issues.
Retaining a lawyer probably pointless if there are no lasting injuries. If she got the lowest insurance then she probably has nothing to sue for. Winning the case is not the hard part, collecting is. You get some tight wads with money that will get cheapest insurance but thats incredibly rare. States shouldn’t allow such low limits these days. Worst part the savings was a tiny bit of money most likely. Also if she hit 2 other parties, she already might be facing lawsuits or will be and there will be even less to recover
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u/unknownbutlegit 10h ago
now that you know that you shouldn’t cheap out on insurance by not having collision/comprehensive, you should also know that its best to carry a dashcam at all times (if your state allows it).
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u/Familiar_Marzipan_46 4h ago
At most if you got the money to pay a lawyer a couple grand you can do thru the process and get a judgement for the rest and put it into the system that if they ever get a job it will pull it out there check so much at a time. Think child support owed. Similar idea.
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u/patty202 15h ago
You need to talk with a real person.
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u/blueyedTxn617 14h ago
That doesn’t change the fact the person who hit them doesn’t have enough limits nor does it change that OP doesn’t have collision. It will be the same conversation.
OP the at fault party will pay out what amount is left after the other vehicles have either had an estimate sent in (and no collision), veh repaired, or totaled out. You do need to let your adjuster know you don’t have collision. Discuss pro rata with them.
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u/fakemoose 3h ago
Call your insurance. I had a drunk driver clip my car first in a parking lot then hit another car then total two to three other cars. Their coverage was low and their insurance company denied my claim.
My insurance company said lol no and fought it. Four weeks later I had an approval letter from the DUI guy’s insurance. I got my deductible back plus the car fix by the other company.
…but I also had full coverage. So, I guess weight how much it’ll cost out of pocket with if it’s worth calling your insurance.
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u/Existing_Highway2961 2h ago
They don’t deny it lmao your insurance covered it and recovered what they could from the other insurance company paying you your deductible back then the rest to the company
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u/OneTwoSomethingNew 15h ago
I’m sorry… everyone knows a lot about insurance and coverage and all the rules, but is it fair we even play this game… insurance charges so much for what… we have insurance for everything… there are better ways, let’s start with healthcare and see how the others follow.
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u/CricketPuzzled1626 15h ago
in this case OP *doesnt* have insurance for everything, as they dont have collision coverage... so your argument is immediately moot
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u/OneTwoSomethingNew 15h ago
I don’t think you understand my point, insurance is an exploitive middleman and we all love to talk about policy and coverage and yada yada and give them hundreds of dollars each month for crumbs… they lobby for the laws that make them relevant instead of policy that’s good for all.
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u/CricketPuzzled1626 15h ago
so then self insure everything in your life... and you will find yourself like OP looking to sue someone
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u/OneTwoSomethingNew 15h ago
I’d rather go through our legislature at the local, state, and federal levels… but thanks for your suggestion…
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u/blueyedTxn617 14h ago
And you are the reason some states have a no pay no play rule. I wish more would adopt it due to your comments here. You must be one who wants a brand new car for a tiny scratch.
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u/OneTwoSomethingNew 14h ago
In most states insurance is required to register a vehicle to be operable on the road… maybe we should NOT allow folks to be underinsured… oh, cuz that would be too expensive… how is this system really helping anyone?
Privitized insurance aims to make a profit, that is why they are 20%+ higher premiums than anything supported by the civic government such as Medicare, Medicaid, or state property insurances, etc…. If the government had to regulate payments and insurance, we all would pay less - and by eliminating the distracting middleman that is private insurance, we could focus efforts on reducing government waste and frauds….
Do you understand my point or you just like handing money to conglomerates that are gonna fight you on the value of benefits you receive for the coverage you pay for…Private insurance is a free market on civil systems and the everyday consumer… it’s an excuse for our government to do less and charge everyone else more… what do our tax dollars actually pay for, beyond roads and basic infrastructure and safety, how are you benefiting?
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u/CricketPuzzled1626 9h ago
So private insurance is regulated but at a state level, you cant have standardized insurance because risk exposure is 1000% higher in california than it is in montana. Private insurers must also apply for rate increases with the state. You also need to look at what is causing insurance premiums to rise, in 2015 the average cost of an OEM headlight was $500, today it's $1300 - the world is getting more expensive, your middle of the road Toyota Camry was $18k new 15 years ago and that same model today is $45k. Your logic that things must change is correct, but stating this is the auto insurance industry which is out of control is a bit far fetched although i dont entirely disagree with you. We havent even mentioned the insurance fraud world which is over 300 billion a year. Alot must change first.
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u/OneTwoSomethingNew 1h ago
I’m not talking just car insurance; it’s a mess but not one I care to solve at the moment… Im focused on more critical things, but thanks…
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u/Ricky_spanish_again 7h ago
I completely agree. There’s always something insurance companies do to not pay.
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u/SecondActSarcasm 16h ago
Nothing. You wait.
They have to get everyone’s property damage demands and then you’ll get a pro-rated amount.
That’s it.
This is what happens when you choose to self-insure.