If you have collision coverage and your car is damaged, what can you collect?
After a brief period of mourning (I’m a car guy), here’s what I can tell you.
Your insurance company is required to pay the amount necessary to return your car to the same condition it was in before being damaged. If the cost to repair your ride is more than the car is worth, consider it “totaled.”
But what if your car was “totaled” and its value is less than you owe on your car loan?
Well, unless you have gap coverage, your insurance company and the driver who negligently damaged your car is only required to pay you the value of your car at the time of the accident.
Sadly, this means that even though the other driver was at fault, you’ll end up digging into your pocket to either pay off the existing car loan or buy a new car.
And for my clients who tell me they’re sentimentally attached to their car, I sympathize. I’m sad every time I sell a car but, unfortunately, your love of your ride has no monetary value. The law is sometimes cruel.
~Jerry Geiger
If you’re interested in cars and the laws governing them, please follow my Twitter account: @PoconoAutoLaw
It’s filled with “law stuff” but also postings of interest to those who appreciate that cars and motorcycles are their own form of art.
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