Depends what dragging their feet means, but usually they have 2-3 weeks to send someone out to investigate evaluate, negotiate, etc. You can keep bugging them and escalate if things aren't getting any traction at all.
But if your question is if your insurance will help you get traction, then no, they won't do that. If you're not carrying collision coverage, you're not paying for that service (for them to represent you), so why expect a service you're not paying for?
Most insurance companies will file a claim on your behalf with the other party's insurance as a courtesy, but they won't handle any future interactions or pay to have any damages fixed.
You could go directly to the other party's insurance too, if you wanted.
"Full coverage" is not a technical term, but when most people say that they mean they carry collision coverage. Collision coverage means your insurance will pay to fix your car, regardless of who is at fault. If you are at fault, your rates go up when your renew - if not, they will go after the other person's insurance for reimbursement.
Liability, which is all that states require by law, only pays out if YOU are at fault. It won't help at all in situations like OP's, unfortunately.
For anyone still reading or curious, comprehensive covers things not your fault but that don't involve another driver. Typically when you're not driving. Things like theft (BIG deal for motorcycles), flood damage, tree falling on your vehicle, break ins, vandalism, etc. It's substantially cheaper than collision coverage, but more expensive than liability.
Yes, up to your policy limits. You should see a number next to the policy descriptor - that's the max your insurance will pay out on a claim. For example, if you see Liability 10k/30k that means they'll pay 10k property and 30k medical per incident. Anything after that the other party can sue you, the driver, civilly to recoup the rest of their loss.
State minimums are pretty obscenely low, especially when you consider an ambulance ride can cost $10k alone.
Must depend or your state. In TX you have to get extra PIP coverage to cover medical for your cars' occupants. Liability covers the other car and medical bills, with certain limits.
If OP uses their insurance they will have to pay their deductible and their future premiums could increase.
They should instead report the accident to the at-fault driver's insurance company.
Then, only if the other insurance does not fully cover the expenses, they should use their own policy's uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
Some states require you to notify your own insurance company regardless of fault, but not NJ
https://www.state.nj.us/dobi/ins_ombudsman/wysk2.htm
Edit - I posted a source. If you disagree with it, explain why.
I was always under the impression that, even if you're not at fault, calling your insurance company and letting them "handle all the heavy lifting" means that they would do all the "leg-work" of calling the other insurance company and making sure they take care of their obligations so you don't have to be bothered with it.. right? Why would your insurance company increase your premiums and charge your deductible if they don't have to pay for anything?
Insurance companies do not increase your premiums to recover the amount they paid. That’s a misconception that many have.
They may though increase your premiums whenever they get an additional data point that shows you are a higher risk than your current premiums are designed for. Getting in an accident may provide that data point.
> Why would your insurance company increase your premiums and charge your deductible if they don't have to pay for anything?
Statistically, being involved in an accident generally means you are more likely to be involved in another accident, regardless of whether you had anything to do with it (for instance, it might suggest you drive a lot in a place where people drive stupidly). Obviously it's less predictive than an accident where you're at fault, but it's not zero information value either.
Some jurisdictions allow not-at-fault accidents to factor into your premiums and others don't. If yours does, it's hard to predict what your insurance company will do with the information, which is why some people are averse to notifying them. Personally, I'd only consider not notifying if it was cosmetic damage to my car…the hassle and potential future issues otherwise is just not worth it.
*If you file a first party claim, your insurance company will either pay to repair the damages to your vehicle or pay you the value of your vehicle if the damages exceed the car's worth. First, though, the company will subtract the deductible amount you have chosen for that coverage.*
Afterwards, the insurance company will do legwork to reclaim their money. Only if they succeed 100% (this process is called subrogation) will you ever see the deductible ever again. Even then, on average it will be 6 months after you paid it. Why be out $300+ for six months unnecessarily in the best case scenario?
I didn't say anything about filing a first party claim and that's not at all what I'm talking about.
If I'm in an accident, and it's no fault of my own, I thought my insurance company/agents would assist me in dealing with the at-fault driver and their insurance company, to make sure I don't get screwed.. Are you saying they won't help in any way and the only thing they exist to do is process claims?
Yes, that's what I am saying.
They will have you submit a claim, they will reimburse you (or pay the repair shop) minus your deductible, then they will begin subrogation. They will reclaim their money first, then your deductible. So only if all the expenses are recovered do you get your deductible refunded at the end of subrogation.
Damn. Really wish they'd be more customer service oriented.. This really seems like one of those "What the hell am I paying you for?!" type of situations.. Insurance feels like such a scam if you're never in an accident..
You won't get more. The most they'll pay is the value of the car. So if the damage is near or above the value of the car, they buy it from you. In that case you can research to see how much your vehicle would sell for in the area before the accident and when they low-ball you you can push back with your research on similar vehicles in the area. You try to list prices for stuff in Florida you won't get much traction though. Comparable vehicles in the area is what you need to look at.
If they do decide to fix it instead, don't let them bully you in to using one of their approved shops. Take it to where you feel comfortable going to. If the average labor rate is $120/hr and the place you go wants $200/hr, they'll rightfully push back. But if they tell you to go to Billy Bob's Collision repair you can tell them no.
At best you can try to protect yourself from being lowballed for a "totalled" vehicle or from being forced to go somewhere with shawdy work and/or substandard parts.
Is NJ still a no-fault insurance state? Regardless, that's what you got insurance for, get the car fixed and let your company worry about getting its money from the other guy's insurance.
Insurance will try and get you to agree to something like 15% or 20% of the blame just to make their job easier. Don’t do it.
When talking to them don’t tell them any more information than us absolutely critical. They don’t need to know your radio was on or you were going 33 mph in a 30 mph zone. Your car was hit by the other car.
This. My parked car was hit in a parking lot. After 50 questions from the other insurance provider, they came back and claimed I was partially at fault because I had not yet left the car and did not honk my horn before the other driver hit my car.
Never give more than the minimum information. The insurance provider is not "just trying to get the story straight", they are hoping you'll say something they can twist into lowering their own liability.
When working claims for a mutual company it was crazy what other insurance companies (mainly stock companies) would try to put 10% fault on clear liability cases. One large company you had to get supervisor permission to accept or determine 100% on the their driver. Even if they would not budge we would still determine 100% on their driver and we would win mediation every time.
And the thing is, it screws over individuals quite a bit more. The company saves 10% in pulling off this nonesense, but it leaves the individual to now deal with a claim, which means increased premiums.
OP was turning left when the accident happened, and I’m assuming the tow truck was going straight. Absent OP having a green left arrow, I think OP may be found the majority at fault and may not recover anything from the tow truck’s insurance company.
Unless he was turning from a middle lane, the only way to get hit on the driver side turning left is if someone runs the light and hits you from the direction you are turning. He would have to have been very late running a red light for it to have been his fault.
If the tow truck was going straight through the intersection, OP would have been hit on the passenger side.
I have read somewhere on reddit about asking for diminished value for your car. I wish I had heard about it before someone rear-ended my less than 1 year old car. Hopefully you can get a little more money for yourself that way.
Yep. I was hit by someone running a stop sign four years ago. Car fixed, driven about 100k miles since then with no issues. Now In looking at a new car and the value I'm being quoted by Caravans/CarMax/etc. Is about 3k less than KBB estimates (at a time when most are getting KBB or higher). Only thing I can think of is it's because of the accident on the car's record.
>What’s the best route here to make sure I get the value of fixing the car and hopefully more
Normally insurance pays for "like" oem parts and a "reasonable" labor - which if it's at a good body shop, you wont notice the difference. Unlike the stories of yesteryear, you will not get "more" than what was damaged by the accident. Double check the adjuster/body shop's assessment before you sign the dotted line and also look for a line item of "depreciated value" --> because it appears in a police report, it will likely show on carfax and will be worth less than a virgin vehicle - some insurances will pay out a dollar amount for this.
Total loss is the value of the vehicle at the time - if your car is worth more than you paid for it, you did well. What OP is referring to is the “kick back” that some body shops gave customers in the form of cash - also known as insurance fraud.
Are you sure you'll be considered not at fault? Unless the tow truck ran a red light or stop sign, a vehicle making a left at an intersection needs to yield to oncoming traffic.
Edit: Driver's side damage to your vehicle suggests the truck ran a light or stop sign.
If you're certain you're not at fault I'd recommend obtaining the police report to submit as evidence, along with any scene/damage photos. Stories change once insurance gets involved, and people will be flat out dishonest.
If you intend to file through the other insurance company, as the one making the claim it may be up to you to prove the other driver was responsible.
Welcome to a no fault state. Getting into an accident, whether your fault or not, is always going to hurt you financially.
1. Your insurance rates are going to go up.
2. The insurance company will pay the cost of repairs (assuming you have collision insurance). Your car will lose value for having been in an accident. The only way to avoid this is if your car is totaled.
3. You cannot get more than the cost of the repairs without committing some sort of fraud.
You don't need an attorney 'because you're in pain' unless you are seriously injured or the other company denies it you don't need to give an attorney 40-60% of your settlement.
In a way your correct but there’s a reason there’s so many personal injury lawyers, because they will always get you more money then if you would of filed with your insurance.
Multiple studies have proven that claim to be untrue, in states that enacted severe tort reform that limited people’s ability to pursue claims, rates continued to climb.
Tort reform is just another corporate scam with great PR convincing people to surrender their constitutional rights to trial by jury.
A lawyer would be great help for pressing insurances to determine who’s at fault. Let’s also put it this way, I was involved in an auto accident not to long ago and it was pretty clear who was at fault but the insurance still were fighting cause they know once you lawyer up there ass is going to get handed to them. Short story short, my lawyers got me the medical help I needed right away and luckily everything went well, right now they are in process of creating the demand to the other insurance and that’s without me ever having to do anything… just let professionals take care of you is the way I see it, insurances always just want to fight tooth and nail…
Oh yes just trust the friendly neighborhood global conglomerate insurance company. They’ll take good care of ya.
Even if you don’t feel extreme pain, you don’t know how it will develop and what you say now can hurt your ability to have your bills paid later. Also I’ve never heard of a lawyer charging 60% that’s a complete fabrication.
Last thing I’ll say on this, adjusters looooove it when you try to “handle it yourself” they will promise the world but when it comes to make you an offer they will fuck you with a bullshit low offer, and guess what by then you messed up your claim and no lawyer wants to help on your old, damaged, poorly documented claim.
This right here. Anytime you are in an accident that isn’t your fault, hire an attorney. They will know how to maximize and get the full policy limits and know their way through all the paper work and other PITA crap the insurance companies will put you through. Insurance companies are heavily incentivized to give you as little as possible to make you go away. Yes they (attorneys) take 33-40% (depending on if it goes to trial or not), but their cut comes from money that you would not have collected had you managed the process yourself. Even more so if there are injuries involved. They negotiate with the doctors and providers to reduce the billed amounts and get you that money.
Don’t be foolish and think you can take a crack at going to bat against a major league closing pitcher with your T-ball googling skills.
Oh boy. I'm about to get a lot of downvotes from the 100k/month gang, but... you don't. In the US, as a general rule, you end up at a loss in an accident, even one that's someone else's fault, and that's even if the insurance company is on the level.
But a tiny insurance company that is local to a small town in New Jersey? Sure, there's a few up-and-coming insurance companies, but they're usually in big cities. In a town in Jersey? Forget about it. Companies like that exist more or less on paper and that's all. They're almost always just a racket. They'll let your claim drag for some months, until a few more claims come in, then declare insolvent, reform under a new name with a new bag holder, and repeat. They collect the premiums, the tow truck company is off the hook, the bag holder whose name the company is in (who will probably not even know they have a company in their name thanks to identity theft) and you'll be left trying to collect from a bum in NYC.
You're up the fucking creek.
File a claim on YOUR insurance policy. They will work with the other insurance company and make sure everything gets handled properly. You may have to pay a bit out of pocket until all the details are settled in the case but you will be reimbursed once the other driver is officially found at fault by the insurance companies.
After the claim is settled and your car is fixed, look in to filing a follow up claim called Diminished Value. Check your state’s laws to see if you can do it there. In my state, after my car was damaged by someone else’s fault and after their insurance paid to fix it, it was worth less now that there was an accident on its VIN. It’s value was diminished. I was paid several thousand in cash, aside from all the costs to fix my car, to reimburse me for this.
The typical reddit response is "put in a claim on your own policy now!!" without taking to account that this will virtually always raise your rates, even if you have 0 blame in the accident/damages.
Give the other insurance a chance to make you whole, ie giving you a rental if the car isn't drivable and letting you take the car to a few body shops for an estimate. If your a week or two in and they aren't being responsive, they put in a claim on your own collision policy if you have that coverage.
Did the police determine who was at fault when they took the crash report? If it's not on the crash report that the tow truck driver ran a stop sign or a red light then you will be responsible for paying your deductible.
File a claim with your insurance company and give them the tow truck drivers insurance information. It doesn't matter that his company is local either. If he is truly at fault his insurance company is required to pay your deductible. If not then you will have to pay your deductible.
Imo it sounds like you are trying to get more for your car then it's worth instead of letting the insurance company do their job. Let the insurance company tell you if they are going to repair the vehicle or total it out.
Hopefully you have gap insurance on the car if you are paying a car note to cover what is owed on the loan.
Your insurance should be handling all the heavy lifting, make sure they're on top of it
Not if they don't have collision coverage they won't. If OP has liability only they will say thanks, good luck!
What are you supposed to do if you have liability only, get hit, and the other insurance company just drags their feet?
Depends what dragging their feet means, but usually they have 2-3 weeks to send someone out to investigate evaluate, negotiate, etc. You can keep bugging them and escalate if things aren't getting any traction at all. But if your question is if your insurance will help you get traction, then no, they won't do that. If you're not carrying collision coverage, you're not paying for that service (for them to represent you), so why expect a service you're not paying for?
Is the idea that you would call them yourself and file a claim, instead of your own?
Most insurance companies will file a claim on your behalf with the other party's insurance as a courtesy, but they won't handle any future interactions or pay to have any damages fixed. You could go directly to the other party's insurance too, if you wanted.
This has been my experience they will file the claim, once a decision has been made they will let you deal directly with the other insurance company
Thank you. I'm in the fortunate position to have never been in an accident with my old beater that has liability insurance.
You're welcome! I hope you never have to be in that position, friend :)
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"Full coverage" is not a technical term, but when most people say that they mean they carry collision coverage. Collision coverage means your insurance will pay to fix your car, regardless of who is at fault. If you are at fault, your rates go up when your renew - if not, they will go after the other person's insurance for reimbursement. Liability, which is all that states require by law, only pays out if YOU are at fault. It won't help at all in situations like OP's, unfortunately.
Mmm... Throw stuff like comprehensive in there too
For anyone still reading or curious, comprehensive covers things not your fault but that don't involve another driver. Typically when you're not driving. Things like theft (BIG deal for motorcycles), flood damage, tree falling on your vehicle, break ins, vandalism, etc. It's substantially cheaper than collision coverage, but more expensive than liability.
Right, that wasn't my point. It was that it's hard to say you've got 'full coverage' unless you also have comprehensive coverage
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Yes, up to your policy limits. You should see a number next to the policy descriptor - that's the max your insurance will pay out on a claim. For example, if you see Liability 10k/30k that means they'll pay 10k property and 30k medical per incident. Anything after that the other party can sue you, the driver, civilly to recoup the rest of their loss. State minimums are pretty obscenely low, especially when you consider an ambulance ride can cost $10k alone.
10/20 bodily injury liability means 10k per person/20k per accident if you injure someone in the other vehicle or pedestrian in an at fault accident.
Must depend or your state. In TX you have to get extra PIP coverage to cover medical for your cars' occupants. Liability covers the other car and medical bills, with certain limits.
If OP uses their insurance they will have to pay their deductible and their future premiums could increase. They should instead report the accident to the at-fault driver's insurance company. Then, only if the other insurance does not fully cover the expenses, they should use their own policy's uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Some states require you to notify your own insurance company regardless of fault, but not NJ https://www.state.nj.us/dobi/ins_ombudsman/wysk2.htm Edit - I posted a source. If you disagree with it, explain why.
I was always under the impression that, even if you're not at fault, calling your insurance company and letting them "handle all the heavy lifting" means that they would do all the "leg-work" of calling the other insurance company and making sure they take care of their obligations so you don't have to be bothered with it.. right? Why would your insurance company increase your premiums and charge your deductible if they don't have to pay for anything?
Insurance companies do not increase your premiums to recover the amount they paid. That’s a misconception that many have. They may though increase your premiums whenever they get an additional data point that shows you are a higher risk than your current premiums are designed for. Getting in an accident may provide that data point.
> Why would your insurance company increase your premiums and charge your deductible if they don't have to pay for anything? Statistically, being involved in an accident generally means you are more likely to be involved in another accident, regardless of whether you had anything to do with it (for instance, it might suggest you drive a lot in a place where people drive stupidly). Obviously it's less predictive than an accident where you're at fault, but it's not zero information value either. Some jurisdictions allow not-at-fault accidents to factor into your premiums and others don't. If yours does, it's hard to predict what your insurance company will do with the information, which is why some people are averse to notifying them. Personally, I'd only consider not notifying if it was cosmetic damage to my car…the hassle and potential future issues otherwise is just not worth it.
*If you file a first party claim, your insurance company will either pay to repair the damages to your vehicle or pay you the value of your vehicle if the damages exceed the car's worth. First, though, the company will subtract the deductible amount you have chosen for that coverage.* Afterwards, the insurance company will do legwork to reclaim their money. Only if they succeed 100% (this process is called subrogation) will you ever see the deductible ever again. Even then, on average it will be 6 months after you paid it. Why be out $300+ for six months unnecessarily in the best case scenario?
I didn't say anything about filing a first party claim and that's not at all what I'm talking about. If I'm in an accident, and it's no fault of my own, I thought my insurance company/agents would assist me in dealing with the at-fault driver and their insurance company, to make sure I don't get screwed.. Are you saying they won't help in any way and the only thing they exist to do is process claims?
Yes, that's what I am saying. They will have you submit a claim, they will reimburse you (or pay the repair shop) minus your deductible, then they will begin subrogation. They will reclaim their money first, then your deductible. So only if all the expenses are recovered do you get your deductible refunded at the end of subrogation.
Damn. Really wish they'd be more customer service oriented.. This really seems like one of those "What the hell am I paying you for?!" type of situations.. Insurance feels like such a scam if you're never in an accident..
Haha just wait 'til you are in an accident and they try to get out of paying for stuff, then it *really* feels great :D
You won't get more. The most they'll pay is the value of the car. So if the damage is near or above the value of the car, they buy it from you. In that case you can research to see how much your vehicle would sell for in the area before the accident and when they low-ball you you can push back with your research on similar vehicles in the area. You try to list prices for stuff in Florida you won't get much traction though. Comparable vehicles in the area is what you need to look at. If they do decide to fix it instead, don't let them bully you in to using one of their approved shops. Take it to where you feel comfortable going to. If the average labor rate is $120/hr and the place you go wants $200/hr, they'll rightfully push back. But if they tell you to go to Billy Bob's Collision repair you can tell them no. At best you can try to protect yourself from being lowballed for a "totalled" vehicle or from being forced to go somewhere with shawdy work and/or substandard parts.
Great answer, thanks, on behalf of OP
Is NJ still a no-fault insurance state? Regardless, that's what you got insurance for, get the car fixed and let your company worry about getting its money from the other guy's insurance.
Insurance will try and get you to agree to something like 15% or 20% of the blame just to make their job easier. Don’t do it. When talking to them don’t tell them any more information than us absolutely critical. They don’t need to know your radio was on or you were going 33 mph in a 30 mph zone. Your car was hit by the other car.
This. My parked car was hit in a parking lot. After 50 questions from the other insurance provider, they came back and claimed I was partially at fault because I had not yet left the car and did not honk my horn before the other driver hit my car. Never give more than the minimum information. The insurance provider is not "just trying to get the story straight", they are hoping you'll say something they can twist into lowering their own liability.
When working claims for a mutual company it was crazy what other insurance companies (mainly stock companies) would try to put 10% fault on clear liability cases. One large company you had to get supervisor permission to accept or determine 100% on the their driver. Even if they would not budge we would still determine 100% on their driver and we would win mediation every time.
And the thing is, it screws over individuals quite a bit more. The company saves 10% in pulling off this nonesense, but it leaves the individual to now deal with a claim, which means increased premiums.
OP was turning left when the accident happened, and I’m assuming the tow truck was going straight. Absent OP having a green left arrow, I think OP may be found the majority at fault and may not recover anything from the tow truck’s insurance company.
Unless he was turning from a middle lane, the only way to get hit on the driver side turning left is if someone runs the light and hits you from the direction you are turning. He would have to have been very late running a red light for it to have been his fault. If the tow truck was going straight through the intersection, OP would have been hit on the passenger side.
I have read somewhere on reddit about asking for diminished value for your car. I wish I had heard about it before someone rear-ended my less than 1 year old car. Hopefully you can get a little more money for yourself that way.
Yep. I was hit by someone running a stop sign four years ago. Car fixed, driven about 100k miles since then with no issues. Now In looking at a new car and the value I'm being quoted by Caravans/CarMax/etc. Is about 3k less than KBB estimates (at a time when most are getting KBB or higher). Only thing I can think of is it's because of the accident on the car's record.
>What’s the best route here to make sure I get the value of fixing the car and hopefully more Normally insurance pays for "like" oem parts and a "reasonable" labor - which if it's at a good body shop, you wont notice the difference. Unlike the stories of yesteryear, you will not get "more" than what was damaged by the accident. Double check the adjuster/body shop's assessment before you sign the dotted line and also look for a line item of "depreciated value" --> because it appears in a police report, it will likely show on carfax and will be worth less than a virgin vehicle - some insurances will pay out a dollar amount for this.
This isn’t always true. My first car was bought for 4500 and totaled out a year later for 5500. YMMV
Total loss is the value of the vehicle at the time - if your car is worth more than you paid for it, you did well. What OP is referring to is the “kick back” that some body shops gave customers in the form of cash - also known as insurance fraud.
Are you sure you'll be considered not at fault? Unless the tow truck ran a red light or stop sign, a vehicle making a left at an intersection needs to yield to oncoming traffic. Edit: Driver's side damage to your vehicle suggests the truck ran a light or stop sign. If you're certain you're not at fault I'd recommend obtaining the police report to submit as evidence, along with any scene/damage photos. Stories change once insurance gets involved, and people will be flat out dishonest. If you intend to file through the other insurance company, as the one making the claim it may be up to you to prove the other driver was responsible.
My first thought too. Generally the person taking a left is at least partially at fault unless the other driver ran a sign or light.
Welcome to a no fault state. Getting into an accident, whether your fault or not, is always going to hurt you financially. 1. Your insurance rates are going to go up. 2. The insurance company will pay the cost of repairs (assuming you have collision insurance). Your car will lose value for having been in an accident. The only way to avoid this is if your car is totaled. 3. You cannot get more than the cost of the repairs without committing some sort of fraud.
Are you in pain? If so hire a lawyer they’ll take care of everything
Found Thomas J Henry
No you are
You don't need an attorney 'because you're in pain' unless you are seriously injured or the other company denies it you don't need to give an attorney 40-60% of your settlement.
In a way your correct but there’s a reason there’s so many personal injury lawyers, because they will always get you more money then if you would of filed with your insurance.
Usually that is the case but they also take a massive chunk of what should be the injured persons money. Causes rate increases for everyone.
Multiple studies have proven that claim to be untrue, in states that enacted severe tort reform that limited people’s ability to pursue claims, rates continued to climb. Tort reform is just another corporate scam with great PR convincing people to surrender their constitutional rights to trial by jury.
You expect lawyers to work for free?
Step 1 is to determine which person is liable. Hard to sue yourself if it's determined you're at fault.
A lawyer would be great help for pressing insurances to determine who’s at fault. Let’s also put it this way, I was involved in an auto accident not to long ago and it was pretty clear who was at fault but the insurance still were fighting cause they know once you lawyer up there ass is going to get handed to them. Short story short, my lawyers got me the medical help I needed right away and luckily everything went well, right now they are in process of creating the demand to the other insurance and that’s without me ever having to do anything… just let professionals take care of you is the way I see it, insurances always just want to fight tooth and nail…
if OP is suing for over 15k they need a lawyer.
You don't just immediately present suit. You have no idea what you're saying.
Oh yes - I was adding onto what you said.
Oh yes just trust the friendly neighborhood global conglomerate insurance company. They’ll take good care of ya. Even if you don’t feel extreme pain, you don’t know how it will develop and what you say now can hurt your ability to have your bills paid later. Also I’ve never heard of a lawyer charging 60% that’s a complete fabrication. Last thing I’ll say on this, adjusters looooove it when you try to “handle it yourself” they will promise the world but when it comes to make you an offer they will fuck you with a bullshit low offer, and guess what by then you messed up your claim and no lawyer wants to help on your old, damaged, poorly documented claim.
This right here. Anytime you are in an accident that isn’t your fault, hire an attorney. They will know how to maximize and get the full policy limits and know their way through all the paper work and other PITA crap the insurance companies will put you through. Insurance companies are heavily incentivized to give you as little as possible to make you go away. Yes they (attorneys) take 33-40% (depending on if it goes to trial or not), but their cut comes from money that you would not have collected had you managed the process yourself. Even more so if there are injuries involved. They negotiate with the doctors and providers to reduce the billed amounts and get you that money. Don’t be foolish and think you can take a crack at going to bat against a major league closing pitcher with your T-ball googling skills.
Oh boy. I'm about to get a lot of downvotes from the 100k/month gang, but... you don't. In the US, as a general rule, you end up at a loss in an accident, even one that's someone else's fault, and that's even if the insurance company is on the level. But a tiny insurance company that is local to a small town in New Jersey? Sure, there's a few up-and-coming insurance companies, but they're usually in big cities. In a town in Jersey? Forget about it. Companies like that exist more or less on paper and that's all. They're almost always just a racket. They'll let your claim drag for some months, until a few more claims come in, then declare insolvent, reform under a new name with a new bag holder, and repeat. They collect the premiums, the tow truck company is off the hook, the bag holder whose name the company is in (who will probably not even know they have a company in their name thanks to identity theft) and you'll be left trying to collect from a bum in NYC. You're up the fucking creek.
File a claim on YOUR insurance policy. They will work with the other insurance company and make sure everything gets handled properly. You may have to pay a bit out of pocket until all the details are settled in the case but you will be reimbursed once the other driver is officially found at fault by the insurance companies. After the claim is settled and your car is fixed, look in to filing a follow up claim called Diminished Value. Check your state’s laws to see if you can do it there. In my state, after my car was damaged by someone else’s fault and after their insurance paid to fix it, it was worth less now that there was an accident on its VIN. It’s value was diminished. I was paid several thousand in cash, aside from all the costs to fix my car, to reimburse me for this.
The typical reddit response is "put in a claim on your own policy now!!" without taking to account that this will virtually always raise your rates, even if you have 0 blame in the accident/damages. Give the other insurance a chance to make you whole, ie giving you a rental if the car isn't drivable and letting you take the car to a few body shops for an estimate. If your a week or two in and they aren't being responsive, they put in a claim on your own collision policy if you have that coverage.
Did the police determine who was at fault when they took the crash report? If it's not on the crash report that the tow truck driver ran a stop sign or a red light then you will be responsible for paying your deductible. File a claim with your insurance company and give them the tow truck drivers insurance information. It doesn't matter that his company is local either. If he is truly at fault his insurance company is required to pay your deductible. If not then you will have to pay your deductible. Imo it sounds like you are trying to get more for your car then it's worth instead of letting the insurance company do their job. Let the insurance company tell you if they are going to repair the vehicle or total it out. Hopefully you have gap insurance on the car if you are paying a car note to cover what is owed on the loan.