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My Car Insurance Will Come in Handy Now

by Flexo on October 16, 2006

in Insurance

I was in a minor car accident on Saturday. As I was turning out of my apartment court, another car tried to pass a van that was stopped, allowing me to turn. There was no lane for the car to pass the van, but since I was turning, I am legally at fault for the accident.

No one was hurt.

The police arrived and took the report, and I called my insurance company (Liberty Mutual) to begin the claim process. The first important point is my deductible. It’s likely I’ll be required to pay the first $500 of the repair cost. I have extra money in my “car fund” to pay for problems like these. Hopefully it won’t be too often.

The second important point is my rental coverage. While my car is being repaired, I will be able to use a rental car without charge. I should get the details about this coverage by Wednesday.

As far as the repairs go, there are deep scratches and dents along the driver’s side of the car, stretching from the front wheel to the back, left there by the sharp bumper of the Chevrolet that hit me as I was crossing its path. It’s completely driveable, but when opening the driver’s door, the edge of the door rubs against the body. My amateur guess is that both doors will need to be completely replaced.

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About the Author

Flexo, the owner and creator of Consumerism Commentary, has been blogging and writing for the internet since 1995 and has been building online communities since 1991. Find out more about him and follow him on Twitter.

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  • That sucks! Luckily no one was hurt.
  • HC
    I'm going through the same thing myself. I just dropped my car off at the repair shop today.
  • ib
    oh no, sorry to hear that. but glad you nor they were hurt.
  • Sun
    Four years ago, my car was hit by a deer and impact was on driver side doors. The car was drivable, but the front door was bent and couldn't be opened. My insurance company's estimate of the damage was more than $2000 and I had $1000 deductible. I went to several body shopes and they all told me I had to replace the entire door and the cost was in the $2000 neighborhood. I eventually went to Maaco and they told me I don't have to totally replace the doors, but just the shells for a little more than $1000.
  • Sorry to hear about your accident, Flexo! At least you're doing fine. I had an accident in the summer and the car was badly damaged that it had to be towed away. My insurance (Geico) took care the towing, body shop (Geico-contracted), and rental car. Almost no effort on my part, just the $500. Good luck and take care yourself, okay?
  • G.
    It's better to crash your car, than to crash your car and get hurt.
  • BrianBoston
    I had a smiliar accident several years ago and was judged to be not at fault and was not responsible for the deductible on my policy - my car ended up being a total loss. I was turning left out of a parking lot and the car to my left stopped to let me exit. Another car proceeded to try to pass the car that had stopped to let me exit and in doing so crossed a double yellow line onto the wrong side of the road. I was judged to be not at fault by the police and insurance company - the other driver was issued a citation. I know you mention that there was no lane for the car to pass in - if that's the case you may not be at fault. Good Luck!
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