Do You Pay a Deductible If Your Car Is Totaled in an Accident?
- One situation that you could be involved in is a wreck that is not your fault. This happens when you are driving and someone else runs into you. If your car is totaled, you should not have to pay your deductible in this situation. Instead, the other driver's auto insurance company will pay for the damage to your car any other applicable damages. The other driver will have to pay for his deductible, and his insurance will cover the damage to both vehicles.
- Another situation that you could be involved in is a wreck that is your fault. This occurs when you are driving and you inadvertently run into someone else who is obeying applicable traffic laws. When this happens, you will have to pay a deductible for your auto insurance policy. The deductible will cover the damage to your car as well as the other person's car or any personal property that is damaged in the accident.
- When you total your car and you are responsible for deductible, you will typically not have to come up with the cash out of pocket to pay for it. Instead, the insurance company will simply write you a check for the amount that you are owed minus the deductible. For example, if you have a $500 deductible and your car is worth $10,000, the insurance company will write you a check for $9,500 for the settlement.
- When determining how much money you will get, the insurance company will try to come up with the accurate value of your vehicle at the time of the crash. This is typically done by looking at resources that the insurance company uses to track every make and model in the market. They will give you the value of your vehicle, which could be considerably less than what you paid for it because of depreciation.