Who pays for my totaled vehicle? Who pays for my repairs to my vehicle? Should my insurance pay for my damaged vehicle when someone else is at fault?
Dealing with a property damage claim is frustrating and time consuming. Sometimes insurance companies take too long to inspect your vehicle and provide you with an estimate. Ultimately, the at-fault person’s insurance should pay for your vehicle. However, there are times when you may want to use your own insurance, if you have coverage. For example, if the at-fault party doesn’t have insurance, you may need to use your insurance. Other times, the at-fault insurance may refuse to pay while they are investigating the crash and determining who is at fault (even if law enforcement has already cited the other driver). If you need a vehicle to get to work, you may not have time to wait for the investigation, so you may use your own insurance. In these cases, you may have a deductible, so your insurance will pay you the amount of the damage less the deductible amount. If the other insurance company eventually agrees its driver was at fault, then it will repay your insurance company and you will get a check for your deductible amount.