If you’ve been following along, you may know that I was in a minor car accident over the weekend. I visited an auto body shop that my insurance company deals with directly. The damage to the doors and fender will cost at least $2,500 to fix, $500 of which is my deductible. They will need to work on my car for a week, so I’ll need a temporary replacement. Liberty Mutual, my insurance company, offers reimbursement/payment for a rental car up to $30/day.
Assuming 7 days of using the rental car, Liberty Mutual will be covering at least $2,210. The $500 I have to pay is not a problem, I save extra in my “Car Fund” at ING Direct to cover such semi-emergencies. If I had to pay the full amount, I’d have to dip into my true “Emergency Fund,” which is something I’d rather not do.
A few years ago, this accident would have had me in a terrible position, not able to afford the deductible. Thankfully, I started getting myself financially in gear in 2002.
Elsewhere in the blogosphere, Chitown from Windy City Blues was also in a car accident recently, and Jim from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity doesn’t carry collision and comprehensive insurance.
Updated June 16, 2011 and originally published October 19, 2006. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Don’t know how Liberty Mutual works, but if they give you a check with the estimated amount rather than reimburse you for the repair, you may be able to find a place to get the job done for, say, $2000, so you don’t have to pay the $500 deductible out of your own pocket.
Not to be all “me too”, but I did make a good point about holding on to your accident repair records here.
Ah, you don’t allow links.
http://mortarboard.blogspot.com/2006/10/paperwork-1-hc-0.html