Hey guys, I need some help. A few months ago I rear ended a Tesla model Y. Recently, I received a letter from collections that my policy was not able to cover all of the damages, and I needed to pay $8,110.76 out of pocket to cover the rest. Shouldn’t their policy cover the rest of the damages before it becomes my out of pocket problem? Additionally, it seems absurd that it would cost $29,000 to repair this damage. Is there anything that I can do about this?
Facts below:
I live in Florida
The vehicle damages are described as:
- Liftgate
- Passenger Quarter Panel
- Rear Bumper
Picture of damage below:
Problem: My insurance (State farm) had a policy limit of $25,000 to cover the damages of the other persons vehicle.
State farm paid $25,000 to Geico:
- $21,076.94 for Vehicle Damages
- $3,923.06 for out of pocket rental for other person
Geico is looking for $8,110.76 to cover for any damages outside of the $25,000 limit.
Total expenses were:
$25,000 (paid by State farm)
$33,110.76($29,187.7 for Vehicle, $3,923.06 for his car rental.)
Edit:
FYI everyone, I am aware that the 8k is my responsibility for having low limits, what I am looking to answer is if there is any way that I can argue the cost of fixing the Tesla as it seems a bit absurd, or if I am out of luck. Unfortunately I was under my parents insurance and I was not involved so I am learning the consequences. I am willing to pay up I just want to be sure that there is no way to lower this(for example: getting a much lower quote from another shop for these damages)
Edit 2:
Was able to negotiate the claim to settle $1800 instead of 8k luckily. Will be increasing my coverage ASAP. Leaving this post here so others can learn from it.
Facts below:
I live in Florida
The vehicle damages are described as:
- Liftgate
- Passenger Quarter Panel
- Rear Bumper
Picture of damage below:
Problem: My insurance (State farm) had a policy limit of $25,000 to cover the damages of the other persons vehicle.
State farm paid $25,000 to Geico:
- $21,076.94 for Vehicle Damages
- $3,923.06 for out of pocket rental for other person
Geico is looking for $8,110.76 to cover for any damages outside of the $25,000 limit.
Total expenses were:
$25,000 (paid by State farm)
$8,110.76(paid by Geico)
$33,110.76($29,187.7 for Vehicle, $3,923.06 for his car rental.)
Edit:
FYI everyone, I am aware that the 8k is my responsibility for having low limits, what I am looking to answer is if there is any way that I can argue the cost of fixing the Tesla as it seems a bit absurd, or if I am out of luck. Unfortunately I was under my parents insurance and I was not involved so I am learning the consequences. I am willing to pay up I just want to be sure that there is no way to lower this(for example: getting a much lower quote from another shop for these damages)
Edit 2:
Was able to negotiate the claim to settle $1800 instead of 8k luckily. Will be increasing my coverage ASAP. Leaving this post here so others can learn from it.