In an accident while delivering pizza. Should I say that I was working when I make my claim?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I asked that question for every single claim. Every. One.

If I didn’t ask I’d have to call back and find out.

My favorite exchange once:
“Where we’re you going?”
“Just around.”
What was the purpose of your trip?"
“Just went for a drive.”
“You didn’t go to the store, or anything? You and your sister went for a drive for funsies?”
“Yes.”
“At 2 am? And you just lost control of your vehicle?”
“Correct.”
“Was there any alcohol involved?”
“None whatsoever.”
“Ok. Are all of your answers truthful?”
“They sure are.”
Yeah. They weren’t.

22

Tell your agent you’re delivering pizza. It sounds like you’re not at fault here and they’re not paying anything out, tell them it just occurred to you that you might not be adequately covered and see where it goes.

I delivered pizza for a few years and I was terrified that my rates would quadruple if they found out I was using my car for work. My next job (not delivering) required driving my own car and they required documentation that my policy limits were a certain level and my policy allowed me to drive for work. I got much higher limits and an official approval to drive for work for only a few dollars per month.

23

Heh - yeah, I was wondering about that myself.

The OP says the other driver was held at fault. If he’s in a no-fault state where the driver’s insurance covers the driver’s car regardless of who caused the accident, he might be in trouble.

Otherwise, the at-fault driver’s insurance should pay out just fine regardless of the OP’s status - they’d have to pay if the OP were driving a company car, or if the OP were driving an adequately-insured delivery car (i.e. had told his insurer and was paying whatever markup). Don’t lie to the insurer, but honestly they shouldn’t ask what you were doing in the car unless their client tries to claim you were up to something.

Keep track of lost work time, e.g. if you normally make 50 dollars a night 4 nights a week, and you lose 2 weeks of work, that’s 400 dollars. Keep track of other losses, e.g. property in the car. Keep track of the value of time spent dealing with this. Request the other driver’s insurance compensate you for that as part of their payout: as long as it’s clear you are being reasonable, and not, say, complaining about the bag of diamonds that were lost in the crash, they shouldn’t quibble.

We did all that when my husband’s car was totalled many years ago - calculated lost time from work (for both of us: I had to take time off to help him retrieve things from the lot it was towed to), the value of some items that were in the car that were ruined or simply couldn’t be retrieved due to the crunched state of the car, etc. I seem to recall we said 800 bucks. They said “ok, how about 1200 dollars and you go away forever?” (meaning we couldn’t sue for injuries or whatever).

As we were pretty sure there were no lasting effects, we took them up on that - so we got the 1200 dollars plus the car’s value paid out.

24

Hi everyone, thanks for the information. I am a strong and confident negotiator type, but this is all new ground for me so I appreciate you all orienting me to the process. Some updates and questions:

The at-fault insurance company has not had a representative contact me yet for a statement. The matter is still being investigated although its quite clear that I am not the one at fault. I expect to hear from them today and I may just give them a call otherwise.

-My employer wont pay for this, got it. My insurance company did not know I delivered pizzas, I did not know that I needed to tell them this. It sounds like its in my best interest to keep it a secret. Being that I wont be at fault, I suppose its ok that I was delivering in the eyes of the at-fault company.

-I live in the state of California.

-I was not injured in the accident, at least not by any notable amount. I did not go to the hospital. I mentioned to my agent during my statement to them that I did have some soreness and aches, that I would not seek treatment unless it developed into something further.

-My car is a 2001 mitsubishi mirage. It may be older, not valued at much, but it is very high quality and very reliable. I would be seeking a car of comparable quality. A $1500 (this is around what they will declare my car’s value to be) clunker that breaks down is not going to cut it here; I deliver pizzas for a living and make long distance drives. I am willing to accept something similiar in quality and reliability such as a honda civic. I have found a couple of mitsubishi mirage ads of similiar mileage in san francisco (5 hour drive from me). My question is, would I be able to demand payment to replace this vehicle specifically? A trip to the city would also take a day or 2 of work away from me and thats assuming there was not anything wrong with the car and I was successful in buying it. What about payment for making reasonable repairs to the new car I purchase, as used cars often warrant some kind of work on them upon purchase? My goal is to be “made whole” and not settle for a car of lesser quality.

-As of now, I am driving a rental that I paid out of pocket. Hoping I will get reimbursed, but since the investigation is still open I know little of my limits on a rental and the at-fault company has been bad at contacting me. I have been working in the meantime because of the rental. There may be a gap between the rental car period and when I am able to obtain a replacement vehicle since finding a similar vehicle may require a trip to the city, something I will need to schedule.

-Big update: I went to the bodyshop where my car’s estimated repair costs were made. Since their people wont assess mechanical condition and its clear the body repairs outweigh the value of the car by a lot, we dont know for sure if there is any functional damage. Anyway, I decided to jack the car up, put a spare tire on where the destroyed tire is, and drive it to my apartment complex where my mechanical neighbor could assess it. The car drove as it did prior to the accident and it looked like there was not any damage to the suspension or other functional components. This may mean that I can continue driving the car if I can just pull more more of the bent metal out of the wheel well and find a way to cheaply seal of the back door (which is bent away from the cars frame and will never open again) from weather. So an option would then be to take a payout from the insurance and be forced to declare the car as salvage if I am correct. This might be an attractive option. The car would still have a crater in it but I would be thankful just to be able to keep using it and not have to hassle with getting a new one of lesser quality.

25

Yeah, you can take a lower payout and have a “salvage” car. If you can get it driveable for cheap that may be the smart option.

Because yeah, they’re going to pay you the value of the car, maybe a little more if you can negotiate. Let’s say it’s worth a thousand, they don’t care if you can’t buy anything for that amount. You saying, “that won’t cut it” won’t change your mind. They pay you the value of the vehicle.

26

One thing you can do is look for comparable cars for sale - the same make, model, year as your old one (and in similar condition to how it was before the accident) - and insist that the insurance company pay you at least enough to buy one of these.

27

Correct.

The main reason why every used car owner values his own car higher than the true market value of it is because of information asymmetry. If I am buying a 2001 Eclipse, I have no idea what kind of trouble I am getting myself into, so I won’t buy it unless it is cheap. Neither will anyone else.

But to the guy driving it right now it works just fine. Keep that case of power steering fluid in the truck and top it off every now and then; oh, and keep a screwdriver handy for the rusted out battery terminal and it runs great. As a buyer, I don’t know these handy little tips so I have to buy a new battery and power steering pump right after I buy it.

28

I totaled my car at the end of December. I expected a payout of maybe $3500. I got $5700.

The reason (I think) is that the other driver was 100% at fault, and the other insurance company upped the payment to get a rapid signature from me. Not to avoid a negotiation about the value of the car, but for me to waive their liability for possible future medical expenses.

So remember, the settlement offer you get will not be only about the car’s value.

29

to anyone who is still interested, I thought that I would leave an update. The at-fault insurance company accepted liability and offered me $2800 for my car’s value. $2400 if I decide to keep it and declare her as salvage. Kellys blue book value suggested $1900 when I looked, and thats when I put the car at “very good condition”, so I think this is a fair deal. Despite all of the body damage, my car’s mechanical systems are unimpacted and after getting a new tire and cutting some metal away, I have been driving her all around town!

I now have another problem though. My boss is insisting I cannot drive my car for delivering pizzas due to the damage. My car is no longer aesthetically representative of the Domons Pizza image. I can satisfy him temporarily with a rental car from the insurance company, but the thing is, I would really like to keep my car since it still works! If I get rid of her I would be throwing away thousands in investments I made and recent work I have done. I dont think my options for a reliable car will be very good for less than $3000 and I live in a small town for selection is small. It is by far the most pragmatic thing for me to take the cash award and keep using my car since she functions great. I can repair some of the body damage myself over time (I have friends with skills and tools) but it will certainly take more time than my boss is willing to allow. This whole thing has been a headache!

30

You can always initiate a civil suit against the person who hit you, since her carelessness essentially caused the loss of your job. Sue her for the wages you’d lose in n amount of time, basing n on a typical job search time frame for someone with your education and experience. If you win, you can use the money to get a better car.

31

IANAL, but I doubt that such a suit would be successful. The insurance company has already made samhandwich22 whole by offering him enough money so that he could buy a car equivalent to the one he had before the accident.

Not only that, but lawsuits take time. I’m sure that samhandwich22 needs a job (i.e. money) now. Winning in court could take years.

It may be time to look for another job.

32

How bad is the car? Does it look like a totaled out death trap or does it look like it’s had a minor fender bender? Will every other pizza joint see your car and give you the same line?

You’ll get a salvage title if you keep the car. You’ll probably need to have a restored title to register the car which will require a state inspection. Will it pass? Will your insurance continue to cover your car with a restored salvage title?

I would call the motor vehicle department and ask about the title situation and see what an inspection costs. If it’s not too expensive have it done before deciding to keep the car.

On its face it sounds like you’re getting a decent running and driving car for $400 but you need to make certain you’re not getting $250 of scrap for $400.

33

The car was hit on the side, the rear door is collapsed inward but still on the vehicle. It bowed outward so that there is a one-inch gap between the top of the door and the car frame- it lets rain water in. It sure looks ugly on that side, but other than that, the car runs great!