Introduction

A while ago, my LD drove out for lunch and was rear-ended by the car behind her in a left-turn lane. It was only a minor accident and did not involve any personal injury or medical issues, but since it was our first time dealing with a car accident, things still felt a bit hectic. I also looked up some articles online at the time about what to do, and I’m organizing the information here now to provide some useful reference for friends who might—just in case, just in case, just in case—need it in the future. Three disclaimers:

  • First, the information I collected and summarized does not cover situations involving personal injury. If medical treatment is needed, things will definitely be much more complicated.
  • Second, this is mainly for situations where you are the not-at-fault party.
  • Third, for the parts involving personal experience, I will use the first person for ease of narration.

What should you do at the scene of the accident?

Decide whether to move the car

After a car accident, the first reaction is of course to call the police and have an officer come to determine fault and issue a police report. But before calling the police, there may be another more urgent question: should you move the car to a safe place first?

First, you need to determine whether the car can still be started and moved safely. Do not force it. Second, consider the road conditions where the accident happened. If the accident happened on a highway or a very busy road, opening the door and getting out can be very dangerous, so it is better to move the vehicles to a safe place first and then communicate.

Other than that, if circumstances allow, you can get out first and have a brief conversation with the other driver, especially if you are the not-at-fault party. If the other party flatly denies responsibility, then keep everything as it is and wait for the police to arrive. Ideally, if possible, look for nearby witnesses and get their names and phone numbers. If the conversation goes reasonably well, you can agree to move the cars together to a safe place that does not block traffic and wait for the police there.

Call the police

No matter how minor the accident is, you should call the police. In some places, if the situation is very minor or no one is injured, the police may choose not to come. Although this article does not cover personal injury, I still want to emphasize that in many cases, symptoms from a car accident—especially a rear-end collision—often do not show up until some time later. If there was a very obvious jolt at the moment of impact, or you were pulled hard to a stop by the seat belt, it is still recommended that you mention neck pain or back pain when calling the police and insist on waiting for the police to arrive.

Exchange information and gather evidence

The main things to exchange are insurance information, driver’s license, license plate, and phone number. Make sure the other party’s insurance policy is valid for the relevant date. Take comprehensive photos of the vehicle damage, as the insurance company may need them later.

My experience

I was in a left-turn lane at the time. I saw the light turn from yellow to red, and after my car had come to a complete stop, I was rear-ended by the car behind me. Since there were not many cars on the road, I got out first to check the damage to both cars. The driver behind me got out at the same time, and we inspected the cars together. My car had damage on the right corner of the bumper. It was not serious, but it definitely needed to go to a body shop for repairs. The car behind me had damage to the front left side, and its condition was somewhat worse than mine. The other driver also had a good attitude and clearly said that he had rear-ended me. I first took a photo of his driver’s license and photos of the scene, and then we agreed to go to the parking lot of the shopping plaza next door to continue handling things.

Damage to my car

This was actually an example of what not to do. I did not call the police at the time, mainly because the situation was not serious and the other driver had a very good attitude. But I have also seen examples online where someone had a good attitude at first and then changed their story later, so it is still best to call the police.

After we got to the parking lot, the other driver gave me his insurance information, driver’s license, and phone number. We each took a bunch of photos of both cars. Then we parted on friendly terms.

How should you handle things after the accident?

Whose insurance should you go through?

If you have full coverage auto insurance, then you can file a claim with either insurance company. The usual recommendation is also to file claims with both insurance companies so there is a record.

Your own insurance company:

  • Pros: payment is faster, and the car can be repaired and used sooner; you do not need to haggle with the other party’s insurance company
  • Cons: you need to pay the deductible first; getting the deductible reimbursed can take a while

The other party’s insurance company:

  • Pros: you do not need to pay out of pocket
  • Cons: there may be back-and-forth disputes, which can be extremely frustrating; repairs may be slower

My experience:

Because my auto insurance was full coverage, after the accident I called my own insurance company to file a claim, thinking that my own insurance company would handle it for me. The accident happened on a Friday. Then on Monday, the adjuster called and said there were two options: 1. go through our own insurance for payment, in which case we would need to pay the deductible ourselves; 2. have us file a claim with the other party’s insurance company ourselves. Because we were the not-at-fault party and the damage was relatively minor, he personally recommended that we choose the second option.

I had read quite a few posts at the time, and they all said that if you have full coverage, you should go through your own insurance, and then your own insurance company will deal with the other party’s insurance company. I was very confused: why did we have to deal with them ourselves? Later, after looking up more information, I finally understood what it really means to go through your own insurance: if you are the not-at-fault party and choose to go through your own insurance, then your own insurance company will pay you first (of course, you also have to pay the deductible first). Then your insurance company will use subrogation to pursue reimbursement from the other party’s insurance company on your behalf to recover its own losses. If successful, your deductible will also be returned to you. The advantage of doing this is that it is convenient and hassle-free.

In the end, we still chose to file a claim ourselves with the other party’s insurance company. Our considerations were: first, the recommendation from our own adjuster; second, we were not in a hurry to repair the car, since it was only a hole in one corner of the bumper and did not affect use of the car at all; third, our deductible was $1,000, and after getting an estimate from a body shop, the repair was only a little over $1,000, so in this situation, even if our own insurance company was willing to help us pursue reimbursement, I felt they probably would not be very motivated; finally, we figured we could first try communicating with the other party’s insurance company, and if that did not go smoothly, we could still fall back on our own insurance company.

Contacting the other party’s insurance company also took several twists and turns. First, the car behind us was a rental car, and specifically one rented for driving Uber. The insurance phone number he gave me for the rental car company did not work out; when I called, they said the account number was wrong and that it was not covered by their insurance. Later, after being transferred around repeatedly, I finally got connected to the insurance line specifically for cars rented for Uber. The representative on the phone was quite friendly, asked a series of questions about what happened and the damage to the car, and also provided the contact information for their appraiser, saying the appraiser would contact me the next day to assess and estimate the damage. Then the next day, I received an email from the other party’s insurance company saying that at the time of the incident, the other driver was on the way to pick up a passenger, so it fell under Uber’s insurance, and they provided the contact information for the responsible adjuster.

After we got in touch with this adjuster, the other side did not ask anything at all about how the accident happened. They just asked for our contact information and some description of the vehicle damage. I was pretty surprised, so I asked: has liability for this accident already been clearly determined, and will you fully cover the repairs to our car? The other party gave a very clear answer: yes.

The claims process

Different insurance companies vary, but the process is generally similar.

  • They will appraise the damage and estimate the approximate cost needed for repairs.
  • Have the insurance company approve this estimate. If the estimate is provided by the insurance company itself, or by a partner repair shop or partner appraiser, this step can be skipped.
  • Take the estimate and go to any repair shop for repairs.
  • If you need a rental car, you need to confirm it with the adjuster in advance, starting from the same day you drop your car off at the repair shop.
  • Pick up your car within the pickup window given by the repair shop, and return the rental car.

My experience

Allstate’s process was to have us upload photos of the car ourselves, and then an appraiser would provide an estimate based on the photos. That estimate was very inaccurate: the bumper had a hole in it, yet they proposed repairing it instead of replacing it, with an estimated amount of $520. Then they gave us a list of body shops they recommended, or rather, shops they partnered with. They suggested we go there for the repair, but also made it very clear that we could have the car repaired anywhere. I checked Yelp and Google reviews and found that their partner shops did not have meaningfully different ratings from other shops. At the same time, I considered that once the bumper was removed, there might be additional repairs needed, and any extra repair work would require approval from the insurance company before it could proceed. So in the end, I chose one of Allstate’s partner body shops.

The afternoon before, I called the body shop to confirm the drop-off time for the next day and to let them know I would need a rental car. When I arrived the next morning, the shop staff gave me a rough repair timeline based on the condition of the car and explained how they planned to fix it. They also contacted the rental car company, which picked me up and took me to its office about 2 minutes away by car to handle the rental. That afternoon, I got a call from the body shop saying that after they removed the bumper, they found no other areas that needed repair, and that I could pick up the car the next day. On the third afternoon, I picked up the car and returned the rental.

The total came to a little under $1,100. The body shop asked us to pay $520 first, because the insurance company had already mailed us a check for the amount shown on the estimate, and the shop would collect the remaining balance directly from the insurance company. So if you run into an insurance company that lets you get your own estimate from a body shop, you can absolutely choose to take the money and not repair the car.

Summary

The second week after we got the car back, we received the check from the insurance company in the mail. Overall, this accident was handled very smoothly, with no real surprises. Of course, that may also have been because the damage to the car was minor and there was no medical component involved. If there had been any injuries at the time, or if the estimated repair cost had been over $2,000, I personally definitely would have chosen to go through my own insurance.