• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Law Offices of Jonathan G. Stein Logo
(916) 247-6868
  • Home
  • About Me
    • Organizations, Publications and Presentations
  • About You
  • Practice Areas
    • Debt Collection
    • Estate Planning
    • Personal Injury
    • Landlord Tenant
  • Client Testimonials
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Brochures
    • Helpful Links
  • Contact

Auto Insurance property damage issues – again

June 10, 2015 by Jonathan Stein

I get a lot of calls in a month about property damage issues. The big ones are “How much do they owe for my car?” and “Why isn’t there enough to pay for my repairs?”

First, property damage claims, especially if it is only property damage and their is no injury, are difficult to take as an attorney. If your repairs are $10,000 and I take a contingency fee on it, you end up with $7,000 – probably. Now you don’t have enough to repair your car. So you aren’t happy. Hence, most attorneys won’t take a property damage only case. 

Second, how much do they owe you? It depends. There are a few situations that come up:

    a. Your car is repairable and you have collision coverage – your insurance company owes you to fix your car;
    b. Your car is a repairable and you have no collision coverage – if the other driver is at fault, they owe you to repair your car plus either a rental car or loss of use;
   c.  Your car is a total loss and you have collision coverage – your insurance company owes you the fair market value of your car (note it is not the blue book value of your car);
   d. Your car is a total loss and you do not have collision coverage – if the other driver is at fault, they owe you the fair market value of your car plus either rental or loss of use.

So A and C are pretty clear. The problem comes with B and D. If you do not have collision coverage, you may be at the mercy of the other driver’s insurance company. If that driver does not have enough insurance, you may not get paid in full for your car. The insurance company will only pay up to the property damage limits of the other driver. Hence, if you have $6,500 in damage and their limit is only $5,000, the most the insurance company will pay is $5,000. You will NOT be paid in full. 

This is one reason you should carry collision on your car. It is possible that someone else could damage your car and you may not get paid in full for the repairs.

Of course, if you have any questions, you can call my office or email me for a free consultation.    

Categories: Auto Insurance, Claims, Consumer Issues, Current Affairs, Hiring an attorney, Insurance and Claims FAQ, Insurance Operations, Law, Personal Injury Tags: car accident, car crash, collision, contingency fee, fair market value, insurance company, loss of use, motor vehicle accident, motor vehicle crash, MVA, MVC, property damage, rental car, repairs, total loss

Primary Sidebar

Sign Up For Our Newsletter Below

Lists*

Allow Me to Help You

    Footer

    Contact Us

      Practice Areas

      • Debt Collection
      • Estate Planning
      • Personal Injury
      • Landlord Tenant
      The information contained in this website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any matter. The transmission and receipt of information contained on this Web site, in whole or in part, or communication with The Law Offices of Jonathan Stein via the Internet or e-mail through this website does not constitute or create a lawyer-client relationship between this firm and any recipient. You should not send any confidential information in response to this webpage. Such responses will not create a lawyer-client relationship, and whatever you disclose will not be privileged or confidential unless this firm has agreed to act as your legal counsel and you have executed a written engagement agreement with The Law Offices of Jonathan Stein. The Law Offices of Jonathan Stein © 2023. All rights reserved. | Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer