I just got rear ended by a bus. I might need some advise

[tricky]

So on my way back from lunch (no more then 15 min ago) I was sitting at a red light on a slight decline hill and a bus pulls up behind me, he comes to a complete stop a decent length behind me so I think nothing of it. Then all of the sudden BAM I look in my rear view and he's almost on top of me. I get out, walk behind the car and sure enough the guy hit me.

long story short, there isn't too much damage, he put a dimple in my trunk (near the key hole) and another dimple on the top of the bumper along with some scraped paint on the bumper. Not serious damage but the due to the locations of the dimples I do not know for sure if they can be PDR'D or will need full replacement.

Now, he said he did NOT want to get the bus company involved and just to go through his own insurance. This is my first accident I've ever been in so I have no idea how the whole Insurance thing works. Do I agree with the guy and just work with his personal ins company or do I notify the bus company as well? Will his Ins company take full responsibility is he admitted it was 100% his fault or will I need to pay my deductible?

sorry if my thoughts are scattered I'm still a little shook up
Thanks for the advice

 

[bazooka joe]

i hope you got his ins info, lic and registration....let the ins co handle it, yours and the bus co...and you may have more damage than is visually apparent

 

[tricky]

yes of course I got his info, name, address, cell and home #, Ins company and Lic #, the only thing he didn't have on him was the policy # because it was in his personal vehicle.

So you're saying I should go to the bus company rather then his personal Ins? Note: there was 0 damage to the bus

 

[GoFast]

i would immediately go file a police report and then contact your insurance company. No matter what, never ever let someone go.

 

[ucMP3]

Just file the police report and inform your insurance company. Your insurance company will just go after whoever they want and you won't need to worry about it.

 

[tricky]

An officer did pull up to see if everyone was ok. I told him I was fine and he said we could just let our Ins companies take care of it. Should I have filed a report still?

 

[dmention7]

Just file the police report and inform your insurance company. Your insurance company will just go after whoever they want and you won't need to worry about it.

+1

It's not too late to file a report.

I call shenanigans on going through his personal insurance too... I don't see why his personal insurance company would do anything other than tell him (and you) to STFU and contact the company that actually insures the bus.

 

[tricky]

when does it become too late to file one? and if I do, will it make or break anything?

edit: so I'd just go down to the local PD and say I'd like to file one?

 

[ucMP3]

I would guess 30 days? I think thats the limit to file a small claims greivance and I would guess a similar time frame for this. Not sure tho, the officer has always taken care of it in my experiences. As long as the bus driver admitted fault in front of the officer, it shouldn't matter much tho.

 

[tricky]

another question, Is there any way I could possible get a carbon fiber trunk instead of an OEM replacement?

Hey dmention7, you did that with your CF hood right? How does that whole thing work?

 

[jersey_emt]

another question, Is there any way I could possible get a carbon fiber trunk instead of an OEM replacement?

Hey dmention7, you did that with your CF hood right? How does that whole thing work?

Insurance company cuts you a check for the estimated cost of repairs. You tell the repair shop to order the CF trunk instead of the OEM one. I'm pretty sure the CF trunk is cheaper than an OEM trunk + paint, so you can pocket the difference.

 

[ucMP3]

Yes, that's how I got my carbon fiber hood, someone failed to yield on a left turn in front of me. I got rear ended a couple weeks ago, I was hoping for more dmg to get a CF trunk... lol But then I found out the schmuck didn't even have insurance. So I still have a ****** up rear bumper, cause it will barely be more than my deductable to get it fixed.

 

[jred321]

in CT the insurance follows the vehicle not the driver so there is no reason the guy's personal insurance would cover any damages. what he is trying to do is to say that he damaged your car in his personal vehicle not the bus, which is fraud. the correct thing to do is to go through the bus company's insurance. likely the damages do not exceed their deductible so they won't be going through their insurance. the guy just doesn't want to get in trouble, though the flip side is that if he can't pay attention enough to not hit the car in front of him then perhaps he shouldn't be a bus driver. if i were in your position i would go through the bus company to avoid any possible headache on your part because if his ins co finds out what really happened you're the one who is going to be stuck with the bill to fix your car and you'll then also have the hassle of sorting it out after the fact.

 

[ucMP3]

If he just files it with his insurance company, they won't let that happen. They know the laws and they will make sure the other party pays for it, whoever that may be. Because otherwise they will have to pay out some money (after his deductible) if he has to file it with them. It's in their best interest to get the other party to pay up.

You think insurance companies make so much money just giving hand-outs? lol Doles, \bobdole/

 

[dmention7]

Depends... do you still have a loan on your car? If not, the easiest thing to do is just to have the insurance company write you a check for the amount of the damages, and then you do whatever the heck you want with that check.

If you do owe on the car still, the check will likely be in your name and your bank's name. Your bank may just sign the check over to you directly, or they may insist on proof that you're replacing the parts (bodyshop estimate or receipt from purchase of the trunk)

Kinda depends on a lot of variables, so I'd see how things are going to play out and maybe I can offer some better advice... hehe

 

[bazooka joe]

in CT the insurance follows the vehicle not the driver so there is no reason the guy's personal insurance would cover any damages. what he is trying to do is to say that he damaged your car in his personal vehicle not the bus, which is fraud. the correct thing to do is to go through the bus company's insurance. likely the damages do not exceed their deductible so they won't be going through their insurance. the guy just doesn't want to get in trouble, though the flip side is that if he can't pay attention enough to not hit the car in front of him then perhaps he shouldn't be a bus driver. if i were in your position i would go through the bus company to avoid any possible headache on your part because if his ins co finds out what really happened you're the one who is going to be stuck with the bill to fix your car and you'll then also have the hassle of sorting it out after the fact.

+1

 

[jred321]

If he just files it with his insurance company, they won't let that happen. They know the laws and they will make sure the other party pays for it, whoever that may be. Because otherwise they will have to pay out some money (after his deductible) if he has to file it with them. It's in their best interest to get the other party to pay up.

You think insurance companies make so much money just giving hand-outs? lol Doles, \bobdole/

if he files through his insurance company he then has to pay his deductible out of his pocket until his insurance company subrogates (term for what you're describing) against the other party involved. he will also have a claim on file with his ins co and although a not at fault claim depending on his ins co's policies and state's laws they can increase his rate even though he is not at fault. best thing is to just do things through the bus co because that's who his ins co would go after anyways

 

[ucMP3]

I have always been told to inform your insurance company of the incident anyways. They will find out about it one way or another... And they will take care of all the dirty work for you, thats what you pay them for. And unless you have a bad insurance company, they will not make you pay your deductible if there is someone they can go after... I.E a Metro bus' insurance company... lol they aren't getting stiffed.

Only time you would have to pay your deductible is if it was a situation where the other party had no insurance. and you own coverage would have to go into effect.

 

[jred321]

informing your ins co just in case is a good idea. however any time you file a claim with your ins co you have to pay your deductible. your ins co will turn around and give it right back to you as soon as they collect from the other party but if you file the claim with your co you have to pay. until subrogation is settled your ins co treats it as you having a claim. they don't want to be out your deductible for however long subrogation takes. this seems simple and cut and dry but sometimes things come up in subrogation that could delay them getting their money back.

best thing to do is to avoid filing a claim with your ins co. you can let them know of the incident but filing a claim with them should only be done if you cannot get the other party's insurance to pay easily

 

[ucMP3]

I've never had to pay my deductible while waiting for the subrogation. I've been involved in a fair amount of claims as well. Sort of have bad luck with people being stupid around me. Maybe Geico and Progressive b4 them handled claims differently, but with Geico I've had 2 claims in the last 2-3 years and I immediately had my inspection & my repairs started the next day and the ball rolling with no money out of my pocket... I take that back, I had to pay for the tow which I was later reimbersed for, but that is it. And that is simply because Geico can't cut a check quickly enough lol. If the other party is at fault, and is insured, their insurance company has no choice but to pay. Its legalities. A quality insurance company will not make you pay out of your pocket when you pay them good money to handle your claims.