# I was in an accident during a Lyft ride



## soupergloo

This may have been addressed in a previous thread already, but I'm really looking for advice.

I was in an accident during a Lyft ride yesterday where a teenager who didn't know how to drive in SF tried making an illegal u-turn in front of me without looking for oncoming traffic in the opposite direction (I was already in the intersection when he began his u-turn), and we of course collided. He was completely at fault, and admitted he was at fault in front of the police officers while they were filing the report. The police did mention to me that my car was most likely going to be totaled (I had a 2012 VW GTI that was in perfect condition, and only had 58,000 miles on it), but the repair shop I had it towed to said they'd be able to repair it.

My personal insurance won't have anything to do with it since I had two Lyft passengers in my car at the time, so I'm having to rely on Lyft's insurance.

I'm wondering if anyone was in a similar situation and what the outcome was. Lyft is my only source of income, and I'm concerned to know what the outcome of all of this will be.


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## observer

soupergloo said:


> This may have been addressed in a previous thread already, but I'm really looking for advice.
> 
> I was in an accident during a Lyft ride yesterday where a teenager who didn't know how to drive in SF tried making an illegal u-turn in front of me without looking for oncoming traffic in the opposite direction (I was already in the intersection when he began his u-turn), and we of course collided. He was completely at fault, and admitted he was at fault in front of the police officers while they were filing the report. The police did mention to me that my car was most likely going to be totaled (I had a 2012 VW GTI that was in perfect condition, and only had 58,000 miles on it), but the repair shop I had it towed to said they'd be able to repair it.
> 
> My personal insurance won't have anything to do with it since I had two Lyft passengers in my car at the time, so I'm having to rely on Lyft's insurance.
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone was in a similar situation and what the outcome was. Lyft is my only source of income, and I'm concerned to know what the outcome of all of this will be.


Why would you have to go to Lyfts insurance?

If it was the other drivers fault, you should be dealing with them.


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## soupergloo

observer said:


> Why would you have to go to Lyfts insurance?
> 
> If it was the other drivers fault, you should be dealing with them.


I plan on calling his insurance company today, but don't expect to get too far considering it's Sunday. Lyft has suspended my driving until this is all sorted out.

Regardless, I will need a rental car ASAP - will Lyft allow me to work in a rental?


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## Uber Driver 007

soupergloo said:


> I plan on calling his insurance company today, but don't expect to get too far considering it's Sunday. Lyft has suspended my driving until this is all sorted out.
> 
> Regardless, I will need a rental car ASAP - will Lyft allow me to work in a rental?


No.


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## limepro

Look at hyrecar I hope you get everything worked out and back on the road.


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## observer

soupergloo said:


> I plan on calling his insurance company today, but don't expect to get too far considering it's Sunday. Lyft has suspended my driving until this is all sorted out.
> 
> Regardless, I will need a rental car ASAP - will Lyft allow me to work in a rental?


True, you won't get much done today.

Go back a couple months, average out your weekly pay and submit a claim for time lost to the insurance company.

Do you have your car? Or was it towed somewhere?

It sounds like your car will be down for quite a while.


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## RainbowPlate

Why on God's grey earth did you contact your own insurance company?


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## soupergloo

observer said:


> True, you won't get much done today.
> 
> Go back a couple months, average out your weekly pay and submit a claim for time lost to the insurance company.
> 
> Do you have your car? Or was it towed somewhere?
> 
> It sounds like your car will be down for quite a while.


SFPD suggested I have it towed directly to a repair shop since I wasn't able to drive it anyway, so I had AAA suggest a place and it was taken there.

I just spoke to his insurance to give them more information, but they haven't even assigned the case to an agent yet and they suggested I call back first thing tomorrow morning to get the ball rolling. Good news is he's already admitted guilt and got in contact with State Farm, so there will be no going back & forth regarding who's liable, and he called at the time of the accident to give them the details, so I don't need to wait for them to get a hold of him.

I did wake up around 3 AM this morning with pretty severe pain in my neck and right shoulder which is unfortunate because I don't have insurance, but State Farm let me know a different agent will be handling the injury claim. They didn't give me a chance to ask about the time lost claim, so I guess I'll bring that up tomorrow as well.

I'm worried they might total the car because the damages are pretty bad, and I owe more on the car than the kelly blue book value .. not to mention if I'm out of a car, then I'm out of work as well. I don't have money set aside for a down payment on a new/used car.


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## soupergloo

RainbowPlate said:


> Why on God's grey earth did you contact your own insurance company?


Call me stupid, but I thought that's what insurance companies were for regardless who was at fault. I didn't know my insurance was worthless the second I turn the Lyft app on.


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## Simon

soupergloo said:


> Call me stupid, but I thought that's what insurance companies were for regardless who was at fault. I didn't know my insurance was worthless the second I turn the Lyft app on.


Your insurance would have been there had you not violated your policy by driving for pay.

You upside down on the loan because your putting more miles on the car than the average driver. This should be a learning experience for all the drivers out there that think your only expense is your tank of gas.

Good luck with it.. it will be totaled you will get less than KBB value because they want you to negotiate that number.

Be ready for serious questions from your insurance company including but not limited to you being dropped.

Upon being dropped your next insurance company will not touch you and you will be shopping in the high risk pool and paying double or more.

We will all be watching this thread in the hopes the worst case scenario I spelled out above will not happen.

Keep us all posted.


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## soupergloo

Simon said:


> Your insurance would have been there had you not violated your policy by driving for pay.
> 
> You upside down on the loan because your putting more miles on the car than the average driver. This should be a learning experience for all the drivers out there that think your only expense is your tank of gas.
> 
> Good luck with it.. it will be totaled you will get less than KBB value because they want you to negotiate that number.
> 
> Be ready for serious questions from your insurance company including but not limited to you being dropped.
> 
> Upon being dropped your next insurance company will not touch you and you will be shopping in the high risk pool and paying double or more.
> 
> We will all be watching this thread in the hopes the worst case scenario I spelled out above will not happen.
> 
> Keep us all posted.


Has this actually happened to you, or are you jumping to conclusions because this is how it played out for another driver? My insurance company didn't even question that I was driving for Lyft when I talked to them .. I called them on the scene and they were the ones that assisted me with the tow (knowing that I had Lyft passengers in my car, and actually talked to the passengers as well) and once it was assigned to an agent that was when they informed me they can't help me because I was driving for Lyft. If they had questions, I'm sure they would have drilled me at one of those two times. I'm not worried about being dropped by Progressive, I plan on canceling my policy completely and I'm also not worried about trying to find another insurance provider. My boyfriend's brother also got into an accident where he was not at fault during a Lyft ride and All State actually took care of him as a courtesy instead of completely turning him away.

I discussed (in pretty great depth) the options I have in the case that my car does get totaled with State Farm, and ultimately they told me I have the final say in what happens to my car.

Yes, I'm worried about what the outcome will be, but not for the reasons you spelled out above.


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## Goober

If it's totaled you won't be able to get it back on Uber or Lyft as they don't take salvaged titles...you're going to probably be better off taking the payment for the total than repairing the car. let them determine it totaled. did you have loan insurance?


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## DieselkW

A teenager that didn't know how to drive is troubling me in this scenario. Was he driving his own car, or his parent's? His parents hopefully have included him on their insurance before giving him the keys, but if it's his car he may be woefully under-insured and you'll have to rely on the blanket insurance from Lyft.

From the Lyft website;
*Ride request accepted through the end of Lyft ride:*
Our primary liability insurance is designed to act as the primary coverage during the period *from the time you accept a ride request until the time the ride has ended in the app.* The policy has a $1,000,000 per accident limit. Note: If you already carry commercial insurance (or personal coverage providing specific coverage for ridesharing), Lyft's policy will continue to be excess to your insurance coverage.


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## soupergloo

Goober said:


> If it's totaled you won't be able to get it back on Uber or Lyft as they don't take salvaged titles...you're going to probably be better off taking the payment for the total than repairing the car. let them determine it totaled. did you have loan insurance?


I'm confused by your response - are you suggesting I hope they do or do not deem it totaled? If it's not totaled and gets repaired, will I be able to get back on the Lyft platform? If they do think it's totaled, but I want to keep the car & I have it repaired, I could get kicked off of the Lyft platform? If so, that is so unfair considering this wouldn't have happened to me if I wasn't driving for Lyft in the first place!

I haven't been removed from Uber.


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## soupergloo

DieselkW said:


> A teenager that didn't know how to drive is troubling me in this scenario. Was he driving his own car, or his parent's? His parents hopefully have included him on their insurance before giving him the keys, but if it's his car he may be woefully under-insured and you'll have to rely on the blanket insurance from Lyft.


He lived 2-hours outside of San Francisco, and was lost trying to get back to the freeway to get back home which was when he made the illegal u-turn and hit me .. that's why I noted he didn't know how to drive. I'm assuming it was his car, and his insurance, but I honestly can't say for sure yet. I'm thankful he did at least have insurance and immediately took the blame because it's saved me from a lot of other work on top of this mess.


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## Goober

soupergloo said:


> I'm confused by your response - are you suggesting I hope they do or do not deem it totaled? If it's not totaled and gets repaired, will I be able to get back on the Lyft platform? If they do think it's totaled, but I want to keep the car & I have it repaired, I could get kicked off of the Lyft platform? If so, that is so unfair considering this wouldn't have happened to me if I wasn't driving for Lyft in the first place!
> 
> I haven't been removed from Uber.


Once a car is deemed totaled, it entails that it has structural damage to the frame and overall safety of a vehicle. A car repaired after being deemed totaled needs a new title, and it is labeled as salvaged. it is very difficult to sell a salvaged car, and may be difficult to insure. Neither Lyft nor Uber accept salvaged titles. So, I'm saying I do hope they deem it totaled as you can negotiate an above market resale value for your car and use that money to pay off the existing loan or use it towards a down payment on a new vehicle.

You shouldn't need Lyft's insurance in this case at all and will primarily deal with the at fault party's insurance.


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## cheerose

Here's the issue that we are all talking about.

Even though your insurance policy will not be involved with this claim, it may still be against your policy to be using your car in a for-hire basis.

Therefore, it is possible that with your next renewal (or even sooner), they will cancel your policy.


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## soupergloo

Goober said:


> Once a car is deemed totaled, it entails that it has structural damage to the frame and overall safety of a vehicle. A car repaired after being deemed totaled needs a new title, and it is labeled as salvaged. it is very difficult to sell a salvaged car, and may be difficult to insure. Neither Lyft nor Uber accept salvaged titles. So, I'm saying I do hope they deem it totaled as you can negotiate an above market resale value for your car and use that money to pay off the existing loan or use it towards a down payment on a new vehicle.
> 
> You shouldn't need Lyft's insurance in this case at all and will primarily deal with the at fault party's insurance.


But as long as State Farm says it's repairable, then they can fix it and I can get back on the road, correct?

By the way, I truly appreciate your advice in helping me get this sorted out!


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## Goober

cheerose said:


> Here's the issue that we are all talking about.
> 
> Even though your insurance policy will not be involved with this claim, it may still be against your policy to be using your car in a for-hire basis.
> 
> Therefore, it is possible that with your next renewal (or even sooner), they will cancel your policy.


Personally, I would not have notified my insurance. You were covered with Lyft at the time... a personal policy, when in place doesn't need to be notified for several days, if at all.. if you aren't filing a claim with them.


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## soupergloo

cheerose said:


> Here's the issue that we are all talking about.
> 
> Even though your insurance policy will not be involved with this claim, it may still be against your policy to be using your car in a for-hire basis.
> 
> Therefore, it is possible that with your next renewal (or even sooner), they will cancel your policy.





Goober said:


> Personally, I would not have notified my insurance. You were covered with Lyft at the time... a personal policy, when in place doesn't need to be notified for several days, if at all.. if you aren't filing a claim with them.


I do understand I ****ed up by informing my insurance company that I was driving for Lyft at the time, but Lyft also informed me that I'm legally required to tell them regardless. I had to get Lyft involved because I had two Lyft passengers in my car, so it was bound to happen regardless.


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## cheerose

Exactly...

The question may be whether or not the authorities or the other insurance company would want your info. 

Not the same as contacting them yourself... but even then, no need to mention Lyft at all.


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## Goober

soupergloo said:


> But as long as State Farm says it's repairable, then they can fix it and I can get back on the road, correct?
> 
> By the way, I truly appreciate your advice in helping me get this sorted out!


Is State Farm your insurance or his? It would be a claims adjuster from the at fault party's insurance who will physically find your car and assess as to whether it would be more expensive to repair or pay out. At this time they also deem if a car is totaled for structural damages that would deem it totaled (I at least know damage to the frame is a no-go for repair and must be totaled)... Any car can be repaired...they probably repair most totaled cars, for cheap at their own repair shops and sell them as a salvaged title to recoup a little of their losses. Just because it can be repaired doesn't mean you have to drive it.

Someone rear ended my parked car, and just because he hit the frame, it was deemed totaled. their insurance assessed the damage and gave me an estimate 2K above bluebook, and I got another K by being stubborn.

The big question is, how much do you still owe on your loan? Has ride sharing reduced it's value drastically by excessive mileage? If your car is now worth 12K and the Blue Book is 9K you are going to owe a few grand after you receive their check.


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## observer

Goober said:


> Is State Farm your insurance or his? It would be a claims adjuster from the at fault party's insurance who will physically find your car and assess as to whether it would be more expensive to repair or pay out. At this time they also deem if a car is totaled for structural damages that would deem it totaled (I at least know damage to the frame is a no-go for repair and must be totaled)... Any car can be repaired...they probably repair most totaled cars, for cheap at their own repair shops and sell them as a salvaged title to recoup a little of their losses. Just because it can be repaired doesn't mean you have to drive it.
> 
> Someone rear ended my parked car, and just because he hit the frame, it was deemed totaled. their insurance assessed the damage and gave me an estimate 2K above bluebook, and I got another K by being stubborn.
> 
> The big question is, how much do you still owe on your loan? Has ride sharing reduced it's value drastically by excessive mileage? If your car is now worth 12K and the Blue Book is 9K you are going to owe a few grand after you receive their check.


She might not even get the check, it may go straight to the finance company, or check may have to be signed by both parties to be cashed.

soupergloo this may be a question to ask the insurance company.


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## soupergloo

cheerose said:


> Exactly...
> 
> The question may be whether or not the authorities or the other insurance company would want your info.
> 
> Not the same as contacting them yourself... but even then, no need to mention Lyft at all.


Everyone was asking what my relationship was to the people that were in the back seat of my car at the time .. police officers, the other driver, my insurance company. It would have been real awkward to have them just pretend to be friends of mine or something, and they were nice enough to hang around until everything was settled even though they were already running late to their destination that I was en route to.


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## observer

soupergloo said:


> I do understand I ****ed up by informing my insurance company that I was driving for Lyft at the time, but Lyft also informed me that I'm legally required to tell them regardless. I had to get Lyft involved because I had two Lyft passengers in my car, so it was bound to happen regardless.


Read your insurance policy, they may have required you to notify them of any accidents you are involved in regardless of fault.

I seem to remember seeing that in my renewal last year.


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## observer

soupergloo said:


> Everyone was asking what my relationship was to the people that were in the back seat of my car at the time .. police officers, the other driver, my insurance company. It would have been real awkward to have them just pretend to be friends of mine or something, and they were nice enough to hang around until everything was settled even though they were already running late to their destination that I was en route to.


You did the right thing, you were already in a hole, no sense digging yourself deeper.

Things will work out, keep your chin up.


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## soupergloo

Goober said:


> Is State Farm your insurance or his? It would be a claims adjuster from the at fault party's insurance who will physically find your car and assess as to whether it would be more expensive to repair or pay out. At this time they also deem if a car is totaled for structural damages that would deem it totaled (I at least know damage to the frame is a no-go for repair and must be totaled)... Any car can be repaired...they probably repair most totaled cars, for cheap at their own repair shops and sell them as a salvaged title to recoup a little of their losses. Just because it can be repaired doesn't mean you have to drive it.
> 
> Someone rear ended my parked car, and just because he hit the frame, it was deemed totaled. their insurance assessed the damage and gave me an estimate 2K above bluebook, and I got another K by being stubborn.
> 
> The big question is, how much do you still owe on your loan? Has ride sharing reduced it's value drastically by excessive mileage? If your car is now worth 12K and the Blue Book is 9K you are going to owe a few grand after you receive their check.


So, I was financing a 2-door car at the time I was interested in driving for Lyft which was when I traded my VW Beetle in for the VW GTI, so I could drive. They paid off the loan for the beetle, and added a couple thousand to the loan I got for the GTI, so long story short .. I owe about $20,000 still on the GTI loan which I know is well over KBB value for the car even if it was in perfect condition. The GTI only had 35,000 miles on it when I got it used in February 2015, and it currently has 58,000 miles. It still felt like a brand new car, and I just spent close to $1,000 getting the 45,000 mile service done it on through Volkswagen a month ago not to mention it was still under the 60,000 mile VW warranty.


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## soupergloo

http://tinypic.com/r/fupeon/8


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## Goober

soupergloo said:


> http://tinypic.com/r/fupeon/8


Yeah, that's iffy...probably going to come down to whether or not the frame was affected. Hopefully just a repair!


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## Bob Smith

Wow. That sucks. Would it have been more benefital to kick out your passengers?? And deal with the other at fault driver/police alone? That's what I would try to do. And deny everything related to being a rideshare driver.


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## soupergloo

Bob Smith said:


> Wow. That sucks. Would it have been more benefital to kick out your passengers?? And deal with the other at fault driver/police alone? That's what I would try to do. And deny everything related to being a rideshare driver.


Lol, we were all kind of forced out of the car as soon as the accident happened. I advised them to request another Lyft because I knew they were already in a rush, but I think they wanted to stick around to see if anyone needed a statement from them in case the other driver denied being at fault. As soon as he started telling everyone it was his fault, they were on their way. I couldn't physically kick them off of the sidewalk and out of my sight.

What in the world is so bad about being a rideshare driver, I just don't get it!!!


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## observer

Bob Smith said:


> Wow. That sucks. Would it have been more benefital to kick out your passengers?? And deal with the other at fault driver/police alone? That's what I would try to do. And deny everything related to being a rideshare driver.


She did the right thing, You don't want to aggravate the passengers anymore than necessary.

We still don't know if pax are OK. The OP said she woke up in middle of night with pains. Same could be true of passengers.

Denying you are a TNC driver would have made everything worse.


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## Uberalex23

soupergloo said:


> This may have been addressed in a previous thread already, but I'm really looking for advice.
> 
> I was in an accident during a Lyft ride yesterday where a teenager who didn't know how to drive in SF tried making an illegal u-turn in front of me without looking for oncoming traffic in the opposite direction (I was already in the intersection when he began his u-turn), and we of course collided. He was completely at fault, and admitted he was at fault in front of the police officers while they were filing the report. The police did mention to me that my car was most likely going to be totaled (I had a 2012 VW GTI that was in perfect condition, and only had 58,000 miles on it), but the repair shop I had it towed to said they'd be able to repair it.
> 
> My personal insurance won't have anything to do with it since I had two Lyft passengers in my car at the time, so I'm having to rely on Lyft's insurance.
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone was in a similar situation and what the outcome was. Lyft is my only source of income, and I'm concerned to know what the outcome of all of this will be.


I think lyft has 1000 dollar deductible which you may want to pay to get this process going. Since it was other person at fault you will be eligible for a reimbursement on that deductible. Also dont hesitate to rent out a car because all the bills have to be paid by other persons insurance company. And no you cannot lyft on rental car. Sorry for the accident let me know how it pays out, im really curious


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## driveflydrive

RainbowPlate said:


> Why on God's grey earth did you contact your own insurance company?


This is Lyft's policy.....they want you to go through your own insurance first. If your own insurance won't cover it(because you were doing rideshare) they will usually cancel your policy and then Lyft's insurance will cover it. Lyft have a $2500 deductible.

This happened to me but my own insurance didn't find out so it was only a $500 deductible but it still increased my insurance rates. Now I have rideshare insurance through farmers.

But in this guy's case the other drivers insurance should cover it I think. He'll still be out for a while and that's tough!


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## soupergloo

Just followed up with State Farm first thing in the morning like they told me to, my case was assigned to some lady who didn't answer when they tried to transfer me, so I got another representative who wasn't familiar with the case yet. Before we go could over anything, she said the person driving the car was not the policy holder so they need to reach out to the policy holder to establish liability. It's going to get real old, real fast if they're just going to keep me hanging on because "they need to establish liability" .. the kid hit me, admitted he hit me, put it in the police report, and even called his own insurance company taking fault. What else do you need to establish liability?!


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## Realityshark

soupergloo said:


> do understand I ****ed up by informing my insurance company that I was driving for Lyft at the time,


Wrong. You screwed yourself by not telling your insurance company that you planned to play ********* under your non commercial policy.

New members should take notice.

You are now most likely going to be labeled high risk when you try to get insurance in the future. You now get to spend a fortune on insurance.

You rolled the dice and crapped out. Ignorance of the laws and common sense won't help you.


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## Dontmakemepullauonyou

cheerose said:


> Here's the issue that we are all talking about.
> 
> Even though your insurance policy will not be involved with this claim, it may still be against your policy to be using your car in a for-hire basis.
> 
> Therefore, it is possible that with your next renewal (or even sooner), they will cancel your policy.


State Farm is gonna drop her like a hot potato.

My agent at Allstate said if you are in an accident, first remove all trade dress and ask pax(if they aren't injured) to leave or say hey this will take a while, please request another ride.

Never mention accident to lyft/uber unless pax got injured or died.

If you want your insurance to cover you, don't ever mention using ride share. If other guy in the accident says where did your passengers go, just say my friends were late for something.

Lyft will maybe even permanently deactivate you because of this. They have that 1,000,000 policy but they don't want any claims whatsoever.


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## limepro

State farm is the at fault drivers insurance, that's who she called, he was on his parents policy most likely so they are reaching out to them.


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## soupergloo

Realityshark said:


> Wrong. You screwed yourself by not telling your insurance company that you planned to play ********* under your non commercial policy.
> 
> New members should take notice.
> 
> You are now most likely going to be labeled high risk when you try to get insurance in the future. You now get to spend a fortune on insurance.
> 
> You rolled the dice and crapped out. Ignorance of the laws and common sense won't help you.


It has yet to happen, and that's the least of my worries. I need my car back to worry about my own insurance.


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## soupergloo

Dontmakemepullauonyou said:


> State Farm is gonna drop her like a hot potato.
> 
> My agent at Allstate said if you are in an accident, first remove all trade dress and ask pax(if they aren't injured) to leave or say hey this will take a while, please request another ride.
> 
> Never mention accident to lyft/uber unless pax got injured or died.
> 
> If you want your insurance to cover you, don't ever mention using ride share. If other guy in the accident says where did your passengers go, just say my friends were late for something.
> 
> Lyft will maybe even permanently deactivate you because of this. They have that 1,000,000 policy but they don't want any claims whatsoever.


Seriously, where do you guys pull this stuff from? I already told my passengers to request another Lyft when it happened (if you bothered reading any of the previous posts), and they hung around regardless which I didn't have a problem with. They were witnesses to what had just happened in the event the other driver would have denied fault.

I've already spoken to Lyft multiple times, why would they drop me because someone made an illegal u-turn and hit me?! I could understand if I was at fault, but it was completely out of my control and people drive like idiots in San Francisco. Not the mention, all they need are photos that my car is repaired to re-activate me. Do you really think they drop every single driver just because someone hit them? No one likes having claims, but they have a $1,000,000 policy for a reason.

And FYI - State Farm isn't my provider, it was his.


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## Dontmakemepullauonyou

soupergloo said:


> Seriously, where do you guys pull this stuff from? I already told my passengers to request another Lyft when it happened (if you bothered reading any of the previous posts), and they hung around regardless which I didn't have a problem with. They were witnesses to what had just happened in the event the other driver would have denied fault.
> 
> I've already spoken to Lyft multiple times, why would they drop me because someone made an illegal u-turn and hit me?! I could understand if I was at fault, but it was completely out of my control and people drive like idiots in San Francisco. Not the mention, all they need are photos that my car is repaired to re-activate me. Do you really think they drop every single driver just because someone hit them? No one likes having claims, but they have a $1,000,000 policy for a reason.
> 
> And FYI - State Farm isn't my provider, it was his.


Well keep us posted or come back and let us know how things worked out.

Good luck.


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## soupergloo

Dontmakemepullauonyou said:


> Well keep us posted or come back and let us know how things worked out.
> 
> Good luck.


They told me they couldn't call the policy holder until it was 8 AM here, so I'm giving them until 9 AM until I call them back because now I have nothing better to do than harass them to start taking care of this. I'll keep you guys posted.


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## soupergloo

soupergloo said:


> They told me they couldn't call the policy holder until it was 8 AM here, so I'm giving them until 9 AM until I call them back because now I have nothing better to do than harass them to start taking care of this. I'll keep you guys posted.


So, I feel sorry for anyone that has to go through what I'm going through because of all of this. I call State Farm back and literally get transferred, disconnected, put into random people's voicemails literally for an hour until I'm pissed off enough to demand to speak to a manager who was "chatting" (not talking on the phone, but IMing) with the claims representative who is unable to get a hold of the driver (first I was told they were trying to get a hold of the policy holder, and now it's the driver?). I questioned why they needed to talk to the driver to get his story again when I was literally standing next to him for an hour while he was on the phone with State Farm telling them what happened, and they fed me this bullshit about how the claims representative is the one that actually needs to get his side of the story. All of this run around is to establish liability .. a.k.a. State Farm trying to get out of being liable any way possible.

I had the kids number on the police report, so I took matters into my own hands and called him .. which went into voicemail. He called me right back though and said he just got off the phone with his claims representative (and hopefully admitted guilt yet again so things can finally get rolling). I'll give her 30 minutes to do what she needs to do to establish liability, so I can get my doctor's appointment, my rental car, and my check for lost time in the works as well as a State Farm rep. to go take a look at my car to establish if it's being fixed or totaled.


----------



## Luberon

I feel for OP. Hope things get sorted sooner.


----------



## andaas

soupergloo - regarding your question about using a rental to continue earning on Lyft, Lyft recently announced a partnership with Hertz for just that purpose. I'm not sure if this has started yet, but it was announced a couple weeks ago. See Lyft blog entry here; another news piece on it here.

I hope you get everything worked out soon!


----------



## vesolehome

This is interesting as anyone who is ride sharing is at risk of going though the same thing and 99.9% of the drivers don't care.
I get wanting to kick the PAX out but if they woke up sore like you, seems they'd be on the phone with the first 800 CAR HIT U attorney going after everyone's insurance. Don't think you want to get caught lying in police reports at that point. They know who you are even though you don't necessarily know them.
Remember, a PAX can be a fake Facebook with a prepaid visa.
You did the right thing.
Everything will work out. At least you're ok.


----------



## Moo Moo

soupergloo said:


> So, I was financing a 2-door car at the time I was interested in driving for Lyft which was when I traded my VW Beetle in for the VW GTI, so I could drive. They paid off the loan for the beetle, and added a couple thousand to the loan I got for the GTI, so long story short .. I owe about $20,000 still on the GTI loan which I know is well over KBB value for the car even if it was in perfect condition. The GTI only had 35,000 miles on it when I got it used in February 2015, and it currently has 58,000 miles. It still felt like a brand new car, and I just spent close to $1,000 getting the 45,000 mile service done it on through Volkswagen a month ago not to mention it was still under the 60,000 mile VW warranty.


First, I would like to say I am sorry to hear about your accident.

Did you purchase gap coverage insurance when you purchased your used VW GTI with 35,000 miles? If you still owe $20,000 on the GTI loan and State Farm has determined that the repair costs exceed a certain percentage and your car labelled as total loss, the insurance company (State Farm) will send a check for substantially less than the fair market value of your vehicle at 58,000 miles to the actual owner and lien holder, i.e., the bank or finance company that holds your loan, and you are still liable for the difference between the money loan balance $20,000 - insurance money paid for totaled vehicle ($10,000 or whatever the dollar amount may be).


----------



## Uberselectguy

People .. dispensing unfounded information. Bad bad.

Your insurance company will find out one way or another, generally they find out from both DMV from where you declare the accident as required by law, or by the at fault insurer contacting your insurance company in the event of subrigation. So, you aren't eluding anyone by keeping silent. 

The at fault insurer will make a determination whether or not to fix your car based on cost to repair vs. actual cash value. That's the value of your car based on the regional market place. So, you get a fair bid versus being penalized where your car is worth less, it's a Calif law that they follow this valuation process. If they total it, the check goes to you for the actual cash value, and will more than likely be a two party check with you and your lender as payees. Hopefully the check will cover your loan.

Personal injury, loss of income, loss of use and losses due to your loan on car is under an attorneys guidance. Don't try it yourself, you will get screwed. Have an attorney handle your case and he will take it on contingency, no money out of your pocket.

If the car is totaled, start looking for a replacement today. If not, make certain that it won't be recorded in car fax or others as having frame damage, which it probably has. Uber and left will reject it. Use it as a trade in if its repaired with frame ( unibody ) damage.

I have been here, done it. Feel free to ask away.


----------



## soupergloo

so I finally got a hold of the lady handling the case where she accepted liability on State Farm's end, and finally got me a rental. When I brought up the fact that they also need to pay me for lost wages since I can no longer work without my car, the agent goes, "well can't you go back to work tomorrow with the rental?"


Moo Moo said:


> First, I would like to say I am sorry to hear about your accident.
> 
> Did you purchase gap coverage insurance when you purchased your used VW GTI with 35,000 miles? If you still owe $20,000 on the GTI loan and State Farm has determined that the repair costs exceed a certain percentage and your car labelled as total loss, the insurance company (State Farm) will send a check for substantially less than the fair market value of your vehicle at 58,000 miles to the actual owner and lien holder, i.e., the bank or finance company that holds your loan, and you are still liable for the difference between the money loan balance $20,000 - insurance money paid for totaled vehicle ($10,000 or whatever the dollar amount may be).


Hi Moo Moo! My boyfriend asked me the same question regarding the gap coverage, and unfortunately I didn't. I live in a little fantasy world thinking nothing like this will ever happen to me where I'll need gap coverage haha. When I initially spoke to State Farm, I was positive the car would be totaled just going off of the police officer's opinion and I knew I owed more on the car loan than the car was worth, so I questioned them in the event that the car was a total loss. Since it hasn't been determined yet, they told me a lot of things come into play when my a car is a total loss including the amount owed on the vehicle and the final number they come up with being negotiable. She gave me a ton of different examples including having to pay people off whose loan is more than the car worth. I'm not going to stress about that until it's the actual case.


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## soupergloo

Uberselectguy said:


> People .. dispensing unfounded information. Bad bad.
> 
> Your insurance company will find out one way or another, generally they find out from both DMV from where you declare the accident as required by law, or by the at fault insurer contacting your insurance company in the event of subrigation. So, you aren't eluding anyone by keeping silent.
> 
> The at fault insurer will make a determination whether or not to fix your car based on cost to repair vs. actual cash value. That's the value of your car based on the regional market place. So, you get a fair bid versus being penalized where your car is worth less, it's a Calif law that they follow this valuation process. If they total it, the check goes to you for the actual cash value, and will more than likely be a two party check with you and your lender as payees. Hopefully the check will cover your loan.
> 
> Personal injury, loss of income, loss of use and losses due to your loan on car is under an attorneys guidance. Don't try it yourself, you will get screwed. Have an attorney handle your case and he will take it on contingency, no money out of your pocket.
> 
> If the car is totaled, start looking for a replacement today. If not, make certain that it won't be recorded in car fax or others as having frame damage, which it probably has. Uber and left will reject it. Use it as a trade in if its repaired with frame ( unibody ) damage.
> 
> I have been here, done it. Feel free to ask away.


I don't get it, you're suggesting getting rid of the car even if it's not a total loss? That's the last thing I want to do :-( I won't let the shop repair if State Farm says to total, but if it's repairable, I'll let them repair and be on my way. Lyft & Uber aren't going to drop me because someone hit me and I had to get my car repaired, that doesn't make any sense.


----------



## soupergloo

After literally harassing the lady handling the policy all morning, she called me back as I was on hold with another State Farm agent trying to get a hold of her. She told me State Farm is going to accept liability (obviously, that was established on Saturday when the accident took place, but whatever) because the driver failed to yield to me (who had the right away) before making his u-turn. She started going over how to get my rental car, how to get reimbursed for medical expenses to look at my neck & shoulders, and before she hung up I mentioned getting paid for lost time; she responded, "well can't you go back to work with your rental car tomorrow?" .. no lady, that's not how it works. So I've faxed over my earnings for Lyft & Uber from the last 30 days per her request. I sent a follow-up e-mail stating I have rent and utilities due in 5 days, and the burden of any late fees will be on State Farm if I'm not paid out on time.

I picked up my hideous rental car today which has an expiration date of 20 days, so hopefully that's the longest this will all take. And I hope to see some money to cover my lack of work until I get my car back this week. I plan on harassing her again all day tomorrow to get me an answer about that as well, because let's face it .. I still have nothing better to do until I start seeing some money.

Lyft called me again today to CONFIRM THAT I REPORTED THE ACCIDENT TO MY INSURANCE COMPANY! So to those of you who keep posting to keep it hush hush from your insurance provider, just know .. you will not get away with it and your creditability goes out the window when you're trying to get anything else resolved. Lying is the wrong thing to do, and when you get caught in that lie, it's going to be a lot worse for you. Just don't do it. Also, to the person who said I was going to get kicked off of the Lyft Platform because of this - I can confirm that was also untrue. Lyft's safety & trust team knows exactly what happened, wished me the best with this situation, and have just asked for pictures of my repaired car or a new car before I get reactivated on the platform. The point of this Lyft paragraph is really to tell those of who you don't know what you're talking about, don't offer people in bad situations unhelpful advice that you really just made up.

Lastly, I went to the shop to grab my sunglasses out of my car, and give the owner of the shop the newest information I had regarding repairs. He has assured me that he's been doing this for a long time, that he is friends with the local State Farm rep that needs to assess the damage on my car, and that he's pretty confident my car can be repaired and will not be a total loss. Here's the hoping he's right!

That's all I have for now.


----------



## Dontmakemepullauonyou

soupergloo said:


> So, I feel sorry for anyone that has to go through what I'm going through because of all of this. I call State Farm back and literally get transferred, disconnected, put into random people's voicemails literally for an hour until I'm pissed off enough to demand to speak to a manager who was "chatting" (not talking on the phone, but IMing) with the claims representative who is unable to get a hold of the driver (first I was told they were trying to get a hold of the policy holder, and now it's the driver?). I questioned why they needed to talk to the driver to get his story again when I was literally standing next to him for an hour while he was on the phone with State Farm telling them what happened, and they fed me this bullshit about how the claims representative is the one that actually needs to get his side of the story. All of this run around is to establish liability .. a.k.a. State Farm trying to get out of being liable any way possible.
> 
> I had the kids number on the police report, so I took matters into my own hands and called him .. which went into voicemail. He called me right back though and said he just got off the phone with his claims representative (and hopefully admitted guilt yet again so things can finally get rolling). I'll give her 30 minutes to do what she needs to do to establish liability, so I can get my doctor's appointment, my rental car, and my check for lost time in the works as well as a State Farm rep. to go take a look at my car to establish if it's being fixed or totaled.


Honestly get a lawyer and quit contacting his insurance agency.

If I were you I would be complaining about neck and back pain even if the pain went away, because you'll get pain and suffering money out of it(I once got $8,500) plus you'll get free visits to chiropractors and lots of massages. And if you are injured(pain and suffering type) you'll also get money for time lost from work from his State Farm insurance.


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## soupergloo

Also, I'm not sure if those of you who have responded recently saw the link with the damage, so I'll post it again.

http://tinypic.com/r/2emmsmg/8


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## soupergloo

Dontmakemepullauonyou said:


> Honestly get a lawyer and quit contacting his insurance agency.
> 
> If I were you I would be complaining about neck and back pain even if the pain went away, because you'll get pain and suffering money out of it(I once got $8,500) plus you'll get free visits to chiropractors and lots of massages. And if you are injured(pain and suffering type) you'll also get money for time lost from work from his State Farm insurance.


I can't stop contacting his insurance company lol, they're the ones that need to determine my cars condition.

I wasn't lying about the pain, and it definitely hasn't gone away. It started in my right neck the night of the accident, went into my shoulder and now the left side hurts. When I brought it up to State Farm, they said they don't have doctors they can send me to and the reimbursement for injuries is the last thing I receive once a case is settled. I don't have medical insurance, and no doctor is going to see me on good will just to bill State Farm later.


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## 7Miles

soupergloo is a one bad ass girl. Doing everything right, harassing insurance , getting a guy to admit guilt to police.
"This will be a lesson to you" guys on this forum dint know what they talking about .
They probably like 50 years old and trying being creepy and nice at the same time to young college and high school girls while driving for Lyft.
And then coming here to give stupid advices to lie . Haha. I don't think she needs your " advice "


----------



## observer

soupergloo said:


> I can't stop contacting his insurance company lol, they're the ones that need to determine my cars condition.
> 
> I wasn't lying about the pain, and it definitely hasn't gone away. It started in my right neck the night of the accident, went into my shoulder and now the left side hurts. When I brought it up to State Farm, they said they don't have doctors they can send me to and the reimbursement for injuries is the last thing I receive once a case is settled. I don't have medical insurance, and no doctor is going to see me on good will just to bill State Farm later.


"No doctor is going to see me on goodwill just to bill State Farm later".

They will if you are referred by your lawyer, but you need to balance out how much you may have to pay the lawyer*.

* The other guys insurance will pay lawyer who will in turn pay doctor but you may recieve very little.

If pain doesn't go away soon it might be best if you do contact a lawyer.


----------



## Uberselectguy

soupergloo said:


> I don't get it, you're suggesting getting rid of the car even if it's not a total loss? That's the last thing I want to do :-( I won't let the shop repair if State Farm says to total, but if it's repairable, I'll let them repair and be on my way. Lyft & Uber aren't going to drop me because someone hit me and I had to get my car repaired, that doesn't make any sense.


Let me try and clarify for you. First off, I have no idea how bad the damage was to your car. Nor, do I know the details of the repair, that is to say if there was damage to the Unibody frame. So what I write here is assuming your car is near a total loss. 
If the unibody frame is damaged, that information is relayed to auto records companies like Car Fax. State Farm and most all insurance companies volunteer that information, and it is recorded for eventual retrieval by potential buyers of your car, and by Uber and Lyft. I'm sure by now you have seen the car fax commercials. Lyft also runs your cars VIN number through Auto Check, another reporting company. If Lyft finds in the report that your car had frame damage, repaired correctly or not, they will disqualify your car .. No ifs, no buts.
How do I know this? My friends daughters car was disqualified by Lyft after a seemingly small collision. The shop that did the repair charged for frame straightening, and it showed up in the report. She received an email that I read, telling her that her car could not be used in the Lyft platform, her account was deactivated.
So, you need to talk to the shop. Get an itemized repair order. If the shop has frame repairs listed, then you need to anticipate that sooner than later Iber will cancel you. Better you know now than have it be a shock later. You have said that Rideshare is your source of income, so obviously your car is vital. If there is frame damage, this is yet one more conversation to have with an attorney.
I'm truly sorry for your predicament, you have suffered a loss and now you are forced to deal with the outcome. Insurance companies will attempt to get you to settle the loss, sign off on liability. This is where a good lawyer comes into play. Make no early settlements, you may really regret it in the future.
My advice to you is in the best of well wishes for your best outcome.


----------



## observer

Uberselectguy said:


> Let me try and clarify for you. First off, I have no idea how bad the damage was to your car. Nor, do I know the details of the repair, that is to say if there was damage to the Unibody frame. So what I write here is assuming your car is near a total loss.
> If the unibody frame is damaged, that information is relayed to auto records companies like Car Fax. State Farm and most all insurance companies volunteer that information, and it is recorded for eventual retrieval by potential buyers of your car, and by Uber and Lyft. I'm sure by now you have seen the car fax commercials. Uber also runs your cars VIN number through Auto Check, another reporting company. If uber finds in the report that your car had frame damage, repaired correctly or not, they will disqualify your car .. No ifs, no buts.
> How do I know this? My friends daughters car was disqualified by Uber after a seemingly small collision. The shop that did the repair charged for frame straightening, and it showed up in the report. She received an email that I read, telling her that her car could not be used in the Uber platform, her account was deactivated.
> So, you need to talk to the shop. Get an itemized repair order. If the shop has frame repairs listed, then you need to anticipate that sooner than later Iber will cancel you. Better you know now than have it be a shock later. You have said that Uber is your source of income, so obviously your car is vital. If there is frame damage, this is yet one more conversation to have with an attorney.
> I'm truly sorry for your predicament, you have suffered a loss and now you are forced to deal with the outcome. Insurance companies will attempt to get you to settle the loss, sign off on liability. This is where a good lawyer comes into play. Make no early settlements, you may really regret it in the future.
> My advice to you is in the best of well wishes for your best outcome.


There is a thread on the forum where someone bought a car, was using it for Uber and later was deactivated after Uber ran a Carfax* on it. It had frame damage reported.

*It was actually run on Autocheck, Carfax had shown no damage.


----------



## Uberselectguy

PS: Don't forget to download a form SR-1 from the DMV, fill it out and mail it in. DMV will fine you if you don't get it in by a certain time frame. Any accident over $500 in damage they require it.
I learned the hard way!


----------



## Uberselectguy

Here you go .. his car was delisted from frame damage report.

https://uberpeople.net/threads/so-i-guess-im-seeing-lawyer-now.29494/


----------



## observer

Uberselectguy said:


> Here you go .. his car was delisted from frame damage report.
> 
> https://uberpeople.net/threads/so-i-guess-im-seeing-lawyer-now.29494/


Thnx, I looked for the thread and couldn't find it.


----------



## Uberselectguy

That thread reminded me of the fiasco my daughter went through. She bought a Cadillac ATS from dealer, with 4000 miles on it. It was a "dealer rental car". So she decides to trade it in two years later only to find that it had frame damage. Every trade in deal she got was thousands low of wholesale.
Called my attorney, dealer bought it back less .45 a mile she put on it. Reasonable outcome.


----------



## Dontmakemepullauonyou

soupergloo said:


> I can't stop contacting his insurance company lol, they're the ones that need to determine my cars condition.
> 
> I wasn't lying about the pain, and it definitely hasn't gone away. It started in my right neck the night of the accident, went into my shoulder and now the left side hurts. When I brought it up to State Farm, they said they don't have doctors they can send me to and the reimbursement for injuries is the last thing I receive once a case is settled. I don't have medical insurance, and no doctor is going to see me on good will just to bill State Farm later.


Lawyer will start working asap for free and just takes 30% of your take after everything has settled which is usually 6-18months before you see a check. Mine last time asshole wasn't paying attention and slammed into the back of me at a red light. I got $8500 tax free cash, that's after lawyer 30% and on top of that I saw they paid out close to $14,000 to the chiropractor. And my totaled car they paid out $3,000 above blue book.


----------



## DexNex

You seem like an incredibly patient person, I see this all going well for you. Cough, cough.


----------



## UberLaLa

nvm...


----------



## Mr. T

soupergloo said:


> I plan on calling his insurance company today, but don't expect to get too far considering it's Sunday. Lyft has suspended my driving until this is all sorted out.
> 
> Regardless, I will need a rental car ASAP - will Lyft allow me to work in a rental?


I'm late to the party. You won't be able to work in a rental, BUT you can get his insurance company to pay for your lost wages. If they won't, see them in court


----------



## mrlasvegas

By day I am an accident investigator for a large transportation company here in Las Vegas. I usually clear 20 or more accidents a month when slow, more when its busy. The damage does not really look that bad. Without removing the front bumper and fender panel I can't say for sure if frame is really damaged. Were any fluids leaking at the accident scene? That can help to determine how deep the damage went. I would not trust the opinion of the police on anything, accident wise. I constantly have to explain measuring skid marks and other basic investigative techniques to our local law enforcement in order to make the case for my driver not being at fault. In Las Vegas you can do Lyft with a rental. It is encouraged through Hertz.
Regarding your injury, don't hesitate to get a second opinion. It is quite likely that your muscles tensed at the time of the accident, causing the soreness. The point of impact would make it difficult to prove back injury. But you could still have muscle strain and need muscle relaxers for awhile. Do not drive with these, they are narcotic. I have been handling a number of work comp cases for my bus drivers lately. Most have recovered from worse accidents with rest and medication.


----------



## Samename

Hi soupergloo,

Way to take the haters on here without running for the hills. I think you are handling this all well. However, I noticed you said you don't have health insurance. Covered california ain't so bad. Why have you not got health insurance? It's likely that your expenses will be close to or in excess of your net profits from driving Lyft, leaving you with very little taxable income. In which case your health insurance should be free. There is a hefty penalty for not having health insurance come tax time.

Im interested to hear how the kids liability insurance compensates you for lost wages. And also fingers crossed your car isn't totalled. Because if it is, it's a pretty prime example of why to not drive a new car for rideshare and essentially be under water with your loan payment due to depreciation and mileage.


----------



## soupergloo

Uberselectguy said:


> Let me try and clarify for you. First off, I have no idea how bad the damage was to your car. Nor, do I know the details of the repair, that is to say if there was damage to the Unibody frame. So what I write here is assuming your car is near a total loss.
> If the unibody frame is damaged, that information is relayed to auto records companies like Car Fax. State Farm and most all insurance companies volunteer that information, and it is recorded for eventual retrieval by potential buyers of your car, and by Uber and Lyft. I'm sure by now you have seen the car fax commercials. Lyft also runs your cars VIN number through Auto Check, another reporting company. If Lyft finds in the report that your car had frame damage, repaired correctly or not, they will disqualify your car .. No ifs, no buts.
> How do I know this? My friends daughters car was disqualified by Lyft after a seemingly small collision. The shop that did the repair charged for frame straightening, and it showed up in the report. She received an email that I read, telling her that her car could not be used in the Lyft platform, her account was deactivated.
> So, you need to talk to the shop. Get an itemized repair order. If the shop has frame repairs listed, then you need to anticipate that sooner than later Iber will cancel you. Better you know now than have it be a shock later. You have said that Rideshare is your source of income, so obviously your car is vital. If there is frame damage, this is yet one more conversation to have with an attorney.
> I'm truly sorry for your predicament, you have suffered a loss and now you are forced to deal with the outcome. Insurance companies will attempt to get you to settle the loss, sign off on liability. This is where a good lawyer comes into play. Make no early settlements, you may really regret it in the future.
> My advice to you is in the best of well wishes for your best outcome.


Well this was depressing to wake up to. State Farm has yet to take a look at my car and determine the outcome, and at first I was praying it doesn't get totaled, but if I'm going to get stuck with a car that was repaired, but now worth far less than it originally was because of the original damage AND I get kicked off of the Lyft & Uber platform .. I don't know what to do now.


----------



## soupergloo

mrlasvegas said:


> By day I am an accident investigator for a large transportation company here in Las Vegas. I usually clear 20 or more accidents a month when slow, more when its busy. The damage does not really look that bad. Without removing the front bumper and fender panel I can't say for sure if frame is really damaged. Were any fluids leaking at the accident scene? That can help to determine how deep the damage went. I would not trust the opinion of the police on anything, accident wise. I constantly have to explain measuring skid marks and other basic investigative techniques to our local law enforcement in order to make the case for my driver not being at fault. In Las Vegas you can do Lyft with a rental. It is encouraged through Hertz.
> Regarding your injury, don't hesitate to get a second opinion. It is quite likely that your muscles tensed at the time of the accident, causing the soreness. The point of impact would make it difficult to prove back injury. But you could still have muscle strain and need muscle relaxers for awhile. Do not drive with these, they are narcotic. I have been handling a number of work comp cases for my bus drivers lately. Most have recovered from worse accidents with rest and medication.


My car had no fluid leaking, but the car that hit me did. Unfortunately, I'm in San Francisco and can't do Lyft without my own personal car.


----------



## soupergloo

Samename said:


> Hi soupergloo,
> 
> Way to take the haters on here without running for the hills. I think you are handling this all well. However, I noticed you said you don't have health insurance. Covered california ain't so bad. Why have you not got health insurance? It's likely that your expenses will be close to or in excess of your net profits from driving Lyft, leaving you with very little taxable income. In which case your health insurance should be free. There is a hefty penalty for not having health insurance come tax time.
> 
> Im interested to hear how the kids liability insurance compensates you for lost wages. And also fingers crossed your car isn't totalled. Because if it is, it's a pretty prime example of why to not drive a new car for rideshare and essentially be under water with your loan payment due to depreciation and mileage.


hi there!

My insurance situation is iffy, I had a full-time job as an event planner for half of the year in which I was driving for Lyft part-time to supplement my income, so I was insured up until June and I quit my job to go to dental school full-time and I made decent enough money with Lyft/Uber that it became my only source of income. My boyfriend works for The Ritz-Carlton where he can add me on as a domestic partner to his insurance, but there are only two periods during the year where they open enrollment to employees to add dependents onto their insurance so that's what I'm waiting for.

State Farm asked for my pay statements from Lyft/Uber from the past 30 days to pay me for lost time/wages which I did yesterday and I will follow-up on getting payment ASAP as soon as I get out of school today. I'll let you know how it's ultimately handled.


----------



## UberLaLa

nvm


----------



## Uber-Doober

soupergloo said:


> SFPD suggested I have it towed directly to a repair shop since I wasn't able to drive it anyway, so I had AAA suggest a place and it was taken there.
> 
> I just spoke to his insurance to give them more information, but they haven't even assigned the case to an agent yet and they suggested I call back first thing tomorrow morning to get the ball rolling. Good news is he's already admitted guilt and got in contact with State Farm, so there will be no going back & forth regarding who's liable, and he called at the time of the accident to give them the details, so I don't need to wait for them to get a hold of him.
> 
> I did wake up around 3 AM this morning with pretty severe pain in my neck and right shoulder which is unfortunate because I don't have insurance, but State Farm let me know a different agent will be handling the injury claim. They didn't give me a chance to ask about the time lost claim, so I guess I'll bring that up tomorrow as well.
> 
> I'm worried they might total the car because the damages are pretty bad, and I owe more on the car than the kelly blue book value .. not to mention if I'm out of a car, then I'm out of work as well. I don't have money set aside for a down payment on a new/used car.


^^^
Why would you be "worried" about the car possibly being totaled? 
Cars are like paper clips.... straighten out a paper clip and just try to get it back into the original shape.

One thing that I want you to keep in mind, and that is this.... 
In the event that they actually DO fix your car, and before that even happens, there is a form that you an get from (maybe) your insurance company regarding the new value of your car after it has been involved in a severe collision. 
Your car is going to be worth a whole lot less than the identical car with 58K on the clock and you are able to be compensated for that also. 
It's called something like "Reduced value compensation" or something close to that as the result of an accident. 
It might necessarily involve the sign-off with an insurance adjuster with appraisal background, but you must do it no matter what.... even though it's more hassle and more paperwork. 
I went through this about five years ago while stopped at a traffic light and was rear-ended literally up to the back window in a Chrysler 300.


----------



## Uber-Doober

soupergloo said:


> Well this was depressing to wake up to. State Farm has yet to take a look at my car and determine the outcome, and at first I was praying it doesn't get totaled, but if I'm going to get stuck with a car that was repaired, but now worth far less than it originally was because of the original damage AND I get kicked off of the Lyft & Uber platform .. I don't know what to do now.


^^^
I really hope that you have somebody working on this for you. 
After the first page I switched to the 4th. and am working backwards, so maybe I missed any pertinent questions or answers. 
BTW, I am NOT recommending anybody.... just posting this to add possibly a little light-heartedness to a really crappy situation. 
I don't know if they have these ads in California anyway. 
These guys are such sharks.


----------



## soupergloo

Uber-Doober said:


> ^^^
> Why would you be "worried" about the car possibly being totaled?
> Cars are like paper clips.... straighten out a paper clip and just try to get it back into the original shape.
> 
> One thing that I want you to keep in mind, and that is this....
> In the event that they actually DO fix your car, and before that even happens, there is a form that you an get from (maybe) your insurance company regarding the new value of your car after it has been involved in a severe collision.
> Your car is going to be worth a whole lot less than the identical car with 58K on the clock and you are able to be compensated for that also.
> It's called something like "Reduced value compensation" or something close to that as the result of an accident.
> It might necessarily involve the sign-off with an insurance adjuster with appraisal background, but you must do it no matter what.... even though it's more hassle and more paperwork.
> I went through this about five years ago while stopped at a traffic light and was rear-ended literally up to the back window in a Chrysler 300.


I understand my car is going to be worth less regardless if it's fixed or not which is so frustrating because the car was basically brand new even with 58,000 miles on it. But are you saying his insurance (State Farm) will have to compensate me for the difference in value after all is said & done? I don't mind doing more work to get more out of this because again .. I have nothing better to be doing than harassing State Farm until I can go back to work.


----------



## Moo Moo

Who is your vehicle insurance company and what is their response to the accident? I am sure the the other driver's vehicle insurance company must have asked you for the contact information for your vehicle insurance company. Both insurance companies will try to work on behalf of their clients and they will try their best to pay as little as possible for the other driver's damages.


----------



## soupergloo

Moo Moo said:


> Who is your vehicle insurance company and what is their response to the accident? I am sure the the other driver's vehicle insurance company must have asked you for the contact information for your vehicle insurance company. Both insurance companies will try to work on behalf of their clients and they will try their best to pay as little as possible for the other driver's damages.


My insurance is Progressive who wiped their hands clean of the situation as soon as they heard I was working for Lyft at the time. Lyft's insurance has also wiped their hands clean of it because the other driver was at fault, so the only insurance company I'm dealing with is the "at fault" driver's which is State Farm.

I just got off the phone with my agent regarding pay for the lost time since I can't work without my car, and she basically told me I won't see any money from them until the very end of all of this which totally screws me. I was able to make enough last week in fares to cover rent that is due in 5 days, but that's about it. At the time, I was working long days last week to hit Lyft's 50-hour power driver bonus which was put at a halt when I got hit on Saturday afternoon still having about 19 hours to complete before I get the 20% commission back. It doesn't help that I'll eventually be compensated for the lost time at the very end of all of this because quite frankly, I have bills due NOW and no way of making any money NOW to pay them which means I'll be hit with late fees if I can't scrounge up enough to get by for however long this is all going to take.


----------



## andaas

It's going to take 2-3 weeks, minimum. Likely longer.


----------



## Uberselectguy

My last contribution.

Some law firms, after reviewing your case will " front" you a percentage of the estimated civil settlement. My son is an attorney in Denver and the law firm he works with as a partner fronts up to 50%.

I've read recently where the typical liability settlement for moderate, soft tissue injury cases is in the $5500 to $8500 range. So, if you work smart you could find a law firm in San Fran that offers this service.

Your car settlement is separate, handled differently. Lawyers generally only deal with injury and lost wages, not vehicle. You deal direct with insurer concerning the car.


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## Uberselectguy

Dontmakemepullauonyou said:


> Lawyer will start working asap for free and just takes 30% of your take after everything has settled which is usually 6-18months before you see a check. Mine last time asshole wasn't paying attention and slammed into the back of me at a red light. I got $8500 tax free cash, that's after lawyer 30% and on top of that I saw they paid out close to $14,000 to the chiropractor. And my totaled car they paid out $3,000 above blue book.


Dam .. $8500.??? Tell you what, let's do this. You stand in road, I'll run over you doing 30-40 tops. I'll use my 3500 dodge 4x4 turbo diesel truck, shouldn't hurt that bad. My insurer will pay out at least $100,000. Few broken bones, concussion, scratches and road rash, tire marks .... you'll be up in no time. You pay me for the dented hood, broken grill and cleanup of your splatter and then we split what's left? 60/40?
I'll take the 10 ton winch off the front bumper first, and the brush guard. That way you won't get hung up as a hood ornament.

Jesus I come up with some great ideas! I should have been an attorney myself.


----------



## UberBlackPr1nce

soupergloo said:


> He lived 2-hours outside of San Francisco, and was lost trying to get back to the freeway to get back home which was when he made the illegal u-turn and hit me .. that's why I noted he didn't know how to drive. I'm assuming it was his car, and his insurance, but I honestly can't say for sure yet. I'm thankful he did at least have insurance and immediately took the blame because it's saved me from a lot of other work on top of this mess.


Why not just hire some tv accident attorney and have them deal with the insurance and injury issues?


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## Uber-Doober

soupergloo said:


> I understand my car is going to be worth less regardless if it's fixed or not which is so frustrating because the car was basically brand new even with 58,000 miles on it. But are you saying his insurance (State Farm) will have to compensate me for the difference in value after all is said & done? I don't mind doing more work to get more out of this because again .. I have nothing better to be doing than harassing State Farm until I can go back to work.


^^^
Yes, definitely go after it. 
As long as you have the time, do a lot of searching with words like 'reduced value after accident' or something of that nature. 
When I was going through it, I came upon it completely by accident and the example given was that if they have to drill holes in a frame/sub-frame it's going to be extremely noticeable and any close inspection of the vehicle will reveal it. 
The difference could be worth thousand$ at trade in time no matter if the vehicle looks showroom fresh when you get it back.
State Farm is going to have to cough it up or offer you some other kind of 'blanket amount' to cover it. 
It's done all the time by people who know about it if you scream loud enough.

Hold on... let me see if I can get in touch with my insurance guy. 
I'll get back to you either way.


----------



## Uber-Doober

UberBlackPr1nce said:


> Why not just hire some tv accident attorney and have them deal with the insurance and injury issues?


^^^
Yeah, some of those guys are really sharks and should know how to 'extract' the most amount of money.
Only problem with them is that a lot of them run factories that just want to get you in and get you out for the least work for them unless it's for something really horrendous like a dismemberment.


----------



## naplestom75

Get a lawyer if lyft doesn't pony up right away. They will probably get involved pro bono for at least a while cuz of the potential since you are dealing with a company with deep pockets. Start calling some of the ambulance chasers for "advice"


----------



## dpv

soupergloo said:


> I do understand I ****ed up by informing my insurance company that I was driving for Lyft at the time, but Lyft also informed me that I'm legally required to tell them regardless. I had to get Lyft involved because I had two Lyft passengers in my car, so it was bound to happen regardless.


----------



## dpv

My mentor told me when I first start driving for Lyft if I ever got into an accident and it wasn't my fault then I would have to go through the person at fault insurance. I would hate to know what had happened if the other person didn't have any insurance.


----------



## ArnoldLSU

soupergloo said:


> Call me stupid, but I thought that's what insurance companies were for regardless who was at fault. I didn't know my insurance was worthless the second I turn the Lyft app on.


Wait, Lyft is your only source of income and you aren't completely aware of how driving for Uber or Lyft will affect you? You need to understand the business completely.


----------



## urdead

Get yourself some professional advice. Find a good lawyer.


----------



## soupergloo

ArnoldLSU said:


> Wait, Lyft is your only source of income and you aren't completely aware of how driving for Uber or Lyft will affect you? You need to understand the business completely.


I'm not an idiot, I know how it will affect me .. it was kind of hard to anticipate an inexperienced driver hitting me by making an illegal u-turn the day I turned the Lyft app on. I know it's going to happen again, not the exact same situation, but something similar because I literally have close calls driving in San Francisco every single day; people that drive in SF are some of the worst I've ever seen. Being able to support myself and make decent money while still making my own schedule while I'm schooling full-time is worth the risk of something like this happening.


----------



## soupergloo

naplestom75 said:


> Get a lawyer if lyft doesn't pony up right away. They will probably get involved pro bono for at least a while cuz of the potential since you are dealing with a company with deep pockets. Start calling some of the ambulance chasers for "advice"


I talked to a few lawyers, but I'm not going to spend a lot of time focusing on that when I need to focus on State Farm getting my car fixed. A lot of lawyers aren't interested because the outcome isn't going to be as much as other people with serious injuries.


----------



## Showa50

Poof $2500.


----------



## Huberis

soupergloo said:


> Lol, we were all kind of forced out of the car as soon as the accident happened. I advised them to request another Lyft because I knew they were already in a rush, but I think they wanted to stick around to see if anyone needed a statement from them in case the other driver denied being at fault. As soon as he started telling everyone it was his fault, they were on their way. I couldn't physically kick them off of the sidewalk and out of my sight.
> 
> What in the world is so bad about being a rideshare driver, I just don't get it!!!


I hope it works out well for you. As to "What in the world is so bad about being a rideshare driver, I just don't get it!!!" You are kind of in the thick of it. This is a source of much controversy and rightly so. On one hand, the typical TNC driver ("rideshare" is questionable) suggests there is no big deal, insurance should at most be a slight increase, Uber has them covered...... There is more to it than that. You already stated somewhere that you would not have been in that accident had you not been driving Lyft, you wouldn't have been there. That is it in a nut. Compound that with the fact that most TNC drivers still feel it is in their best interest to hide their activity from their insurance provider. While all this is going on, you have thousands of drivers asking to be treated for once like actual independent contractors.

It goes nowhere.

So what in the world is so bad? It is kind of formless or lacking structure. It is casual and often contrary to local ordinances and regulations, but the TNC companies just forge ahead.

I very much hope this works out for you. I intend to read the rest of this thread later. In my mind, Lyft and Uber need to be held accountable with respect to what they are selling to their recruits. Given the financing reality concerning your car, you have a lot riding on that car. So many people casually buy into Uber and Lyft's bs, they believe they are protected or don't belief they are taking rather real chances......

Good bad or otherwise, however this turns out, this is the kind of thing that should be shared with your representative at a state level. There is nothing in place to protect you the driver. Uber and Lyft should not be allowed to distract a driver from their financial and liability realities.

Good luck.


----------



## Huberis

soupergloo said:


> I'm not an idiot, I know how it will affect me .. it was kind of hard to anticipate an inexperienced driver hitting me by making an illegal u-turn the day I turned the Lyft app on. I know it's going to happen again, not the exact same situation, but something similar because I literally have close calls driving in San Francisco every single day; people that drive in SF are some of the worst I've ever seen. Being able to support myself and make decent money while still making my own schedule while I'm schooling full-time is worth the risk of something like this happening.


You seem set on sticking with TNC work. Once you get this worked out, it might be a good idea to see if you can find a car you can purchase outright without financing. It might be a real step down in automotive class, but so what? The idea that a TNC driver needs to be able to provide some particular level of car can not be at the expense of putting the driver at financial risk, it is not reasonable.


----------



## JimS

Fascinating thread. Thanks for keeping us informed. Please ignore the negativity and share your experience to enlighten us all. The thread posted on page three was a completely different scenario. In that case, the car was listed as "possible frame damage" by an auctioneer who wanted to over-disclose to prevent having something come back on them. In this case, if there is frame damage, salvage title. Get rid of it, and hopefully find a nice car cheap to recoup your losses. If it's repairable, but the cost exceeds the value, then it's totaled. If it's repairable but the cost is less than the value, it's not salvaged. You'll be good to go.

Good luck & keep us posted!


----------



## Bob Reynolds

First,

I think the OP has handled this very well. The only thing I would have done differently would be to hold off on contacting my own insurance company until it was absolutely necessary. After all our personal polices will not cover any liability when we are using our vehicles for commercial purposes. Since they will not cover us while driving Uber or Lyft then I don't feel inclined to have rush to notify them of an accident which I know they will not cover.

I believe the first company that I would notify is Lyft because the passengers could have (or claim to have) an injury and you need to get something on the record. Since a third party is at fault, and has insurance coverage, Lyft insurance as well as her own insurance are not going to pay. If the third party did not have insurance then Lyft's insurance company would have needed to step up to the plate to pay. 

One fact that no one is really commenting on is the number of miles the OP has put on her vehicle. She has put 23,000 miles on her vehicle in 8 months. That is about 3000 miles per month. If we just look at the costs of those 3000 miles at the IRS guideline of .575 cents per month, the OP is "spending or using" $1725 per month on this vehicle. So any amounts paid to her by Lyft or Uber need be be deducted by $1725 per month to reflect what she is really making. 

In the OP's case, this $1725 a month car expense might not even be enough to cover the costs since she now has this accident to deal with. 

Cars are not free. There is a cost to them whether they are new, used, paid for or not paid for. 

Uber and Lyft require a lot of miles. I have found most drivers do not understand the real costs of providing a vehicle for this enterprise.


----------



## JaxBeachDriver

Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I would take the total and get rid of the loan. Try to get some money out of the insurance company for your lost time and wages. Then I would find a totally different gig (waitressing, even) and just use Lyft/uber to get to my new job. It's cheaper than owning a car!

I was in a bad accident once where I totaled a $20,000 car (thank whomever for side-curtain airbags), and for a few months after it, I was anxious behind the wheel. You may find that you don't want to drive at all for a while.

And this big mess may be a blessing in disguise. Uber/Lyft are side gigs with absolutely no upward mobility. I'm now convinced, time would be better spent on almost anything else.


----------



## UberLaLa

Bob Reynolds said:


> First,
> 
> One fact that no one is really commenting on is the number of miles the OP has put on her vehicle. She has put 23,000 miles on her vehicle in 8 months. That is about 3000 miles per month. If we just look at the costs of those 3000 miles at the IRS guideline of .575 cents per month, the OP is "spending or using" $1725 per month on this vehicle. So any amounts paid to her by Lyft or Uber need be be deducted by $1725 per month to reflect what she is really making.
> 
> In the OP's case, this $1725 a month car expense might not even be enough to cover the costs since she now has this accident to deal with.
> 
> Cars are not free. There is a cost to them whether they are new, used, paid for or not paid for.
> 
> Uber and Lyft require a lot of miles. I have found most drivers do not understand the real costs of providing a vehicle for this enterprise.


Another fact that I have not seen mentioned, is that Lyft has a $2,500 deductible (Uber $1,000 decuctible) that the driver has to pay - I know because I had a guy run a red light while driving Uber pax and subsequently I went through the entire process with Uber and their 'Lawyer' call. This really is a game of Russian Roulette for us Drivers.


----------



## observer

UberLaLa said:


> Another fact that I have not seen mentioned, is that Lyft has a $2,500 deductible (Uber $1,000 decuctible) that the driver has to pay - I know because I had a guy run a red light while driving Uber pax and subsequently I went through the entire process with Uber and their 'Lawyer' call. This really is a game of Russian Roulette for us Drivers.


There should be no deductible in this case because Lyfts insurance isn't paying out.


----------



## UberLaLa

observer said:


> There should be no deductible in this case because Lyfts insurance isn't paying out.


Correct, just saying if a Lyft or Uber driver needs to use Lyft or Uber's insurance - there is a huge deductible. And, until the other party's insurance does pay, that is always a possible. I spent the weeks getting the other guy's to pay for all damages and my rental car. Just speaking from experience.


----------



## marketmark

First, I wish you the best of luck with insurance and repairs, etc. 
Consider yourself lucky, no one was (seriously) hurt and the other driver was at fault and admitted it.
This situation could definitely be much worse!

I am following this thread because even though nothing like this has happened to me or any other rideshare drivers I know, it is likely only a matter of time. I'd like to see how the process plays out for future reference.

The worst part about this for you seems like it is going to be the cash flow issue.
You will most likely be made whole in the end, but in the mean time you are screwed unless you have someone whom you can borrow money from.
Some suggested an advance from an attorney/etc but remember, they are the sharks and you are but a fish...

On a separate note. Once you have this situation behind you protect yourself from being in this position again.
Set aside some $ every month until you have $2K to $5k in reserve for these events (they happen to everyone) depending on your monthly bills.

Good luck with all this and hopefully you figure out a way to keep your head mostly above water in the mean time...



soupergloo said:


> I just got off the phone with my agent regarding pay for the lost time since I can't work without my car, and she basically told me I won't see any money from them until the very end of all of this which totally screws me. I was able to make enough last week in fares to cover rent that is due in 5 days, but that's about it. At the time, I was working long days last week to hit Lyft's 50-hour power driver bonus which was put at a halt when I got hit on Saturday afternoon still having about 19 hours to complete before I get the 20% commission back. It doesn't help that I'll eventually be compensated for the lost time at the very end of all of this because quite frankly, I have bills due NOW and no way of making any money NOW to pay them which means I'll be hit with late fees if I can't scrounge up enough to get by for however long this is all going to take.


----------



## trickynikki

As a person who knows insurance very well, especially with commercial and livery coverage, most of you don't understand the real cost of acquiring the proper coverage or what the actual costs are when you are not covered while doing ride share. many think that it is a great job as you can feel in your empty hours of the day making some extra money, however most of you haven't really figured out the cost of operating your own car. When things go wrong, they really go wrong when you are not fully covered. You will have to pay out big bucks at first and then years of higher premiums. Without proper insurance and regulations there will be no future for ride share such as UberX because the regulations that are needed to protect all parties will make it prohibitive to make any money. You the driver is the one that takes all the risks, Uber makes money and when things go wrong, it is you that faces the consequences.


----------



## Trebor

soupergloo said:


> Call me stupid, but I thought that's what insurance companies were for regardless who was at fault. I didn't know my insurance was worthless the second I turn the Lyft app on.


Find a attorney to help you get the car paid off entirely. He/she will also make you are well compensated for your stress, time out of working, etc. Find one on contingent fee. *DON'T *go to the first attorney you see on tv, or top of google. Ask family and friends who they would recommend. Someone is bound to of used a attorney. If you cant find one, try avvo.com. Post your questions there and a few attorney's will respond so you can use those answers like a job interview. Always remember, *the attorney is working for you. *

If this is your first rodeo, a contingent fee means they will charge a percentage of what you are rewarded. This is usually around 30% for out of court settlements (which sounds like this case will be, since the other party admitted to being at fault. It can go higher once you are in court (usually not more than 50%, so make sure you read the engagement letters, before you sign it. ). Most attorneys will only take 30% out of your personal injury claim, after hospital or medical insurance bills are paid (i.e. deductibles) (so your car should be paid for entirely.


----------



## Trebor

In regards to your cash not coming in, if you are pretty sure your car is going to be totaled and you are going to get another one on payments, go find a dealership or better yet a bank lender and ask them if they can delay the first payment for a month. State Farm will tell you the same day you get an estimate for repairs weather they will fix your car or it will be totaled. (I have state farm). They can send you an electronic version of the letter stating the car will be totaled, so you can use this to let your lender know, that you will not be having 2 car payments, but just one. 

Now, if your car is going to be repaired, is there someone willing to let you borrow their car for lyft?

If not, go buy a car from a dealership, and ask if you can return it with 3 months if you don't like it. (This way, the car will be in your name and you can lyft)


----------



## marketmark

Trebor said:


> If you cant find one, try avvo.com. Post your questions there and a few attorney's will respond so you can use those answers like a job interview. Always remember, *the attorney is working for you. *


Great advice regarding avvo.com. Whenever I have a tenant issue that I need help with, I search there and often find some similar situation to at least point me in the right direction...



Trebor said:


> If not, go buy a car from a dealership, and ask if you can return it with 3 months if you don't like it. (This way, the car will be in your name and you can lyft)


This I disagree with however. Don't go buy a new car to uber in! You will not come out ahead.
You will start out upside down and spend your time driving in circles trying to get back to even.

If you are driving full time, a service like BREEZE should keep you driving and the cash flowing in the right direction.
Use breeze only as a temporary fix however because it isn't cheap.
Drive your ass off for a few months and save as much as possible until you can buy a well-maintained 5 or 7 year old car for cash.


----------



## UberLaLa

trickynikki said:


> As a person who knows insurance very well, especially with commercial and livery coverage, most of you don't understand the real cost of acquiring the proper coverage or what the actual costs are when you are not covered while doing ride share. many think that it is a great job as you can feel in your empty hours of the day making some extra money, however most of you haven't really figured out the cost of operating your own car. When things go wrong, they really go wrong when you are not fully covered. You will have to pay out big bucks at first and then years of higher premiums. Without proper insurance and regulations there will be no future for ride share such as UberX because the regulations that are needed to protect all parties will make it prohibitive to make any money. You the driver is the one that takes all the risks, Uber makes money and when things go wrong, it is you that faces the consequences.


Read some more of the threads on this site....we KNOW all too well everything you speak is gospel.


----------



## Trebor

marketmark said:


> Great advice regarding avvo.com. Whenever I have a tenant issue that I need help with, I search there and often find some similar situation to at least point me in the right direction...
> 
> This I disagree with however. Don't go buy a new car to uber in! You will not come out ahead.
> You will start out upside down and spend your time driving in circles trying to get back to even.
> 
> If you are driving full time, a service like BREEZE should keep you driving and the cash flowing in the right direction.
> Use breeze only as a temporary fix however because it isn't cheap.
> Drive your ass off for a few months and save as much as possible until you can buy a well-maintained 5 or 7 year old car for cash.


I agree with the not buying new. (notice I did not specify new or used car dealership) Many used car dealerships will allow you to defer payments since the car market is a tough one now and allow you to "test" drive it for longer than a few minutes. At least that is the case down here.

This may require some better than average credit. Hopefully OP has some credit in her name, since she it sounds like she is living paycheck to paycheck.


----------



## soupergloo

Just a little update for everyone! I called the State Farm agent endlessly this morning to see when she'd have someone inspecting the damage on my car, but could never get through to get and kept leaving voicemails. Instead, I called the shop that has my car to see if they could expedite this in any way and thankfully he knew the local State Farm lady that needed to stop by and had her come in this morning. Just got off the phone with the owner of the repair shop, and my car has no frame damage and is not a total loss. He was eating lunch at the time I called and told me repairs are going to be around $10,000 and he would fax over the summary of repairs when he's done with lunch. Hopefully I can be back on the road by next week!

Never heard back from State Farm as of yet regarding all the messages I left this morning - rude.


----------



## Trebor

soupergloo said:


> Just a little update for everyone! I called the State Farm agent endlessly this morning to see when she'd have someone inspecting the damage on my car, but could never get through to get and kept leaving voicemails. Instead, I called the shop that has my car to see if they could expedite this in any way and thankfully he knew the local State Farm lady that needed to stop by and had her come in this morning. Just got off the phone with the owner of the repair shop, and my car has no frame damage and is not a total loss. He was eating lunch at the time I called and told me repairs are going to be around $10,000 and he would fax over the summary of repairs when he's done with lunch. Hopefully I can be back on the road by next week!
> 
> Never heard back from State Farm as of yet regarding all the messages I left this morning - rude.


As long as you car comes back in good condition, and no problems caused by the same accident later down the road, I would remember that body shop and do business with them from now on.

Also, be sure to submit your average weekly pay to State Farm and if they push back, tell them you will get a lawyer. Even if your driving one week later, it will still help.

Thanks for the updates!


----------



## Sydney Uber

soupergloo said:


> I do understand I ****ed up by informing my insurance company that I was driving for Lyft at the time, but Lyft also informed me that I'm legally required to tell them regardless. I had to get Lyft involved because I had two Lyft passengers in my car, so it was bound to happen regardless.


Just a small point, has you insurance company made it clear who is paying for the Tow? If not don't ask


----------



## soupergloo

Trebor said:


> As long as you car comes back in good condition, and no problems caused by the same accident later down the road, I would remember that body shop and do business with them from now on.
> 
> Also, be sure to submit your average weekly pay to State Farm and if they push back, tell them you will get a lawyer. Even if your driving one week later, it will still help.
> 
> Thanks for the updates!


About 20 minutes after I posted that, the owner of shop called me back saying State Farm did in fact put that there was frame damage in their estimate even though the shop owner assured me there wasn't. Apparently State Farm only spent 30 minutes looking at my car and taking pictures, but didn't wait for the shop owner to take the car apart to confirm the damage in their initial assessment. I told the shop owner to hold off on doing anything to the car until I talked to State Farm, so I called the general State Farm number (since the person handling my case is worthless), and he told me I need to give the shop owner permission to take the car apart before he can submit his own estimate to State Farm as far as what the actual damage is. Long story short, State Farm's visit to the shop today was completely pointless if they didn't actually assess the damage; I could have sent them pictures myself and saved them a trip down there if that's all they were going to do.

Since the shop owner now has my permission to work on the car as long as State Farm is covering it, and there is actually no frame damage .. I won't see my car again for about 2 weeks.

State Farm won't even look at my request for lost time wages until the very end of all of this.

Sigh...


----------



## soupergloo

Sydney Uber said:


> Just a small point, has you insurance company made it clear who is paying for the Tow? If not don't ask


Even though I called my personal insurance to assist with the tow, it was actually AAA that showed up to tow because that's who the police called on my behalf before even asking me. We were blocking two major lanes and causing a lot of traffic, so I think SFPD wanted to get the cars out of the way ASAP. No one from AAA, or the repair shop asked me to pay for the tow.


----------



## observer

soupergloo said:


> Even though I called my personal insurance to assist with the tow, it was actually AAA that showed up to tow because that's who the police called on my behalf before even asking me. We were blocking two major lanes and causing a lot of traffic, so I think SFPD wanted to get the cars out of the way ASAP. No one from AAA, or the repair shop asked me to pay for the tow.


Even though it says AAA on the side of truck, a lot of tow companies tow for the police, private impounds, private tows and AAA.**

** AAA doesn't actually own any trucks, they contract out the work to companies they have vetted.


----------



## observer

Since the car was towed to a repair shop, the repair shop will likely pay the tow company and charge bill to insurance company.

Sometimes shops will kick back a "bonus" to the tow company for "steering" work their way.


----------



## The_One

Moo Moo said:


> First, I would like to say I am sorry to hear about your accident.
> 
> Did you purchase gap coverage insurance when you purchased your used VW GTI with 35,000 miles? If you still owe $20,000 on the GTI loan and State Farm has determined that the repair costs exceed a certain percentage and your car labelled as total loss, the insurance company (State Farm) will send a check for substantially less than the fair market value of your vehicle at 58,000 miles to the actual owner and lien holder, i.e., the bank or finance company that holds your loan, and you are still liable for the difference between the money loan balance $20,000 - insurance money paid for totaled vehicle ($10,000 or whatever the dollar amount may be).


The finance company would also like to know how you put 30,000 miles in a year, since the car loan was not a commercial one, but a personal one, car to be used for personal use "not commercial". Since now the finance company will receive less money from the guilty party and will have to go after the party with the loan for the additional money's.


----------



## Bob Reynolds

The towing is paid by the repair facility. The repair facility adds the towing bill to the repair bill. (It's under sublet) The insurance company pays the towing bill to the repair shop.


----------



## Bob Reynolds

Also it's pretty standard for a body shop to have to take a damaged vehicle apart to determine the extent of the damage. The insurance company pays for this. If the car is totaled after it is taken apart, the insurance company still pays the body shop for the work they did taking the vehicle apart.

From your picture posted earlier, the damage does not look that bad. It's hard to tell, it did not look like it got into the frame. So keep your fingers crossed.


----------



## Trebor

If I lived in Cali, I would pay you for the remainder of your loan in a heartbeat. I would be really surprised if there was frame damage.


----------



## Huberis

marketmark said:


> On a separate note. Once you have this situation behind you protect yourself from being in this position again.
> Set aside some $ every month until you have $2K to $5k in reserve for these events (they happen to everyone) depending on your monthly bills.


Very reasonable advice. The taxi company I lease from takes $8/shift until I have a $12 bond. When I started it was $500 I believe. That is basically the deductible. We do not have collision on our taxis to my knowledge. We do have our own mechanic. The $1200 bond goes into an interest earning account and if the driver is in an at fault, they tap into the bond. If the driver decides to part ways, if he or she has had an at fault, the bond is returned with interest.

Every TNC driver would be wise to set aside a nice chunk of money for a rainy day, fo'sho'.


----------



## Uber-Doober

Trebor said:


> If I lived in Cali, I would pay you for the remainder of your loan in a heartbeat. I would be really surprised if there was frame damage.


^^^
A good way to find even minor frame/sub-frame damage is to look at the gaps between the leading edge of the front doors and the back edge of the front fenders because the doors are inside the cage, and the fenders are outside. 
When I was rear ended in my former Chrysler 300, even the front edges of the back doors were jammed up against the center pillar structure.


----------



## Trebor

Huberis said:


> Very reasonable advice. The taxi company I lease from takes $8/shift until I have a $12 bond. When I started it was $500 I believe. That is basically the deductible. We do not have collision on our taxis to my knowledge. We do have our own mechanic. The $1200 bond goes into an interest earning account and if the driver is in an at fault, they tap into the bond. If the driver decides to part ways, if he or she has had an at fault, the bond is returned with interest.
> 
> Every TNC driver would be wise to set aside a nice chunk of money for a rainy day, fo'sho'.


 This is a good idea, even if you don't have a interest accruing account. Just set aside $8/day somewhere. Chances are you are spending that much on energy drinks, coffee, or fast food.

Just do no donate your couch without checking for money first.


----------



## Uberselectguy

soupergloo said:


> Just a little update for everyone! I called the State Farm agent endlessly this morning to see when she'd have someone inspecting the damage on my car, but could never get through to get and kept leaving voicemails. Instead, I called the shop that has my car to see if they could expedite this in any way and thankfully he knew the local State Farm lady that needed to stop by and had her come in this morning. Just got off the phone with the owner of the repair shop, and my car has no frame damage and is not a total loss. He was eating lunch at the time I called and told me repairs are going to be around $10,000 and he would fax over the summary of repairs when he's done with lunch. Hopefully I can be back on the road by next week!
> 
> Never heard back from State Farm as of yet regarding all the messages I left this morning - rude.


$10,000 of damage in a frontal collision, on a VW sedan and no frame damage, BULLSH1t. That repair is over half the value of your car. Trust me, parts on a VW sedan are not that expensive. So, the damage ran deep, structural unibody frame parts are being replaced. It's a Car Fax hit for sure. I partnered in a body shop so I'm speaking from experience. My dear Lady, I hate to say it but the shop is fast obscuring the truth.

Go over that State Farm estimate very, very carefully. Look for line items like setup and measure, pull to align unibody frame, Straighten frame rail, replace frame rail, repair frame rail, replace inner fender ( apron Assy. ) ... State Farm will leave you a copy at the shop.


----------



## soupergloo

Uberselectguy said:


> $10,000 of damage in a frontal collision, on a VW sedan and no frame damage, BULLSH1t. That repair is over half the value of your car. Trust me, parts on a VW sedan are not that expensive. So, the damage ran deep, structural unibody frame parts are being replaced. It's a Car Fax hit for sure. I partnered in a body shop so I'm speaking from experience. My dear Lady, I hate to say it but the shop is fast obscuring the truth.
> 
> Go over that State Farm estimate very, very carefully. Look for line items like setup and measure, pull to align unibody frame, Straighten frame rail, replace frame rail, repair frame rail, replace inner fender ( apron Assy. ) ... State Farm will leave you a copy at the shop.


I'm not sure if you looked the picture I posted of the damage, but it isn't as bad as your reply is making it seem.

The initial State Farm estimate has a line that says "frame unibody & repair," but the owner of the shop is saying that's not accurate because she only spent 30 mins looking at the damage, and came to that conclusion before he even took the car apart. I spoke to the shop owner today after giving him permission to start taking the car apart and begin repairs as long as he can assure me there is no frame damage, which was confirmed today once the front bumper was removed. I asked him for a copy of his estimate, so I could compare to State Farm's.

The parts on the State Farm estimate only come out to around $3,000 .. most of it was labor.


----------



## Uber-Doober

soupergloo said:


> I'm not sure if you looked the picture I posted of the damage, but it isn't as bad as your reply is making it seem.
> 
> The initial State Farm estimate has a line that says "frame unibody & repair," but the owner of the shop is saying that's not accurate because she only spent 30 mins looking at the damage, and came to that conclusion before he even took the car apart. I spoke to the shop owner today after giving him permission to start taking the car apart and begin repairs as long as he can assure me there is no frame damage, which was confirmed today once the front bumper was removed. I asked him for a copy of his estimate, so I could compare to State Farm's.
> 
> The parts on the State Farm estimate only come out to around $3,000 .. most of it was labor.


^^^
Hey.... I just found your pic of the damage. 
Thank goodness it isn't nearly as bad as I had envisioned, but till a really good whack. 
Still go for the damage for reduced value for the listed accident on CarFax or the like. 
And bear down on them for it, even if it only amounts to a few hundred bux.... it's still a few hundred that you would not have had. 
The value of your car is the value of your car and you definitely are going to be compensated because the car looks like it was almost flawless.
I'm sending out positive vibes to you right now and every time I see an update to the thread I'll do it again.
All the best!


----------



## soupergloo

I talked to my state farm agent today. She basically told me the initial estimate State Farm performed on my car with the line item stating "frame unibody & repair" is going to stay in the repair estimate because they have to go off of the photos they took the day they went to assess the damage. When I explained to her that my car does not have frame damage, she told me that line doesn't imply the frame is actually being repaired. Maybe I just don't know enough about cars, but I have to go with what State Farm is willing to pay for.

Since I'm not injured (or they assume I'm not because I never went to a doctor because I couldn't without insurance), they will not pay me for lost wages. She told me lost wages are only paid out if an injury was preventing my from working. Instead, she offered me $800 for pain & suffering which I negotiated to $1,000.

I brought up the depreciation value on my car, and she told me I need to take it to a VW dealership when it's fixed to have them write up some paperwork that my car is now worth less after the repairs are finished and she may be able to pay out more depending on what they say. I don't know if I should wait to sign off on her $1,000 settlement agreement now or wait? If I sign off now, she'll want to send me the $1,000 check now, but does that mean I can still get more for the depreciation?

She also stated she mailed me the check for the repairs of the car instead of the shop that has my car - no idea why.

Lastly, I called the shop after I spoke to State Farm letting him know they're not taking out the frame/unibody part of their estimate and he told me not to worry (he knows my situation .. if there's frame damage reported to the carfax, I can no longer work which I've explained to him). He said he is going to send pictures of my car to my now that's it's taken apart along with his estimate, so I can compare to State Farm. He said the frame/unibody portion of the State Farm is referring to the rails? .. or something like that.

That's all I have for now.


----------



## Dontmakemepullauonyou

soupergloo said:


> I talked to my state farm agent today. She basically told me the initial estimate State Farm performed on my car with the line item stating "frame unibody & repair" is going to stay in the repair estimate because they have to go off of the photos they took the day they went to assess the damage. When I explained to her that my car does not have frame damage, she told me that line doesn't imply the frame is actually being repaired. Maybe I just don't know enough about cars, but I have to go with what State Farm is willing to pay for.
> 
> Since I'm not injured (or they assume I'm not because I never went to a doctor because I couldn't without insurance), they will not pay me for lost wages. She told me lost wages are only paid out if an injury was preventing my from working. Instead, she offered me $800 for pain & suffering which I negotiated to $1,000.
> 
> I brought up the depreciation value on my car, and she told me I need to take it to a VW dealership when it's fixed to have them write up some paperwork that my car is now worth less after the repairs are finished and she may be able to pay out more depending on what they say. I don't know if I should wait to sign off on her $1,000 settlement agreement now or wait? If I sign off now, she'll want to send me the $1,000 check now, but does that mean I can still get more for the depreciation?
> 
> She also stated she mailed me the check for the repairs of the car instead of the shop that has my car - no idea why.
> 
> Lastly, I called the shop after I spoke to State Farm letting him know they're not taking out the frame/unibody part of their estimate and he told me not to worry (he knows my situation .. if there's frame damage reported to the carfax, I can no longer work which I've explained to him). He said he is going to send pictures of my car to my now that's it's taken apart along with his estimate, so I can compare to State Farm. He said the frame/unibody portion of the State Farm is referring to the rails? .. or something like that.
> 
> That's all I have for now.


Oh boy how insurance co play newbies.

Always, ALWAYS go straight to the emergency room with or without insurance after an accident(if you're not at fault).

Your $800-1000, I would be getting close to $20,000 after all the costs are paid for and I get a check.


----------



## observer

soupergloo said:


> I talked to my state farm agent today. She basically told me the initial estimate State Farm performed on my car with the line item stating "frame unibody & repair" is going to stay in the repair estimate because they have to go off of the photos they took the day they went to assess the damage. When I explained to her that my car does not have frame damage, she told me that line doesn't imply the frame is actually being repaired. Maybe I just don't know enough about cars, but I have to go with what State Farm is willing to pay for.
> 
> Since I'm not injured (or they assume I'm not because I never went to a doctor because I couldn't without insurance), they will not pay me for lost wages. She told me lost wages are only paid out if an injury was preventing my from working. Instead, she offered me $800 for pain & suffering which I negotiated to $1,000.
> 
> I brought up the depreciation value on my car, and she told me I need to take it to a VW dealership when it's fixed to have them write up some paperwork that my car is now worth less after the repairs are finished and she may be able to pay out more depending on what they say. I don't know if I should wait to sign off on her $1,000 settlement agreement now or wait? If I sign off now, she'll want to send me the $1,000 check now, but does that mean I can still get more for the depreciation?
> 
> She also stated she mailed me the check for the repairs of the car instead of the shop that has my car - no idea why.
> 
> Lastly, I called the shop after I spoke to State Farm letting him know they're not taking out the frame/unibody part of their estimate and he told me not to worry (he knows my situation .. if there's frame damage reported to the carfax, I can no longer work which I've explained to him). He said he is going to send pictures of my car to my now that's it's taken apart along with his estimate, so I can compare to State Farm. He said the frame/unibody portion of the State Farm is referring to the rails? .. or something like that.
> 
> That's all I have for now.


The State Farm Agent represents the OTHER driver. They will always negotiate to pay the least possible.

You may get a better deal if you hint that you are considering getting a lawyer.

You rrally should get a lawyer.


----------



## Dontmakemepullauonyou

observer said:


> The State Farm Agent represents the OTHER driver. They will always negotiate to pay the least possible.
> 
> You may get a better deal if you hint that you are considering getting a lawyer.


How many times do I have to say LAWYER LAWYER LAWYER GET A ****ING LAWYER.


----------



## soupergloo

observer said:


> The State Farm Agent represents the OTHER driver. They will always negotiate to pay the least possible.
> 
> You may get a better deal if you hint that you are considering getting a lawyer.
> 
> You rrally should get a lawyer.


They don't care if I have to get a lawyer .. the one time I threatened them with that, they responded with, "you have to do what you have to do ma'am"

What is a lawyer going to do for me? I'm not actually hurt, and I'm not going to pretend like I am to get more money .. I don't want karma catching up with me because of it.

This was a sucky situation .. I actually felt bad for the kid that hit me and caused all this inconvenience. He made a mistake, he was truly sorry for it and did what he could to make sure State Farm would start taking care of the situation.

I just want my car back to start working again, and leave this all behind me.


----------



## Rivmage

Of course the insurance company is going to downplay you getting a lawyer, if they acted like they were scared, you would then have power over them.

Feel bad for the kid but, don't let that cloud your demands of the insurance company. At this point, the kid is out of it, it is between you and the insurance company.

Scott


----------



## soupergloo

Dontmakemepullauonyou said:


> Oh boy how insurance co play newbies.
> 
> Always, ALWAYS go straight to the emergency room with or without insurance after an accident(if you're not at fault).
> 
> Your $800-1000, I would be getting close to $20,000 after all the costs are paid for and I get a check.


Are you seriously calling me a newbie because I don't regularly get into accidents and know how to screw insurance companies over?

I can get by with the $1,000 they're willing to give me until I can start work again.


----------



## Uberselectguy

I'll discuss the car part of this. 
Your car has a unibody frame, simply put the whole cars structure is one welded unitized structure. The fended, hood, bumpers and doors are bolted onto it. In the front, part of that unibody structure are the frame rails. The bumper is bolted onto them, as is the suspension. In a frontal impact they are designed to crumple, that helps absorb the force of the impact. After the impact, if they are not repaired by either straightening or replacing, nothing fits right on the front of the car and more than likely your front wheel alignment will be off and the car will not drive right. 
Body shops are paid to put the car up onto a machine that both measures the frame, compare to factory specs, then apply pulling forces to realign the frame. State Farm and its adjusters used common sense to allow on the repair estimate that the frame was indeed damaged ( now the shop admits it by telling you the frame rails need repair ) and State Farm legally owes you to pay for the frame repair. It is NOT the body shop estimate that is reported to Car Fax, it is the insurance estimate information that is reported. This is due to fraud, left to body shops reporting there would be huge gaps in damage reporting and consumers would be screwed. I'm sure you would not want to buy a car that had frame damage.
I'm afraid that you are getting back a car that will be tagged by both Car Fax and other reporting agencies as having frame damage. At the minimum, Car Fax will report that $10,000 worth of repairs were made to a car that's worth $20,000 tops. It's going to be a financial hit to you when you go to sell the car. I'd also be prepared for Lyft to decline the car for use in their system. That's not for certain, just be prepared and have an out.
One piece of advice I truly hope you follow. After the repairs are done, have your car thoroughly inspected at the VW dealer for quality of workmanship and any mechanical issues missed. Think about this. Your car went from 25 mph ? to zero in a nano second. Your engine and transaxle put huge stresses on the motor and trans mounts, not to mention what they might have hit. Once this claim is closed out on your car, I'd hate to see you a year later having to replace motor mounts to the tune of a grand or more.
I know I sound like the worst case scenario guy, maybe not everything I say is pleasing. The shop I partnered in did re inspections for Consumer Affairs Bureau of Automotive Repairs. We looked at cars that were not repaired right. I've seen some real bad ones. So, speaking again from experience ... get your car reevaluated at the dealer. They will also give you what is called a " diminished value " report. With that, then you can make a claim to State Farm for loss of value.
Never sign off on a claim until you are totally sure that your expenses are covered. Once you sign the back of that check, you have settled the claim.

Ps .. State Farm sent you the check because they want you to pay the shop, take them out of the loop. Don't give the shop a penny until the job is done to your satisfaction. If they need more money, they call State Farm for a supplemental claim.


----------



## observer

soupergloo said:


> They don't care if I have to get a lawyer .. the one time I threatened them with that, they responded with, "you have to do what you have to do ma'am"
> 
> What is a lawyer going to do for me? I'm not actually hurt, and I'm not going to pretend like I am to get more money .. I don't want karma catching up with me because of it.
> 
> This was a sucky situation .. I actually felt bad for the kid that hit me and caused all this inconvenience. He made a mistake, he was truly sorry for it and did what he could to make sure State Farm would start taking care of the situation.
> 
> I just want my car back to start working again, and leave this all behind me.


I think you are getting underpaid, a lawyer could look at what you have negotiated and tell you how he could get you more money without having to lie.

To give you an idea, I was stopped at a light waiting for the car in front of me to make a left turn. A car came up and rearended me hard enough to rip out one side of my seat from the floor.

The rear hatch door was damaged as was the rear bottom of the truck. His insurance company offered us 5,000 plus the truck. We negotiated it up to 7,000 plus truck.

I was hurt a little, pain in my neck and lower back for a few days but not too bad. I believe the same as you. Karma.... I never negotiated anything with them for myself, or signed anything relieving them of liability just in case something popped up later. Pain went away never came back so I never had need to contact them again.

We took 2K of the 7K had the truck fixed, painted AND completely upholstered. Had 5K left over.

That was 7K last year for a 1997 Toyota Fourrunner.


----------



## soupergloo

Uberselectguy said:


> I'll discuss the car part of this.
> Your car has a unibody frame, simply put the whole cars structure is one welded unitized structure. The fended, hood, bumpers and doors are bolted onto it. In the front, part of that unibody structure are the frame rails. The bumper is bolted onto them, as is the suspension. In a frontal impact they are designed to crumple, that helps absorb the force of the impact. After the impact, if they are not repaired by either straightening or replacing, nothing fits right on the front of the car and more than likely your front wheel alignment will be off and the car will not drive right.
> Body shops are paid to put the car up onto a machine that both measures the frame, compare to factory specs, then apply pulling forces to realign the frame. State Farm and its adjusters used common sense to allow on the repair estimate that the frame was indeed damaged ( now the shop admits it by telling you the frame rails need repair ) and State Farm legally owes you to pay for the frame repair. It is NOT the body shop estimate that is reported to Car Fax, it is the insurance estimate information that is reported. This is due to fraud, left to body shops reporting there would be huge gaps in damage reporting and consumers would be screwed. I'm sure you would not want to buy a car that had frame damage.
> I'm afraid that you are getting back a car that will be tagged by both Car Fax and other reporting agencies as having frame damage. At the minimum, Car Fax will report that $10,000 worth of repairs were made to a car that's worth $20,000 tops. It's going to be a financial hit to you when you go to sell the car. I'd also be prepared for Lyft to decline the car for use in their system. That's not for certain, just be prepared and have an out.
> One piece of advice I truly hope you follow. After the repairs are done, have your car thoroughly inspected at the VW dealer for quality of workmanship and any mechanical issues missed. Think about this. Your car went from 25 mph ? to zero in a nano second. Your engine and transaxle put huge stresses on the motor and trans mounts, not to mention what they might have hit. Once this claim is closed out on your car, I'd hate to see you a year later having to replace motor mounts to the tune of a grand or more.
> I know I sound like the worst case scenario guy, maybe not everything I say is pleasing. The shop I partnered in did re inspections for Consumer Affairs Bureau of Automotive Repairs. We looked at cars that were not repaired right. I've seen some real bad ones. So, speaking again from experience ... get your car reevaluated at the dealer. They will also give you what is called a " diminished value " report. With that, then you can make a claim to State Farm for loss of value.
> Never sign off on a claim until you are totally sure that your expenses are covered. Once you sign the back of that check, you have settled the claim.
> 
> Ps .. State Farm sent you the check because they want you to pay the shop, take them out of the loop. Don't give the shop a penny until the job is done to your satisfaction. If they need more money, they call State Farm for a supplemental claim.


I guess my main concern (which has been the concern from the beginning) is getting kicked off of the Lyft platform because of this. All Lyft has asked of me after looking at the damage to my car is new photos & a new inspection form from a certified mechanic. I talked to the lady from Lyft Safety & Trust when this all happened and she didn't mention anything about a carfax report preventing me from driving for Lyft again. I truly don't think the damage to my car was so severe that it's made it unsafe to drive after repairs.


----------



## observer

soupergloo said:


> I guess my main concern (which has been the concern from the beginning) is getting kicked off of the Lyft platform because of this. All Lyft has asked of me after looking at the damage to my car is new photos & a new inspection form from a certified mechanic. I talked to the lady from Lyft Safety & Trust when this all happened and she didn't mention anything about a carfax report preventing me from driving for Lyft again. I truly don't think the damage to my car was so severe that it's made it unsafe to drive after repairs.


Once you get your car back fixed, you can at least trade it in for another car if Lyft gives you problems.


----------



## The_One

soupergloo said:


> They don't care if I have to get a lawyer .. the one time I threatened them with that, they responded with, "you have to do what you have to do ma'am"
> 
> What is a lawyer going to do for me? I'm not actually hurt, and I'm not going to pretend like I am to get more money .. I don't want karma catching up with me because of it.
> 
> This was a sucky situation .. I actually felt bad for the kid that hit me and caused all this inconvenience. He made a mistake, he was truly sorry for it and did what he could to make sure State Farm would start taking care of the situation.
> 
> I just want my car back to start working again, and leave this all behind me.


You Are hurt, sometimes the effects are residual, go see a doctor, then call the attorney.


----------



## Dontmakemepullauonyou

soupergloo said:


> Are you seriously calling me a newbie because I don't regularly get into accidents and know how to screw insurance companies over?
> 
> I can get by with the $1,000 they're willing to give me until I can start work again.


Hahaha yes. It a system, you play the system or you get played. Looks like you choose to get played.


----------



## soupergloo

observer said:


> Once you get your car back fixed, you can at least trade it in for another car if Lyft gives you problems.


lol, I can't do that .. my car is going to be worth far less now that what I have the loan for.


----------



## Tncluber

7 pages of people's bullsh1t lol... good one souper...

So have you gone to uber financing? They have a lease program. Should be quick an ez. I think you need a couple of hundred bucks to put down. 

I'm not sure if they still finance cars, but I would suggest that route. That way you own the car and can do both uber and lyft.

And lyft is starting their daily cash out option soon. So if you have to borrow, you can pay back quick.

If you are worried about more debt, take a look at my photo. 

Join the dark side.


----------



## soupergloo

Tncluber said:


> 7 pages of people's bullsh1t lol... good one souper...
> 
> So have you gone to uber financing? They have a lease program. Should be quick an ez. I think you need a couple of hundred bucks to put down.
> 
> I'm not sure if they still finance cars, but I would suggest that route. That way you own the car and can do both uber and lyft.
> 
> And lyft is starting their daily cash out option soon. So if you have to borrow, you can pay back quick.
> 
> If you are worried about more debt, take a look at my photo.
> 
> Join the dark side.


lol first .. I can't help how much attention this thread got. I was initially looking for advice.

Second .. I have a car. Well, I'll have that car back in a couple weeks anyway. My car isn't just a job to me, it's actually something I take pride in which is why I wasn't driving a Prius like everyone else.


----------



## Tncluber

soupergloo said:


> lol first .. I can't help how much attention this thread got. I was initially looking for advice.
> 
> Second .. I have a car. Well, I'll have that car back in a couple weeks anyway. My car isn't just a job to me, it's actually something I take pride in which is why I wasn't driving a Prius like everyone else.


Give it time. We have a prius with your name on it.

1st get rid of those water bottles.

2nd pay attention to that clock as you sit on pine double parked with cars speeding past you. Waiting unpaid. The pax is aware that you have been waiting, but it's not their concern. They dare you to speak up to them. 
5mins pass from the time you accepted the ping. Cancel and collect your $5.

3rd hurts. It's undeniable. As you fill up for $25-$40 daily, the rest of us pay up to $12 in our 2015 hybrids. Meanwhile we all get paid the same rate on uberX no matter if it's a vw or a prius.

And isn't vw in some hot water recently?

Anyways join the Darkside.


----------



## soupergloo

Tncluber said:


> Give it time. We have a prius with your name on it.
> 
> 1st get rid of those water bottles.
> 
> 2nd pay attention to that clock as you sit on pine double parked with cars speeding past you. Waiting unpaid. The pax is aware that you have been waiting, but it's not their concern. They dare you to speak up to them.
> 5mins pass from the time you accepted the ping. Cancel and collect your $5.
> 
> 3rd hurts. It's undeniable. As you fill up for $25-$40 daily, the rest of us pay up to $12 in our 2015 hybrids. Meanwhile we all get paid the same rate on uberX no matter if it's a vw or a prius.
> 
> And isn't vw in some hot water recently?
> 
> Anyways join the Darkside.


If there's anything I learned being on this forum it's not letting the passengers get away with whatever they want. I don't hesitate to cancel the second I know I'm clear to collect the $5 cancellation fee.

My passengers haven't touched the water in my door in weeks .. I don't even think they realize it's there and I don't offer it to every single person. It seriously costs me $3 for a huge case of small water bottles from Costco that I buy anyway - I'm not specifically buying it for them.

I know it's costing me a lot more in gas to drive my car for Uber, but at the end of the day, I want to drive a car that I'm proud of and I wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius. I know I'm not driving some fancy ass car, but I really love my GTI. VW is in trouble for lying about their turbo "clean diesel" cars .. my GTI isn't diesel.


----------



## observer

soupergloo said:


> lol, I can't do that .. my car is going to be worth far less now that what I have the loan for.


Yea, that's true. Hopefully you will be OK to work.


----------



## soupergloo

Just got the shops estimate with photos of the damage with the car taken apart, so I can compare to State Farm's estimate.

The shop owner said, "Vehicle does not have structure damage, it has wheelhouse damage on top of left rail."


----------



## Uber-Doober

soupergloo said:


> I talked to my state farm agent today. She basically told me the initial estimate State Farm performed on my car with the line item stating "frame unibody & repair" is going to stay in the repair estimate because they have to go off of the photos they took the day they went to assess the damage. When I explained to her that my car does not have frame damage, she told me that line doesn't imply the frame is actually being repaired. Maybe I just don't know enough about cars, but I have to go with what State Farm is willing to pay for.
> 
> Since I'm not injured (or they assume I'm not because I never went to a doctor because I couldn't without insurance), they will not pay me for lost wages. She told me lost wages are only paid out if an injury was preventing my from working. Instead, she offered me $800 for pain & suffering which I negotiated to $1,000.
> 
> I brought up the depreciation value on my car, and she told me I need to take it to a VW dealership when it's fixed to have them write up some paperwork that my car is now worth less after the repairs are finished and she may be able to pay out more depending on what they say. I don't know if I should wait to sign off on her $1,000 settlement agreement now or wait? If I sign off now, she'll want to send me the $1,000 check now, but does that mean I can still get more for the depreciation?
> 
> She also stated she mailed me the check for the repairs of the car instead of the shop that has my car - no idea why.
> 
> Lastly, I called the shop after I spoke to State Farm letting him know they're not taking out the frame/unibody part of their estimate and he told me not to worry (he knows my situation .. if there's frame damage reported to the carfax, I can no longer work which I've explained to him). He said he is going to send pictures of my car to my now that's it's taken apart along with his estimate, so I can compare to State Farm. He said the frame/unibody portion of the State Farm is referring to the rails? .. or something like that.
> 
> That's all I have for now.


^^^
You've learned exactly what my insurance guy said to me yesterday when he called back.
Sounds to me like a grand is a bit low.... but see what the VW dealer says. 
If they send you $1,000.00 now, it will come with papers to sign and an envelope which is a release form. 
If you accept the check and find that the car is worth less by about 2 grand, then you can't go back to them and ask for more because you already signed the release. 
After you get your car back, zip right over to a VW dealer and see what they have to say. 
I don't know if they charge for doing that but I hope that if they do it's not too much. 
By the time any damage hits Carfax, I was told that it was usually months. 
If Uber ran your car once, I see no reason for them to run it again.


----------



## soupergloo

After reading people's responses on here regarding the $1,000 State Farm was willing to give me, I decided to consult with a lawyer and now have someone handling the case for me to (hopefully) get me more money. I know it'll take longer to see some money now that a lawyer is involved, but I hope it's worth it. The lawyer is concerned about the pain I experienced shortly after the accident, and they're sending me to a doctor and will cover the costs until this is all settled with State Farm.

The shop will be finished with my car by next Tuesday, and I know it'll take a few days to get re-activated on Lyft's platform, but at least I can start driving with Uber immediately.


----------



## observer

Thnx for the update.


----------



## grams777

The lawyer is probably a good idea. You generally don't want to be in a hurry to accept a quick settlement.

I wouldn't minimize any injuries from the accident. Even if it seems gone now, many years later it can come back in the form of arthritis or some other nagging ache which can be permanent. I had this happen about 20 years after an accident from when I was younger.

Also for a general background on diminished value of a car after an accident see:

http://www.learnvest.com/knowledge-center/how-to-make-a-diminished-value-car-insurance-claim/

Hope all turns out well.


----------



## observer

I pulled a muscle in my lower back at work a little over a year ago, wasn't too bad and didn't hurt. I felt better a couple days later didn't think about it anymore.

Pain (not really pain, just feels funny), came back about three months later. Now it goes away, comes back every so often. Haven't felt it in couple months.


----------



## Uber-Doober

soupergloo said:


> After reading people's responses on here regarding the $1,000 State Farm was willing to give me, I decided to consult with a lawyer and now have someone handling the case for me to (hopefully) get me more money. I know it'll take longer to see some money now that a lawyer is involved, but I hope it's worth it. The lawyer is concerned about the pain I experienced shortly after the accident, and they're sending me to a doctor and will cover the costs until this is all settled with State Farm.
> 
> The shop will be finished with my car by next Tuesday, and I know it'll take a few days to get re-activated on Lyft's platform, but at least I can start driving with Uber immediately.


^^^
The very best of luck to you.


----------



## soupergloo

Thanks guys! I'll try to post any updates as well as the final outcome from all of this in the months coming in hopes that other people will learn from this experience.

One thing I didn't mention earlier was I spoke to Lyft's Trust & Safety team today and they assured me that as soon as I send back the checklist they sent me (signals working, etc.) and photos of my repaired car, I'll get re-activated shortly after. They also let me know that State Farm is, in fact, required to pay me for lost wages and let me know I was doing the right thing by consulting with a lawyer if they weren't willing.


----------



## Andrew Thun

soupergloo said:


> Thanks guys! I'll try to post any updates as well as the final outcome from all of this in the months coming in hopes that other people will learn from this experience.
> 
> One thing I didn't mention earlier was I spoke to Lyft's Trust & Safety team today and they assured me that as soon as I send back the checklist they sent me (signals working, etc.) and photos of my repaired car, I'll get re-activated shortly after. They also let me know that State Farm is, in fact, required to pay me for lost wages and let me know I was doing the right thing by consulting with a lawyer if they weren't willing.


Maybe you have already thought of it, but you should have the shop that is doing the repairs on your vehicle fill out the checklist. that way they can assure your car is up to Lyft's standards. also that way maybe you can get the checklist back to Lyft ASAP!

Thanks for sharing your experience!


----------



## soupergloo

Andrew Thun said:


> Maybe you have already thought of it, but you should have the shop that is doing the repairs on your vehicle fill out the checklist. that way they can assure your car is up to Lyft's standards. also that way maybe you can get the checklist back to Lyft ASAP!
> 
> Thanks for sharing your experience!


Thanks, the shop has my checklist and can return it to me with my car Tuesday 

I'm seeing a Chiropractor next Monday.


----------



## negeorgia

Any updates?


----------



## soupergloo

negeorgia said:


> Any updates?


I got my car back yesterday afternoon and started driving Uber immediately, so I could make up for lost time as soon as possible. I sent the Lyft checklist back along with photos of my repaired car and I'm just waiting on them to get me re-activated.

I'm seeing a chiropractor 3 times a week followed by a visit to the orthopedic to make sure my treatments are effective per the lawyer.

I found out yesterday that my insurance company (Progressive) raised my monthly payments to about $60 more than what they used to be since the accident because I'm now using my car for "business"' rather than personal use. That's what I get for being honest about the whole situation ...
I haven't had time to deal with Progressive yet, but I do plan on switching companies or revising my policy back to personal use.

That's all for now!


----------



## Simon

[QUOTE="soupergloo, post: 597321, member: ]

I found out yesterday that my insurance company (Progressive) raised my monthly payments to about $60 more than what they used to be since the accident because I'm now using my car for "business"' rather than personal use. That's what I get for being honest about the whole situation ...
I haven't had time to deal with Progressive yet, but I do plan on switching companies or revising my policy back to personal use.

That's all for now![/QUOTE]

Shocked.. or maybe not. Good to know progressive tolerates TNC though


----------



## soupergloo

Lyft re-activated me this afternoon.


----------



## Simon

Just tweeted to progressive.. they are NOT friendly to rideshare drivers. They will Non renew.


----------



## soupergloo

Simon said:


> Just tweeted to progressive.. they are NOT friendly to rideshare drivers. They will Non renew.


So because you tweeted them, they will not re-new MY policy? That doesn't even make sense .. even if they're not "rideshare friendly," it doesn't mean that will be the outcome of my particular situation.

I'm taking any and all advice I get on here with a grain of salt because quite frankly, if you haven't actually been in a similar situation as mine, your advice is most likely inaccurate. At first everyone was telling me I shouldn't have even reported the accident to Progressive when I absolutely had to. Then everyone thought I would get dropped by Progressive as soon as they found out I was a rideshare driver, but it turns out they just raised my monthly payments for the last two months of the policy .. and that didn't even happen until two days ago. People were also telling me I'd be banned from all other insurance companies because no one wants to insure a rideshare driver, which I find highly unlikely. Now you're telling me Progressive will not renew my policy all because you tweeted someone. I will be sure to let everyone know what the ACTUAL outcome of my insurance situation is.


----------



## Simon

soupergloo said:


> So because you tweeted them, they will not re-new MY policy? That doesn't even make sense .. even if they're not "rideshare friendly," it doesn't mean that will be the outcome of my particular situation.
> 
> I'm taking any and all advice I get on here with a grain of salt because quite frankly, if you haven't actually been in a similar situation as mine, your advice is most likely inaccurate. At first everyone was telling me I shouldn't have even reported the accident to Progressive when I absolutely had to. Then everyone thought I would get dropped by Progressive as soon as they found out I was a rideshare driver, but it turns out they just raised my monthly payments for the last two months of the policy .. and that didn't even happen until two days ago. People were also telling me I'd be banned from all other insurance companies because no one wants to insure a rideshare driver, which I find highly unlikely. Now you're telling me Progressive will not renew my policy all because you tweeted someone. I will be sure to let everyone know what the ACTUAL outcome of my insurance situation is.


Please do as we are all feeling this thing out. The tweet was an annonomys question posed to the official Progressive twitter account. I also questioned Amica (non renewel) and Liberty (is ok with TNC) im working on a list to post here for reference.

So chill


----------



## Huberis

soupergloo said:


> (Progressive) raised my monthly payments to about $60 more than what they used to be since the accident because I'm now using my car for "business"' rather than personal use.


That is not horrible, seems reasonable, you did have an accident, at fault or not. What is their willingness to provide collision for you during phase one? I suppose that would be one area of concern.



soupergloo said:


> I do plan on switching companies or revising my policy back to personal use.


Given what you just went through, that seems a bit risk at this point doesn't it? If you switch insurance companies, is the accident going to show up and is there going to be record of what it is you do to make ends meet driving TNC?

It seems likely you will be asked if you drive for Lyft or Uber, will you lie to them after what you just went through?


----------



## soupergloo

Huberis said:


> That is not horrible, seems reasonable, you did have an accident, at fault or not. What is their willingness to provide collision for you during phase one? I suppose that would be one area of concern.
> 
> Given what you just went through, that seems a bit risk at this point doesn't it? If you switch insurance companies, is the accident going to show up and is there going to be record of what it is you do to make ends meet driving TNC?
> 
> It seems likely you will be asked if you drive for Lyft or Uber, will you lie to them after what you just went through?


They raised my rate because I'm a Uber/Lyft driver using my car for business instead of personal use .. not for being in an accident.

I'm not quite sure how other companies will know I'm a TNC driver simply because I was in an accident? I'm certainly not going to lie about it regardless.

It's almost like I'm now being punished for being a TNC driver and getting into an accident that was the complete fault of the other driver. Sucks ..


----------



## Huberis

soupergloo said:


> It's almost like I'm now being punished for being a TNC driver and getting into an accident that was the complete fault of the other driver. Sucks ..


The fact is as a TNC driver you will be driving more miles, that is more exposure. If you hadn't been driving TNC at the time of your accident, there is a reasonable chance you would have been elsewhere and not involved in the smash up. You are simply on the road more often, some people tend to drive more aggressively when they are driving for hire.

You should be paying more than someone not doing the work. How much more........ $60/month, it could be worse.

You were hit. How many miles a week do you drive for Uber/Lyft?

Does your personal collision coverage cover your phase one driving? If it does, I am going to suggest what you are paying isn't all that bad. If it doesn't, I'm going to suggest that whatever you are paying, you need coverage for phase one driving without question.

Did you mention you are financing the car?? I seem to remember some sort of special debt concern. If that is the case, you really should have 24/7 collision on that car. It is pretty much a law I thought. If the car is being financed, you don't own the car, the lender does at this point...... Perhaps I remembered that incorrectly, I'm not about to go back through the thread.

Proceed with caution. You had an unfortunate accident, in my mind, you were fortunate. that is a good thing. Your car has been fixed. You avoided frame damage, that could have been a disaster.

Make sure your car is covered and identify any gaps in collision. You were in an accident while doing TNC work, do you drive more or less personal miles? It is risky. I can tell you, I have had two Uber drivers coming at me eastbound in westbound lanes in two of the last three weekends. They weren't local drivers, they were nice people, but they were lost, blindly following their GPS...... Be careful, don't ask for lighting to strike twice.


----------



## Huberis

soupergloo said:


> It's almost like I'm now being punished for being a TNC driver


You are only the exception to most other TNC drivers in that now you are being held accountable. It feels like a punishment for good reason, which is due to the way Uber and Lyft have portrayed the work, risks, costs and responsibilities.

Rather than focus on the frustration of it all. Take the time to share the way Uber and Lyft obfuscate the risk to driver with your state representatives, local municipal leaders, be a part of the reform that is needed. Not to do so is to put yourself at the mercy of others yet again.

I'm off for dinner. Good luck with your endeavors, it is good to hear your car is firing on all cylinders.


----------



## San Diego Steve

Simon said:


> Your insurance would have been there had you not violated your policy by driving for pay.
> 
> You upside down on the loan because your putting more miles on the car than the average driver. This should be a learning experience for all the drivers out there that think your only expense is your tank of gas.
> 
> Good luck with it.. it will be totaled you will get less than KBB value because they want you to negotiate that number.
> 
> Be ready for serious questions from your insurance company including but not limited to you being dropped.
> 
> Upon being dropped your next insurance company will not touch you and you will be shopping in the high risk pool and paying double or more.
> 
> We will all be watching this thread in the hopes the worst case scenario I spelled out above will not happen.
> 
> Keep us all posted.


Why scold the poor girl, have some compassion for her. Your wrong on her doing something wrong with her insurance company. Unless her company informed her not to drive rideshare, she did not violate her policy. Are you an insurance shill?


----------



## Bill Feit

I haven't seen anyone post who says they have actually had an accident while driving. They would be the best source of info for you other than Lyft


----------



## JayM1971

soupergloo said:


> This may have been addressed in a previous thread already, but I'm really looking for advice.
> 
> I was in an accident during a Lyft ride yesterday where a teenager who didn't know how to drive in SF tried making an illegal u-turn in front of me without looking for oncoming traffic in the opposite direction (I was already in the intersection when he began his u-turn), and we of course collided. He was completely at fault, and admitted he was at fault in front of the police officers while they were filing the report. The police did mention to me that my car was most likely going to be totaled (I had a 2012 VW GTI that was in perfect condition, and only had 58,000 miles on it), but the repair shop I had it towed to said they'd be able to repair it.
> 
> My personal insurance won't have anything to do with it since I had two Lyft passengers in my car at the time, so I'm having to rely on Lyft's insurance.
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone was in a similar situation and what the outcome was. Lyft is my only source of income, and I'm concerned to know what the outcome of all of this will be.


Hello Dear,
First of all I became so sad when I finished reading about what happened with you and your car but as an active member (driver) on both platforms for more than a year driving history for them I should say this which happened to you even though is one of the most worst part of our job but it's not the end of the world or even the end of your story with this job. This can happen to everyone of us whenever we hit the road to make a few bucks for living.
But since I was enveloped with almost the same story almost when I was started this job (back to at least one year ago) and just like yourself I was the collision that the other party was guilty, I handled the situation eventually on my favor or based on what I expected to be happened and due to the lack of practical information and my little knowledge of the nature of the job that I am doing professionally I went through the process that worked out for me as it can work out for anyone else and the positive side of it is, I can provide you with step by step the steps that you have to take.
I am sorry that I am bot able to post it all here (hopefully you and others can understand why) but I am willing to provide you everything by writing or talking over the phone or chat through any app that you prefer.
So let me know if you are willing to make that move and we will figure how (right now I have no idea since I just signed up with this web log and your story is the first which focused my attention).
Good Luck


----------



## jaywaynedubya

Why are you driving a 16k car that gets 20 mpg for uber anyway ? Do something else in sf in the sharing economy. But anyway you should contact the guy above.


----------



## jaywaynedubya

San Diego Steve said:


> Why scold the poor girl, have some compassion for her. Your wrong on her doing something wrong with her insurance company. Unless her company informed her not to drive rideshare, she did not violate her policy. Are you an insurance shill?


Don't scold her because she's a girl, she is grown don't be sexist man


----------



## Bob Reynolds

Personally, I think she has handled this very well and we can all learn something here.


----------



## soupergloo

jaywaynedubya said:


> Why are you driving a 16k car that gets 20 mpg for uber anyway ? Do something else in sf in the sharing economy. But anyway you should contact the guy above.


I already addressed that .. my car is more than my job to me, and I'd rather spend a little more on gas than be driving around in a Prius.


----------



## soupergloo

JayM1971 said:


> Hello Dear,
> First of all I became so sad when I finished reading about what happened with you and your car but as an active member (driver) on both platforms for more than a year driving history for them I should say this which happened to you even though is one of the most worst part of our job but it's not the end of the world or even the end of your story with this job. This can happen to everyone of us whenever we hit the road to make a few bucks for living.
> But since I was enveloped with almost the same story almost when I was started this job (back to at least one year ago) and just like yourself I was the collision that the other party was guilty, I handled the situation eventually on my favor or based on what I expected to be happened and due to the lack of practical information and my little knowledge of the nature of the job that I am doing professionally I went through the process that worked out for me as it can work out for anyone else and the positive side of it is, I can provide you with step by step the steps that you have to take.
> I am sorry that I am bot able to post it all here (hopefully you and others can understand why) but I am willing to provide you everything by writing or talking over the phone or chat through any app that you prefer.
> So let me know if you are willing to make that move and we will figure how (right now I have no idea since I just signed up with this web log and your story is the first which focused my attention).
> Good Luck


hi Jay! thanks for your support .. my lawyer is handling everything for me at this point, so I'm think I'm all set. I have to finish medical treatment before I see any money from this whole ordeal.


----------



## LolX

I got rear ended three times over the course of ~a year (never during the time I drove Lyft). I live in SF too. Why was I hit so many times? No clue. Probably because there is an increase in people that have no clue what they're doing in The City.

Anyways... if you want to fix/keep your car-- the insurance company of the person who hit you MUST pay for everything. If the repairs go over the original estimate, then they have to pay you the rest. The parts are also guaranteed for a while so if they gave you crappy parts or it was a bad job, I believe you have 5 years in which you can get them fixed again.

When the adjustor looks at your car, you can also keep the check and get it fixed anywhere you want. You can even (not in your case but some) drive around with the dents or damage. 

Personally, I just pocketed the three checks and have a minor dent on my rear bumper. I didn't think my car was worth fixing so I just took the $5-6k. I wasn't in the car for one of the hits and one was at a very low speed but the one at a higher speed, I was able to get a nice little settlement too.


----------



## Gimbo11

soupergloo said:


> Seriously, where do you guys pull this stuff from? I already told my passengers to request another Lyft when it happened (if you bothered reading any of the previous posts), and they hung around regardless which I didn't have a problem with. They were witnesses to what had just happened in the event the other driver would have denied fault.
> 
> I've already spoken to Lyft multiple times, why would they drop me because someone made an illegal u-turn and hit me?! I could understand if I was at fault, but it was completely out of my control and people drive like idiots in San Francisco. Not the mention, all they need are photos that my car is repaired to re-activate me. Do you really think they drop every single driver just because someone hit them? No one likes having claims, but they have a $1,000,000 policy for a reason.
> 
> And FYI - State Farm isn't my provider, it was his.


It is because as a rideshare driver you are a much, MUCH higher risk than your everyday commuter. That is why it cost 8k a year for the commercial insurance that is supposed to cover this.


----------



## Bob Reynolds

Gimbo11 said:


> It is because as a rideshare driver you are a much, MUCH higher risk than your everyday commuter. That is why it cost 8k a year for the commercial insurance that is supposed to cover this.


Where did you get an 8K quote? Everyone I know has been getting 3k quotes for commercial insurance.


----------



## observer

Gimbo11 said:


> It is because as a rideshare driver you are a much, MUCH higher risk than your everyday commuter. That is why it cost 8k a year for the commercial insurance that is supposed to cover this.


Not necessarily, this may be true at beginning but as you drive more time, you gain experience. You are driving more but because of experience you begin to anticipate problems.

The reason commercial premiums are higher is because the LIMITS are higher.

Commercial truck insurance is 1 million dollar minimum in CA. There is NO truck carrying less than this coverage. Lawyers know that and will sue for maximum they can get.

I believe these limits are the same for any commercial vehicle including livery and taxi drivers, maybe 20yearsdriving can clarify this for us.

Higher settlements equals higher premiums.

If limit was 15K, not only would lawyers not take the vast majority of cases, but very likely lawyers would be out of business.


----------



## Gimbo11

I got 8k form progressive. I am 25 yes old, and this was for an Uber specific policy in Arizona. That may have something to do with it. I'm glass to hear there is a 3k option for some people out there. I would buy that, I am paying 2.2k a year for standard full coverage.


----------



## Bob Reynolds

Gimbo11 said:


> I got 8k form progressive. I am 25 yes old, and this was for an Uber specific policy in Arizona. That may have something to do with it. I'm glass to hear there is a 3k option for some people out there. I would buy that, I am paying 2.2k a year for standard full coverage.


You need to go to a broker that specializes in Taxi Insurance. Those highway robbers at progressive don't have a clue.


----------



## soupergloo

not sure if anyone was still waiting for an outcome of this, but I settled at $14,100 with State Farm.


----------



## Just Another Uber Drive

soupergloo said:


> no sure if anyone was still waiting for an outcome of this, but I settled at $14,100 with State Farm.


Thanks for the update. Been following it since you posted about it. Glad it worked out.


----------



## soupergloo

Just Another Uber Drive said:


> Thanks for the update. Been following it since you posted about it. Glad it worked out.


 thanks


----------



## negeorgia

soupergloo said:


> not sure if anyone was still waiting for an outcome of this, but I settled at $14,100 with State Farm.


Did that pay it off and then pay cash for a car? Are you moving down in car quality and payment with a plan to pay it off quickly? Are you moving up in car quality and payment because of this 'opportunity' ?


----------



## soupergloo

negeorgia said:


> Did that pay it off and then pay cash for a car? Are you moving down in car quality and payment with a plan to pay it off quickly? Are you moving up in car quality and payment because of this 'opportunity' ?


my car was repaired, so I'm still using it to drive for Lyft/Uber. I wouldn't get another new car while doing this full time unless I absolutely had to.

I just settled yesterday, so I haven't gotten that check yet. I'm planning on using it to pay down my debt (credit cards, student loans, etc.)


----------



## negeorgia

soupergloo said:


> my car was repaired, so I'm still using it to drive for Lyft/Uber. I wouldn't get another new car while doing this full time unless I absolutely had to.
> 
> I just settled yesterday, so I haven't gotten that check yet. I'm planning on using it to pay down my debt (credit cards, student loans, etc.)


Excellent plan, keep back a small emergency fund cushion, while paying off debt early. Minimum $1000.00 baby emergency fund.


----------



## Soccer4822

soupergloo said:


> my car was repaired, so I'm still using it to drive for Lyft/Uber. I wouldn't get another new car while doing this full time unless I absolutely had to.
> 
> I just settled yesterday, so I haven't gotten that check yet. I'm planning on using it to pay down my debt (credit cards, student loans, etc.)


Did your insurance company renew your policy and if so at what rate?


----------



## soupergloo

Soccer4822 said:


> Did your insurance company renew your policy and if so at what rate?


I had progressive at the time and they recorded me admitting I was driving Lyft during the time of the accident (something I now regret letting them do), and they raised my rate from $125/mo. to $145/mo. without any reason; I got pissed and cancelled my policy only to find that anyone else would charge me a lot more. When I tried going back to Progressive, they wouldn't insure me, so I now have Mercury insurance that offers TNC coverage for $195/mo. and don't have to sneak around driving for Lyft/Uber anymore.


----------



## uberpa

soupergloo said:


> I had progressive at the time and they recorded me admitting I was driving Lyft during the time of the accident (something I now regret letting them do), and they raised my rate from $125/mo. to $145/mo. without any reason; I got pissed and cancelled my policy only to find that anyone else would charge me a lot more. When I tried going back to Progressive, they wouldn't insure me, so I now have Mercury insurance that offers TNC coverage for $195/mo. and don't have to sneak around driving for Lyft/Uber anymore.


Try travelers. I pay around $70/month for full coverage.
My car kbb value is around 25k.


----------



## Adieu

soupergloo post:589 said:


> not sure if anyone was still waiting for an outcome of this, but I settled at $14,100 with State Farm.


This is loss/pain/sufferring/wages/etc, on top of the car repair? 14k after lawyer or cut or before? And how long did it take you to get it?


----------



## soupergloo

Adieu said:


> This is loss/pain/sufferring/wages/etc, on top of the car repair? 14k after lawyer or cut or before? And how long did it take you to get it?


correct, the car repairs totaled around $11,000 and that check went directly to the shop.

14k before my lawyers cut, they told me I'd see 75% of that number in my check. haven't gotten it yet, I just settled on Friday.


----------



## LYFTmeUP

soupergloo said:


> Has this actually happened to you, or are you jumping to conclusions because this is how it played out for another driver? My insurance company didn't even question that I was driving for Lyft when I talked to them .. I called them on the scene and they were the ones that assisted me with the tow (knowing that I had Lyft passengers in my car, and actually talked to the passengers as well) and once it was assigned to an agent that was when they informed me they can't help me because I was driving for Lyft. If they had questions, I'm sure they would have drilled me at one of those two times. I'm not worried about being dropped by Progressive, I plan on canceling my policy completely and I'm also not worried about trying to find another insurance provider. My boyfriend's brother also got into an accident where he was not at fault during a Lyft ride and All State actually took care of him as a courtesy instead of completely turning him away.
> 
> I discussed (in pretty great depth) the options I have in the case that my car does get totaled with State Farm, and ultimately they told me I have the final say in what happens to my car.
> 
> Yes, I'm worried about what the outcome will be, but not for the reasons you spelled out above.


Hello,
Here is what I hope will educate you regarding insurance in all states.
Personal coverage is just that ...personal..
Commercial coverage is for any vehicle who is receiving money for driving a vehicle.
So...call progressive if you have auto rental coverage ask them what are the amounts and then call a car rental company. They should cover you regardless.
If not...cancel your coverage because Progressive coverage is lousy.
NEXT CALL AN PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY AFTER YOU GO TO HOSPITAL...ANY INJURY YOU HAVE NO MATTER HOW SLIGHT IS A DANGER SIGN!!!!
Call a company and ask for Commercial Coverage-FULL COVERAGE...Comp/Collision/towing /etc...
Tell them you want a 1,000,000 Combined Single Limit Policy and list Lyft/Uber as a certificate holder NOT as an Additional Insured.
IMPORTANT: Ask for a ACORN Certificate....at the bottom of the cert. Have it say: For Lyft/Uber Rideshare Service Coverage.
then all drivers will be covered....
IF any insurance agent tells you you are covered GET IT IN WRITING either email or letter. That way if you have to sue....you can go after his Errors/Omissions policy. (he has to have this to be an agent).
hOPE THIS HELPS...JASON


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## Carrier222

soupergloo said:


> This may have been addressed in a previous thread already, but I'm really looking for advice.
> 
> I was in an accident during a Lyft ride yesterday where a teenager who didn't know how to drive in SF tried making an illegal u-turn in front of me without looking for oncoming traffic in the opposite direction (I was already in the intersection when he began his u-turn), and we of course collided. He was completely at fault, and admitted he was at fault in front of the police officers while they were filing the report. The police did mention to me that my car was most likely going to be totaled (I had a 2012 VW GTI that was in perfect condition, and only had 58,000 miles on it), but the repair shop I had it towed to said they'd be able to repair it.
> 
> My personal insurance won't have anything to do with it since I had two Lyft passengers in my car at the time, so I'm having to rely on Lyft's insurance.
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone was in a similar situation and what the outcome was. Lyft is my only source of income, and I'm concerned to know what the outcome of all of this will be.


Lyft is full of it ! Please be aware that Lyft will not pay for damages to your vehicle unless you pay a $2500 deductible


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## Old Smokey

Carrier222 said:


> Lyft is full of it ! Please be aware that Lyft will not pay for damages to your vehicle unless you pay a $2500 deductible


Did you have ride share insurance on your own, or did you think it would never happen to you?


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## Carrier222

Uberalex23 said:


> I think lyft has 1000 dollar deductible which you may want to pay to get this process going. Since it was other person at fault you will be eligible for a reimbursement on that deductible. Also dont hesitate to rent out a car because all the bills have to be paid by other persons insurance company. And no you cannot lyft on rental car. Sorry for the accident let me know how it pays out, im really curious


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## Carrier222

Lyft will not pay for damages to your vehicle unless you pay a $2500 deductible. Notice that their primary policy is liability which pays to fix their car, not yours. Read their policy!


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## bog_e_bylgarin

soupergloo said:


> correct, the car repairs totaled around $11,000 and that check went directly to the shop.
> 
> 14k before my lawyers cut, they told me I'd see 75% of that number in my check. haven't gotten it yet, I just settled on Friday.


I am so sorry for what happened to you, but I am glad that everything is settled now. I am in the same situation now, here in Boston, got in a accident with a pax, not my fault. 
So how long took you to see any money at all and how long lyft is moving, cause it has been third day already and no one from lyft contacted me, besides sending me a few free rides. 
Are their insurance company moving any fast or?


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