Underinsured Car Accident

[raytheon]

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:

https://imgur.com/a/lQ7XrGK

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.

 

[juli123]

@raytheon Why on earth would you have such low liability amounts on your policy? Carrying minimums is where you went wrong here. One accident will easily eat that up and then you’re left holding the bag.

Yes, the other drivers coverage will cover what yours won’t, but they’re going to come after you to get that back.

Sorry you’re in this situation but there’s really nothing you can do. I’d call and up those limits today in case it happens again. But, I’d expect an increase now.

 

[keoann]

@raytheon Why would any one else be responsible to pay for the damage you caused? Even if the other insurance company paid the difference, they'd sue you for reimbursement afterwards. This became your "out of pocket" problem the moment you selected such low limits and hit a Tesla. Pay up!

 

[georgia56]

@raytheon Unfortunately, Teslas are really expensive to repair. Even a minor bump causes $30k in damage, which has been a source of frustration for Tesla drivers lately. That also means that you can get stuck with the bill.

Also, I see this a lot where people say “why can’t I just take the other person’s car to other places and get better quotes.” Simple: it isn’t your car. You don’t get to have any say whatsoever in where, when, or how that other person repairs their car. It is not yours, so you don’t get to take it places. Also, Teslas usually have their own certified repair shops, so this is probably the only shop you can go to anyway. The price is legit.

 

[shahzad]

@raytheon There is no way for you to negotiate the repair bill. You can request to make payment arrangements to avoid a judgement. Consider it to be a cheap lesson as this could have been way worse.

 

[lindseyt]

@raytheon Consider this an expensive lesson. Get no less than $100,000 in PD liability coverage for the future.

 

[bcs90]

@raytheon Being an agent for 35 plus years, I can tell you you're out of luck.
You unfortunately bought a policy based on price, not coverage.
Your policy pays to policy limits.
Your limit was 25k for property damage so that's all they have to pay.
That's not enough when the average new car costs $50k more days.
I recommend that everyone has at minimum 150k/300k/150k limits
You also need those same limits for uninsured and underinsured liability.
For un and under insured property damage take enough to cover your vehicle cost.
I recommend everyone has 250/500/100 with a million dollar umbrella policy which puts 1 million over all underlying policies.
You will most likely have to have insurance and get a SR22 which is a financial responsibility filing with the state if you can't pay that 8k in full.
The SR22 limits your ability to drive to a 12 hour time frame and puts you into high risk auto insurance.

 

[bcs90]

@raytheon You may be able to argue the car rental expense as insurance policies usually cover 100 to 150 a day max for 30 days.
A 3000 car rental bill would likely be in excess of what Geicos policy paid out.

You should only have to reimburse them.
However, the car owner could sue and ask for the amount they spent if it was above the Geico policy limits.
You probably can't do anything about the cost to repair the tesla as repairs are based on book value.
However, you could ask for the estimate and take ot to another place that repairs tesla and see if the rates and hours are correct.
If they aren't, you have a case.
If the book says it should take 8 hours and 2 hours prep and 2 hours paint, that's what they have to charge even if it takes double that time.
But tesla parts are very expensive, so it's most likely in the parts and there aren't the after-market parts out there, like if you hit a Ford. Lastly, there also aren't a ton of used parts at the salvage yards.
Hopefully, they offer a payment plan for you.