state farm rental help??? total loss

[axiom1]

Okay so on march 23rd, someone pulled in front of me and i didn’t have time to stop. both of our cars are totaled, but he doesn’t have insurance. he was found at fault but my insurance is still covering me due to him not having insurance.

well, i finally got my rental last tuesday, my policy states $25/$600, so covers up to $25 a day, $600 an occurrence.
enterprise called me today to confirm that i would be returning my car tomorrow but i’ve only had it 9 days.
my car was deemed a total loss, and i could’ve swore i read somewhere on their site that it’s 7 extra days, past policy limit, if totaled. not 7 days from it deemed being totaled. she told me they gave me an extra 2 days to make up for having to wait two weeks to get put in a rental to begin with. (spring break made it impossible to get put in one)

i guess my question is, is it REALLY only 7 days total, if your car is deemed a total loss? that can’t be right. 7 days to find a reliable car in this economy? i feel like i’m being lied to or something bc it just doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[bfastpool]

@axiom1 Check your full policy for the exact terms. I normally see rental end 3 to 5 days after the vehicle is deemed as a total loss.

If they didn't cut it off, people would just not purchase a new vehicle or delay the paperwork to give the insurance company the title/paperwork.

 

[axiom1]

@bfastpool i wasn’t even able to be put into a rental until 4 days AFTER it was deemed a total loss, 9 days really feels like a slap in the face ://
i’m looking at cars but haven’t even gotten my payout from insurance yet, so how am i supposed to even put a down payment down ://

 

[zakalwe]

@axiom1 In Michigan State Farm’s rates with enterprise & hertz is $23.75 for economy, compact & intermediate. So, the $25/$600 coverage will give ya 24 days with no outta pocket. If ya upgrade, anything above $25/day is paid by you.

 

[honestlyaveri]

@zakalwe Car is in the shop for 2 weeks I have $50/$1200 may just have to rent a nice large suv for the heck of it and use that whole 50 per day lol

 

[axiom1]

@zakalwe a few things, 1. you’re almost a year late to this lol, i am more than past my rental coverage and more than over this situation as a whole, bc it was a huge setback.
2. you’re wrong, once my car was considered a total loss, those numbers mean jack shit and per the policy, you are given 7 days from the point of it being deemed a total loss, not the policy limits of if your car is in the shop (the numbers listed on the card, the “$25/$600”)
3. i now work for a rental car agency, and can double confirm that and what everyone else is saying. policy rental coverage only applies to cars being repaired, NOT cars that are a total loss, which mine was deemed a total loss at the collision site. i was never seeing that 24 days, it was always going to be a week.

 

[zakalwe]

@axiom1 Of course, you’re correct. Mine is a total loss too. The day they called to confirm it & give me a settlement offer the 7-day clock began tickin.

I wonder, however, if Enterprise would continue to charge me @ the SF discounted daily rate if I keep it another week. Paid by me, not SF. Not sure I’ll have decided on a new car by it Friday. Whatchya think?

 

[axiom1]

@zakalwe probably too late but just seeing this

i wish i could give you a direct yes or no to your question, but unfortunately i’m a detailer and don’t actually work within our rental systems or anything so i’m completely in the dark on internal operations. i only have bits and pieces i’ve been able to ask my managers.

i’m not saying it is or isn’t possible but there’s a lot of things that rental agencies can do help out on cost/situations/problems/etc that just aren’t advertised or explicitly stated somewhere. it can never hurt to ask, but always be kind, bc it goes a LONG way with out counter people and will get you a lot further !! they will try and do everything in their power to help you the best they can (at least at my location!!)

 

[bekuta]

@axiom1 no rentals available due to spring break is not within your insurance's control so it is irrelevant to bring it up.

insurance does not wait till everyone finds their dream replacement vehicle before cutting off rental, that's not the purpose of your policy/coverage.

what if some need a month to find a car and other need 6? where do we draw the line? the answer is in your policy wording. it likely has a section explaining your insurance has fulfilled their contractual obligation/insurance ends once they advise you of the total loss settlement amount.

update: so op is not looking for a dream replacement vehicle, only a reliable replacement, it still doesn't change anything i've mentioned above.

 

[axiom1]

@bekuta being snarky for me asking a question is not needed. i didn’t ask to have a rental until i “found my dream car” i was expecting them to honor my policy which states $25 a day/$600 an occurrence. you did a lot of inferring in this reply for literally no reason lol
asking for the 24 days that’s included in what i pay for every month does not seem to be asking for too much. especially considering i’m still paying my monthly coverage to be in a rental now.

 

[bekuta]

@axiom1

 

[kolibri]

@axiom1 Technically, youre handled as a claimant if it is found the other party doesn't have insurance and you aren't bound by your own rental policy.

 

[axiom1]

@kolibri doesn’t that mean i have to try and sue him for anything related to the wreck for reimbursement? bc i know i can sue someone and win but that doesn’t mean i’ll get my money back from them either. id rather not be out of pocket now in the hopes of maybe getting it back :///

but also if i’m interpreting that wrong, pls let me know, bc i’m not entirely sure what that means

 

[kolibri]

@axiom1 Hey, I looked at your post, said you have a hard time calling your state farm adjuster. Email them. Emails are so much easier to work with when we get hit with call after call. All my emails get returned before my voicemails.

 

[kolibri]

@axiom1 No, you don't have to sue him.your insurance carrier will levy liens on his property or garnish wages if he doesn't setup a repayment plan. That's the reason you pay for insurance; they pay you to make you whole so you have to do less work when accidents happen. Talk to your adjuster and and just be nice, ask for a couple extra days if they can squeeze it out. Since you didn't get a rental until a few days in, you might be able to file for loss of use since it's handled as unpd. That might mean a couple extra bucks in your pocket to help with future rental costs.

 

[axiom1]

@kolibri this is rly helpful and i also saw ur email comment too which i will definitely be using email since it’s quicker. i left a voicemail for someone and hadn’t heard anything in days so i called back and just waited on hold lol
but i’m gonna bring it up to them when i contact them tomorrow!! thank you so much !!

 

[mlshelton1975]

@axiom1 Yours could be different as I once wrote for a company that on a total they gave the the entire max dollar amount for rental whether you used it or not. But most companies give 3 to 5 days after it's declared a total.

 

[bioleap]

@axiom1 Oh definitely not correct. After the settlement amount is provided, I don’t know any carrier that allows more than another 3-5 days, just as everyone is telling you.

 

[mylastduchess]

@axiom1 It is $25/ day, 30 days max thus $600. However, when the car is deemed totaled, you only have 5-7 days (max 10 I’ve seen a long time ago) of car rental after the total loss decision. The count down starts when they make the adjustment, not when you receive your total loss settlement) and it doesn’t matter if you’re 1 day or 29 days into your rental coverage.

 

[axiom1]

@mylastduchess thank you for actually answering without being snarky or an asshole. i was just curious bc there’s literally no way for me to view the full details of my policy without calling and sitting on hold for a million years to have it sent to me. and all my app/website are telling me is the $25/$600 thing. and to call for full policy/declarations.
it’s kinda fucked that they don’t just say that on your policy in app (making you jump through hoops to get your actual policy info). especially since they didn’t even explain it when i asked them when booking my rental, he kept avoiding me asking about my rental policy coverage ($25/$600 thing)