Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 11/11/2009

Question
My wife was hit by a Geico policy holder. We have State Farm. Are we better of dealing  with Geico or letting our State Farm deal with this entire thing. My wife was driving a 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid with 7500 miles on it. Our ins. has said a little over 15,000.00 damage to fix or will total out for 24k. There are also some medical issues as well. We are in Kansas if this makes a difference. We talked to a lawyer and he said talk with Geico and see what they have to say.

Answer
Kelly,

You can always fall back to your own insurance company. So to start with you should contact Geico to see what they have to say. If you go throught State Farm you will have to pay your deductible, your rental car coverage (if any) has a daily and overall limit. If you go through Geico there will be no deductible and they will be responsible for full amount of your rental car bill. However, you should be aware thet they will try to low ball things. They may tell you that they only pay for a sub-compact rental car. You should insist that you are entitled to a comparable vehicle to the one that was wrecked.

Also with the extensive damage to your new vehicle you will be entitled to be paid for the loss of value or diminished value of your vehicle. This loss of value occurs due to the fact that no one wants to purchse a wrecked and repaired vehicle. Considering the newness of your vehicle and the extent of the damage your vehicle will lose thousands of dollars in value. It will be up to your to pursue the diminisihed value claim by hiring a professional independent vehicle appraiser to write an appraisal report that will become your proof of loss to submit to the insurance company.

To learn more about diminished value, the claim process and/or to speak with a diminished value appraiser you should visit www.collisionclaims.com which is the website for Collision Claim Associates, Inc. Their toll free number is 1-866-438-6938.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh