My Car is Wrecked - Now What?

When you are involved in an auto accident, you actually have two different cases (assuming, of course, that you owned the car you were driving AND the accident was someone else’s fault). One claim is your personal injury claim. The other claim is for getting your car fixed, which is also referred to as your property damage claim. In this chapter I will discuss many of the issues you will encounter in dealing with your property damage claim.

Under Georgia Law, you as the claimant can choose to settle both cases separately or together.
However, it is customary in Georgia for the insurance company to seek to resolve the property damage claim before handling the injury claim. This is especially true if you are injured and under a doctor’s care following the accident. The insurance company will want to wait to see the extent of your injuries before addressing your injury claim.

From your side of things, in today’s ultra-mobile society, it is crippling to be without a car. Thus, it is generally beneficial to all sides to get the property damage claim taken care of at the outset.

Get a Rental and Get the Other Side to Pay for it

The first thing to know is that you are generally entitled to a rental car for the period of time that your car is disabled. If your car was towed from the scene of the accident or otherwise rendered immobile you can get the rental car immediately. If your car is still drivable you will only be entitled to a rental car during the time that the car is being repaired.

There are a couple of things to note about this “entitlement” of a rental car. First, whether you are entitled to a rental depends on the at-fault party’s insurance company. Some insurance companies simply do not allow for rental cars under their policies. However, these companies are a distinct minority. The vast majority of insurance policies provide for rentals.

Secondly, you do not have a right to rent anything under the sun. You can generally get the insurance company to put you in a vehicle comparable to the one you were driving. Please note: most insurance companies have a cap on how much they will spend on a daily basis for a rental. If you exceed that amount, you will be personally responsible for the difference.

The third thing to know about rentals is that there is no guarantee that you will get a car the entire time that you are without your own car. The longer it takes to reach a settlement over the value of your car, the greater the likelihood that the insurance company will put an end to your rental. There is no statutory or legal requirement that requires the insurance company to give you a rental car for the entire time that you are without a car. That being said, under Georgia Law you are entitled to be compensated for the “loss of use” of your own car. This generally equates to what it would cost to rent your car on a daily basis. Therefore it is generally pretty reasonable for you to insist that the insurance company pay for a rental for the time that you are without your car. Just remember the adjuster has some discretion in this area.

I advocate moving as quickly as possible to get your car appraised. While you are awaiting the appraisal, it is a good idea to find your title if you own the car outright or get in touch with your lender if you have the car financed. The insurance company is not going to give you a check for your car until they have the title to your car OR a power of attorney giving them authority to sign the title on your behalf upon receiving it from your lender.

The transition of all these documents through the mail system takes time, so the more you have everything lined up, the faster it will move. The faster it moves, the sooner you will get your check. The sooner you get your check, the better the chances that you will get the entire rental period covered.

One note: Sometimes adjusters will try to tell you that they cannot have the rental billed to them. Instead, they tell you that you have to pay for the rental upfront and then have the insurance company reimburse you. You can usually talk adjusters out of this by telling them that you don’t have the money up front. Almost all major carriers have agreements with rental companies by which they can simply be billed directly for the rental.