[fyrffytr1]

I am not sure if this had already been posted here but I couldn't find it so here it is. Owner posted this on the HAMB. He was rear ended and pushed into oncoming traffic where he was hit again. Here's a link to the whole thread if anyone is interested. There is some profanity in a few of the replies.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...woody.1161817/

[Simple Man]

That sucks, hope everyone in the Pontiac and the other car are OK.

[Chief of the 60's]

Even though its totaled, it looks like it won. The passenger compartment held up extremely well, no visible head marks on the windshield. It held up better than I would have expected for an old car in a T-Bone accident.

[242177P]

Originally Posted by Chief of the 60's

It held up better than I would have expected for an old car in a T-Bone accident.

Maybe that's because they didn't T-bone anybody?

It was rearended. Pushed into oncoming, where it was hit a second time.

[Bruce Meyer]

That sucks. I was driving my GTO last week and some moron in a jacked up 4WD pickup just pulls out a left in front of me and then he must of panicked because he just stopped halfway through his turn. I locked em up and slid right up to him. Just missed him. All you can do is shake your head. It does seem that the guys in the giant 4WD pickups think they own the road. Big truck to make up for a small package.

[David Jones]

Our old rides are not wreck friendly. I hope they came out ok.
The time right after the wreck is brutal. I sat there a minute and tried to figure out what just happened, then I got out, saw the damage and put my hands on the bent rear qtr and laid my head over on the trunk. I was fine physically, mentally I was puking......

[72projectbird]

Wow! That's awful! And the guy who hit him had the balls to say it was the Poncho owners fault? That guy would've got a clubbing of a lifetime if he hit me.

Hopefully he, his boy, and the other lady involved heal up fast.

[Half-Inch Stud]

What would be the Insurance payout be for repair??? like $100k or something? Totaled value?

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

What would be the Insurance payout be for repair??? like $100k or something? Totaled value?

Highly doubtful. Tin woodies are not worth anywhere near a true woody.

[fyrffytr1]

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

What would be the Insurance payout be for repair??? like $100k or something? Totaled value?

I think it is in one of the last replies to the thread I posted the link to.

[sdbob]

I asked a cop if they hit me ,after the wreck can I hit them back in self defense? Nooo! I hope no one was injured.Also hope medical emergency wasnt the cause. Just careless driving not paying attention.

[Chief of the 60's]

The car was insured for only 25 grand. Now that may be a realistic number but I would think a car like that could do 32 to 38 grand on an open market. Even though I was an adjuster this leads me to an interesting question. Couldn't the claimant (Pontiac owner) sue the insured (F150 owner) for "fair market value" despite what it is insured for? I would think yes but I am no attorney. Obviously the insured's insurance company could fight it based on "insured value" but by law in every state I know of an insurance company must pay out fair value. Any lawyers here know what the outcome should be here?

[Chris65LeMans]

Originally Posted by Chief of the 60's

The car was insured for only 25 grand. Now that may be a realistic number but I would think a car like that could do 32 to 38 grand on an open market. Even though I was an adjuster this leads me to an interesting question. Couldn't the claimant (Pontiac owner) sue the insured (F150 owner) for "fair market value" despite what it is insured for? I would think yes but I am no attorney. Obviously the insured's insurance company could fight it based on "insured value" but by law in every state I know of an insurance company must pay out fair value. Any lawyers here know what the outcome should be here?

"The bare minimum car insurance requirement for Michigan drivers is: $20,000 bodily injury per person per accident. $40,000 bodily injury for all persons per accident. $10,000 property damage liability."

A lot of variables at play there. How much insurance does F150 guy have? If he just carries the bare minimum, insurance would pay out his policy limit, then you/your insurance company would have to sue him for the balance. If F150 guy lives in an apartment and leases that truck, he may not have any assets to go after - he's what we call "judgement proof."

If you've lucked out, and the guy has a couple of million bucks in a Merrill Lynch account (and high liability coverage to match), than suing him is an option - although...

If the car owner's agreed value (the value the owner himself placed on the car) was $25,000 - it would be a tough (and expensive) case to prove that the car was really worth $38,000. Likely tougher and more expensive than $13,000.

All this reminds me that I need to make sure I have "uninsured motorist" coverage on my Hagarty policy.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by Chris65LeMans

"The bare minimum car insurance requirement for Michigan drivers is: $20,000 bodily injury per person per accident. $40,000 bodily injury for all persons per accident. $10,000 property damage liability."

A lot of variables at play there. How much insurance does F150 guy have? If he just carries the bare minimum, insurance would pay out his policy limit, then you/your insurance company would have to sue him for the balance. If F150 guy lives in an apartment and leases that truck, he may not have any assets to go after - he's what we call "judgement proof."

If you've lucked out, and the guy has a couple of million bucks in a Merrill Lynch account (and high liability coverage to match), than suing him is an option - although...

If the car owner's agreed value (the value the owner himself placed on the car) was $25,000 - it would be a tough (and expensive) case to prove that the car was really worth $38,000. Likely tougher and more expensive than $13,000.

All this reminds me that I need to make sure I have "uninsured motorist" coverage on my Hagarty policy.

Excellent point! The insured's property damage coverage does matter.

[SRR]

Originally Posted by Chris65LeMans

"The bare minimum car insurance requirement for Michigan drivers is: $20,000 bodily injury per person per accident. $40,000 bodily injury for all persons per accident. $10,000 property damage liability."

A lot of variables at play there. How much insurance does F150 guy have? If he just carries the bare minimum, insurance would pay out his policy limit, then you/your insurance company would have to sue him for the balance. If F150 guy lives in an apartment and leases that truck, he may not have any assets to go after - he's what we call "judgement proof."

If you've lucked out, and the guy has a couple of million bucks in a Merrill Lynch account (and high liability coverage to match), than suing him is an option - although...

If the car owner's agreed value (the value the owner himself placed on the car) was $25,000 - it would be a tough (and expensive) case to prove that the car was really worth $38,000. Likely tougher and more expensive than $13,000.

All this reminds me that I need to make sure I have "uninsured motorist" coverage on my Hagarty policy.

There is also "uninsured motor vehicle PD" (Property Damage)

"Uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage (UMBI). This pays for your injuries — not car damage — when someone with little or no insurance crashes into you."

"UMPD pays for damage if your car is hit by a driver without insurance or you are the victim of a hit-and-run, in most states. It also typically pays out if an underinsured driver hits you, which means it will pay for your car damage after the other person’s insurance is used up and there are still repair bills."

"Rules for UMPD vary by state. It’s not available in all states, some states require it, and some states require that it be offered to you." - Lacie Glover.

[The Champ]

The owner's comments on the insured value:

"The car is insured for my stated value of $25K (they urged me to increase the value a couple years ago but I balked as we're insuring 5 cars now with Hagerty and the bill is, as Rolls Royce says, "adequate"), and they will cover that amount."

So the owner knows he under insured it.

What he had it insured for really doesn't matter if the truck owner has sufficient insurance. The owner was insuring what he felt was adequate in case HE was responsible for totaling HIS car.

It's the same thing as an owner carrying a very high deductible on collision coverage or no collision at all. The person liable is legally responsible to cover the fair market value, regardless of whether the owner of the damaged vehicle had any physical damage insurance at all.

[NEW64OWNER]

Unless it's a just completed frame off $25K is in the ballpark for that tin woody

[Heybuck]

How does all this work for the third person? The third person being the vehicle subsequently hit by the Pontiac after the Pontiac was shunted from the rear.

Does US law state that the third person claims on the Pontiac insurance which in turn then claims on the F150 insurer?

Basically, that's how it works here. The onus is then applied to the Pontiac owner to prove that the third person was hit as a result of the F150 pushing the Pontiac into the third person.

Talking only about vehicle damage here. Not personal injury to any party.

[Chief of the 60's]

Usually the insurance on the Pontiac pays out and goes after the person that caused the accident. It doesn't always work out though as sometimes that company places a small percentage of blame on the person that was hit citing following too close or driver was not totally in control. Which is total B.S. IMO its only a poor excuse to take full blame and pay in full for all damages.

[66sprint6]

Things around here switched to a "no fault" system years ago. Both (or all three in this case) insurance companies pay an equal share to mitigate the damage or injury. The insurance industry lobbied for decades to get it.
As you can imagine, if your own insurance company has to pay a portion of your damages or injuries when someone hits you, then they are going to work to limit that amount. Now you see why they like it.