Called GEICO and they say this qualifies as a "no fault" accident and that my premiums won't increase as a result of filing against my own insurance. I spent a good amount of time on the phone with their claims department trying to get a good understanding of the ups/downs of filing against my policy or against theirs, and this is what they said:

  • File Against My Policy - GEICO will cover storage fees at the garage, rental car if I need it, the cost of the tow, repairs if possible, etc etc etc. All that will happen very quickly because I have a policy with them, but I will have to pitch in my $500 deductible before anything really gets going (unless it's totaled, at which point my deductible is deducted from the final payout). GEICO will pursue reimbursement with the other insurance company and will refund me my deductible if/when they get reimbursed. Interesting note here, if GEICO pays me $7500 they will invoice the other company for $8000, and even if they get less than that, my $500 refund comes off the top (they absorb any loss).
  • File Against the Other Insurance Company - The only real advantage here is that IF you're willing to wait for reimbursement, you won't have to put up your deductible to get things fixed (if that's possible). But the problem is the waiting, which in this specific case could be even worse than normal. The claims agent confirmed that the issue of owner permission to drive certainly could be a sticking point with the other insurance company, and that they probably won't do anything until they interview everyone involved in the event. Given that the other driver was arraigned on Friday and may or may not be in jail right now, it could take a LONG time to get his statement. Bottom line here is that I don't have a policy with the other company, so they have every motivation to drag the process out forever. And at the end of that long waiting period, the payout will very likely be the same or less than what GEICO would pay much much sooner.


So I've gone ahead and filed a claim with GEICO and should meet with the adjuster at the garage by Tuesday or Wednesday. Never having been through this before, I was under the impression that they just give you the NADA book value and that's the end of it. But as the claims agent was describing the whole process of valuation and total loss payout she said something that I don't know she realized she said: that the check gets cut and mailed out within 7-10 days after a price/value is negotiated. I didn't pursue it further because I figure it's a question for the adjuster, but it sounds like some himming and hawing may be in order. I suppose that stage is where folks sometimes get lawyers involved - if the agent tries to give you a crap value for your truck.

So that brings me to another question for the crowd: what would you guys say I should look for as a ball park value for my VX? It had 73K on the clock and a few dents/dings/chips/scratches on the body, mostly on the leading edge of the hood.

Opinions appreciated.