My wife's first accident

[footprintsinconc]

my wife picked up our kids from school and was waiting to turn right from one of the side streets on the main street, someone rear ended her.

everything seems ok for now. it was a slow impact. my wife cant remember when her headache and shoulder pain started, but i am guessing that its stress. the bumper on our van turned upwards in the middle by about 1" and the molding around the bumper got a few inch long cut.

since this was her first, she was all panicy and stressing when she called me. but the lady behind her admitted she hit her and gave her all the info and they drove off. a cop did stop by for less than 4 or 5 minutes, just to tell them to move into a parking lot and left.

when i called our insurance company last night, they told me to file a claim with the insurance company of the person who hit our car. that came by me as strange, because at least from my experience, in canada, we would just call our insurance company and let them handle all of the rest. however, it seems like it works the other way around, they only want to hear from you if you hit someone.

so i am going to have to get some quotes today and tomorrow. i hate having to stop on a project that i was rolling on at a good pace. now, since yesterday, its come to a screeching halt! i am telling you, there is a higher authority, that doesnt want me doing things around the house (it just seems like when i am about to do something, something happens or something more urgent pops up!).

[Richard in Smithville]

You should have your wife visit the doctor. Thirteen years ago, LOML was rear ended and had soft tissue damage in her neck and left shoulder from holding the stearing wheel. Spent the next year going to therapy and had someone coming in to help her until the therapist felt that she was as improved as she would be. This was all paid for by the insurance company. LOML is still not 100% but it is in her medical file.

[sparkeyjames]

I hope everything turns out ok. Hope your wife does not have anything more than stress pains.

This rear end accident reminds me of my bosses wife. She has been hit in the rear end of her various vehicles a total of 6 times. All within the last 5 years. Talk about a target waiting for bullet. She on the other hand has never caused an accident by striking another vehicle.

It is strange that your insurance company tells you to call the other drivers insurance company.
I have State Farm and I have never heard of them doing that. Been with them for more than 25 years and had 2 accidents. They have NEVER told me to contact the other drivers Insurance company.


Jim

[LCHIEN]

my insurance co (MI) told me to contact the other drivers company (ODI) . MI said if ODI refused to pay for any reason then contact them.

ODI insurance co gave me choice of about 3-4 shops locally to do the work, take it to them and they'll do it (They'll tell you what they are going to do). no real need to get a quote (altho in my case the guy first wanted to pay out of pocket then balked at the estimate)
You should make sure that they are replacing the parts that need replacing and not just repairing some of them... check the work estimate and if not happy, take it to one of the other shops authorized. For this end, having a quote from an independent shop to compare it to may be useful.
Unfortunately getting auto body work is like HMO medical insurance. If you have insurance co. coverage their approved shop will do it at a steep discount. Take to a place, not covered by insurance, their rates for the same work will be much higher.

[Mrs. Wallnut]

I know the feeling of having an accident. But mine was the other way around. Our insurance company was very nice with us and actually contacted the other insurance company for us and then they contacted Mark and we are now in the process of dealing with an adjuster and getting our car fixed. It does take a lot of time dealing with things like this because I have spent at least a couple of hours running around and getting quotes and making phone calls. But I guess that is what we have insurance for.

I was sore the next day or two after the young man hit me. I think I saw it coming and tensed up a little on the steering wheel and then add the stress of it to things and I was sore for a few days after...but was ready to go in to the doctor by the 5th day if I woke up feeling like I had the days previous. I also watched the kids for any signs of aches and pains and things like that especially the little 2 year old because he can't tell me what hurts.

[iceman61]

I have never had to deal with the other insurance company. Anytime I've had a claim my insurance takes care of it & then they collect from the other company. To me, dealing with the other guy's insurance company is like going to see the other guy's lawyer if you were sueing someone. It just doesn't make sense. That may be a stretch but that's the way I see it.

Hope your wife is ok.

[Mrs. Wallnut]

I have never had to deal with the other insurance company. Anytime I've had a claim my insurance takes care of it & then they collect from the other company. To me, dealing with the other guy's insurance company is like going to see the other guy's lawyer if you were sueing someone. It just doesn't make sense. That may be a stretch but that's the way I see it.

Hope your wife is ok.

So far the other insurance company in our case has contacted Mark and have talked with him but our insurance company is doing most of that work for us. Now we are just waiting for an adjuster to get a hold of us and get this process started.

[footprintsinconc]

while i was out yesterday, the second guy told me to not do any leg work and let the adjuster come out and do his thing. so i just went back home. the shops that i went to look run down, but i think i found one that looks decent, but its a little ways from our place.

i am going to call my insurance company tonight when i get home and talk to someone there. my insurance thru ameriprise (american express), so i think still think that they should handle all of this for me. my exact feeling, iceman61.

kids are fine. my wife is fine, still has that shoulder pain in one spot. i told her to go by the doctor, but she's not convinced that its from the bump. ayesha was saying that she didnt see it coming, even after the hit, she said the sound confused her weather she hit the curb or was actually hit. but when she realized she was hit, my just started to panic and stressing. after she got the info from the other lady, she said that she waited like five minutes before she drove off . she thinks that she has had the same pain a few time before about a month ago. so i will try to get her to go anyways. since the hit was at a slow speed, the damage wasnt much, just a new reinforcement bar (fancy name for bumper) + the cover needs to be replaced. the hitch saved the brackets that hold the bumper.

i hope this is her first and last one. getting hit from behind that many times is like having a bull's eye painted on your back! wow, that is too much.

well, all in all, this is a learning experience.

[iceman61]

If any of the damage repair is going to include painting, you should consider some of the retail car lots. Alot of them have a body shop on premises & most everyone I've been in seem to have painters that are excellent at matching up paint color & finish since they do have to touch up some of those new cars that get banged & scratched. If not, just ask them who the recommend. Also the adjuster at your insurance company could point you in the right direction. The other guy's adjuster might have a biased opinion. (cheaper pricing)