djrabbi

So I am at a stop light and someone rear ends me. He drove off and hit a light pole down the road. Cops came and all, is there anything I should be aware of?

TheGreatOne45

that sucks man especially days before the meet. just get a police report and then put the claim in thru ur insurance so they can subrogate against him. its much easier process that way and u dont have to deal with his insurances bs or if he doesnt have insurance ur insurance co will go after him. btw, how's ur back?

brm

and the car isn't damaged too badly. Then: fill out the obligatory accident report; turn the claim in to your insurance company; and get an estimate from the best body shop in town. I don't know where you live or what insurance law you have. If it's no-fault, your carrier will take care of fixing your car and the subrogation against the at-fault party, perhaps less your deductible. If the carrier doesn't cover the deductible, then you will have to make a claim against and perhaps sue the at-fault party for that amount. If yours is a fault state, you need to get the other party's insurance information and make a claim with their carrier. Most states allow you to choose your body shop; some carriers will try to steer you to their preferred shop. Good luck.

TheGreatOne45

also if u want the best body shop in long island that IS mb certified, go to mid island collision in rockville centre its near lakeview mb. i went there after my rear end accident in 09. amazing work and i didnt have to pay my $1000 (at the time) deductible

djrabbi

I was driving my brother's range rover so only bumper is messed up... I am just going to tell my brother to go to Land Rover and get the estimate. He had an accord so his car basically went under the range and he reversed and sped off like no tomorrow.

grane

Sue or File the claim throughHIS Insurance company so there is no claim on your record.

Get a diminished value estimate from a top body shop and a couple of Benz dealers and add this to your claim if your state allows DV claims. MA usually does not, I believe. If you can collect an extra $16k in DM in addition to getting your car fixed you are made whole. Find a lawyer who understands DV as part of tort law.

djrabbi

My cousin is a lawyer so I will call him today to see what my options are. I think he hit me around 30-40mph per hour.....I thought I was in another earthquake

TheGreatOne45

apparently dv is not allowed in ny. i fought tooth and nail to get a dv claim after my car was hit and i was told both by my insurance company (geico) and the person who hit me's insurance company (progressive) that they do not do dv in ny...i was PISSED!!!

grane

Your company will not honor or subrogate a DV claim and it says so in the policy.

Therefore you must sue the other guys company and keep your company out of the loop.

I don't know tort law in NY but I don't think the insurance companies want DV claims paid in any state. Can you imagine the expense to them? That is why the clause is in your policy; whether it is forbidden by law is another question, especially if you follow the procedure above where subrogation is avoided.

djrabbi

I live in NJ so who knows

grane

Good luck and let us know what your cousin advises.

If you cannot sue, as a last resort you can deduct DV from your Federal income tax if you itemize.

djrabbi

talked to my cousin, basically told me let his insurance company take care of everything and don't let yours get involved at all. Got a quote from Land Rover it is about $3000 in damages since bumper alone is like $1800 lol

dsm2925

hope all is ok..

djrabbi

yeah im fine.....his insurance is covering for everything...final bill was $4300

grane

Any news about DV in your state?

djrabbi

what is DV?

konigstiger

DV = diminished value is the difference between the value of your car before the accident and value after the accident – also referred to as diminution of value …Google “diminished value”.

djrabbi

Ohh I don't think we do...It isn't my car so I wouldn't know. All I know the car has Gap insurance but that is for car being totaled