Hamilton Padgett Rinaldi, LLP
Thomas F. Rinaldi, Esq.
← Main site The Fifteen
New Jersey guide

Your car.

Repairs, total loss, rental and pursuing your deductible.

This part you can mostly handle yourself, and you should start now.

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First thing to understand

Your car and
your injury are
two claims.

They get handled by different adjusters, on different timelines, under different parts of the policy. One does not wait for the other.

You can and should get the car sorted now. Settling the property damage claim does not settle your injury claim, and it does not affect it. Those are separate releases.

The one thing to check Read what you sign. A property damage release should say property damage only. If a document mentions bodily injury, personal injury, or releases all claims, stop and call someone before you sign it.
Two ways to get it fixed

Their insurance
or yours.

Through their insurance

If the other driver was clearly at fault, their carrier should pay. No deductible for you. The catch is that they have to accept fault first, and if they are investigating or disputing it, you wait.

Through your own collision coverage

If you carry collision, your own carrier pays now and chases the other insurer later. You pay your deductible up front.

You usually get your deductible back. When your carrier recovers from the other side, which is called subrogation, your deductible comes back to you in the same proportion. Ask your adjuster about it, because it does not always happen automatically.

When liability is contested, go through your own Waiting on the other carrier to accept fault can take weeks and you need your car. Use your collision, get the deductible back later. That is what you pay for it.
If it is a total loss

What they owe you.

A car is a total loss when repairing it costs more than it is worth, or more than a set percentage of its value. The insurer owes you the actual cash value, which is what the car was worth the moment before the crash.

That is not what you paid for it, and not what you still owe on it.

Their number is a starting point

The valuation comes from a report comparing recent sales of similar vehicles. Those reports are often wrong in small ways that add up.

Send them your own comparables. Three similar cars for sale near you, with screenshots. That is the single most effective thing you can do, and most people never do it.

Sales tax and fees In New Jersey the valuation should account for sales tax and title and registration fees, because you need those to replace the car. Ask whether they are included. If they are not, ask why.
If you owe more than it is worth

The gap.

If your loan balance is higher than the actual cash value, the insurance pays the value and you still owe the lender the difference.

Check whether you have gap coverage. It is often sold at the dealership and folded into the loan, and people forget they bought it. It may also be in the loan agreement itself. Look before you assume you owe the balance.

Getting around

Rental and
loss of use.

If the other driver is at fault, their carrier should cover a reasonable rental while your car is repaired, or for a reasonable period after a total loss while you replace it.

If you are going through your own collision coverage, a rental is covered only if you carry rental reimbursement. Check your declarations page.

If you do not rent a car, you may still have a claim. Loss of use is the value of being without your vehicle. People rarely ask for it. Keep a note of the days you were without a car and how you managed.

Do not let the rental run past the settlement Once the total loss is settled, the rental clock usually stops within a few days. Know that date before it arrives so you are not paying for a rental yourself.
Before you let it go

Photograph
everything.

Do this before the car is towed, released or sold. Once it goes, it is gone, and the photographs are the only record of what the impact actually did.

And take your belongings, your plates, your EZ Pass and anything in the glovebox.

Why this matters beyond the car

The car tells
part of the story.

Insurance companies argue that minor vehicle damage means minor injury. It is not a good argument and it is used constantly.

Photographs of the actual damage, the repair estimate, and the total loss valuation are all evidence of the force involved. Keep copies of everything, even after the property damage claim is closed.

If you take nothing else from this Handle the car now, photograph it before it goes, read anything you sign, and keep every document. None of that requires a lawyer.
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