WWYD - car accident and FIL

[fayeelle]

I have my own opinions on this, DH is torn so I thought I'd ask you all to see what you think.

We camped this weekend w/ DH's family. We stayed in our tent trailer, dad + fam in his camper trailer. On the way home we wanted to make some stops so he followed us back. FIL hit our camper trailer at a red light after stop #1. He isn't sure what happened, just didn't fully brake or something. He was only going 5 or 10 mph max. It was enough to lurch the car forward a bit but not terribly bad. Enough to lock the seatbelts and we could feel it in our necks a bit. E seemed fine. Fussed for 30 seconds maybe.

Our tent trailer is totaled. The weight of the truck/trailer combo was just too much. Everything inside is shifted forward now and most of the drawers don't open. The kitchenette isn't sitting right. The rear clip is bent/cracked and shifted on the frame. DH is taking it in (his work does trailer repairs) to make sure they can't come up with something to fix it. But its likely not going to be repairable.

We were talking of selling it after this trip so we could buy a larger camper that we didn't have to set up/tear down all the time. Well, now that's out for sure and we don't have the funds to replace this one currently. We would've used the money from the sale of ours to by the other. NBD, the camper is an extra and we'll live without it. But it was nice.

The moral dilemma is whether or not to go through insurance. If it was anyone else this would be a no brainer. DH is struggling because its his dad. I get it and it sucks. But that's what insurance is for, right? FIL has already insisted that we go into the chiropractor immediately and he'll absolutely cover it. He's specifically worried about my neck since I've had so many issues with it after a car accident 5yrs ago. I'll definitely go but its definitely not as bad as my other accident, not near the damage or hit.

So WWYD? Have FIL start an insurance claim or Also, since the car itself wasn't hit and it was minor do we still need to replace her car seat?

[Yankees21]

I would go through insurance because of the cost- if he just hit the back of your car going that fast and there was minimal damage, I'd just have him pay for the repairs, but I think it would be pretty pricy in this case. I don't think with what you described I'd replace the car seat.

[arebee]

I would ask him to file a claim. It's not right that you are out of a camper or just lose that value of whatever it is worth.

If you had already bought the new camper and he hit that would you ask him to file a claim?

[linz]

I would have him file a claim unless he wanted to pay you for the cost of damages/value of trailer. 

[CrazyLucky]

I would definitely file the claim unless FIL wants to pay you what you would have sold it for.

[Deleted]

Jun 23, 2015 11:51:36 GMT -5 CrazyLucky said:

I would definitely file the claim unless FIL wants to pay you what you would have sold it for.

This.

[mswax]

I hit my FIL's once. There was enough damage to warrant going through insurance. So we did. Unless your FIL will give you cash for the value of the trailer, I think you should file...obviously let him know first.

[patbutcher]

How much is the camper worth?/how much did you expect to get from it?

If I was your FIL I would offer to pay for the camper or go through insurance depending if I wanted to keep my no claims bonus. Has he mentioned anything?

[patbutcher]

Jun 23, 2015 11:56:04 GMT -5 @this said:

Why wouldn't you file a claim?

Might it not cost FIL more money in the long run through having an at fault claim on his record than paying for the camper himself so maybe he should get the option?

[namasteak]

Definitely go through the insurance.

[mrshandy]

I would go through insurance. Not sure what your FIL's driving record is. His insurance will go up, but he could always shop around to find a better deal. I had an at-fault accident a few years ago and it went up so we switched. It's since gone back down.

One small accident usually doesn't hurt your insurance rates too much.

How much is the trailer worth?

[gibbinator]

Jun 23, 2015 11:44:19 GMT -5 linz said:

I would have him file a claim unless he wanted to pay you for the cost of damages/value of trailer. 

Yes. I would ask your fil how he wants to handle the payback, but I absolutely expect his money to fix your problem.
Just tell him you got yours looked at and it was written off, so would he like to pay you back the value of the camper, chip in on a new one, or go through insurance.
If he has accident forgiveness on his insurance now would be a good opportunity to use it.

[Deleted]

fayeelle as someone who was in a very similar situation, I URGE YOU to go through insurance, or make your FIL pay whatever the camper was worth. I understand the feeling of not wanting to make a fuss because it's your FIL, but he damaged your property and needs to make amends. I was in a similar situation with my own dad, and I made the wrong choice. A few months back, my parents had DS for the afternoon, so they were using my car since it has his car seat in it. My mom was putting DS into my car, and my dad was backing down their driveway. Dad backed right into my parked car. He said he was distracted by some construction workers in the driveway next door. I was pretty pissed, but since it was "just a medium sized dent" and it was my own dad, I let it go. I didn't do anything. When we traded my car in for a minivan two weeks ago, the dealer specifically mentioned the "pretty significant dent" (his words) as the primary reason they couldn't give me 'good' KBB value for my car, they could only give me 'fair'. That difference was $1,000. I was so pissed at myself for not making my dad fix my car. That's A LOT of money to us. It was his fault after all. And my situation is nowhere near as much value as a camper! Your FIL either needs to file a claim with his insurance, or pay you the value of the camper. The accident was his fault, you should NOT have to suffer for it.

[drloretta]

Definitely file a claim. This is what insurance is for, no matter how you're related to the person.

[Deleted]

It's not the end of the world to file an insurance claim. It sounds like it's several thousand dollars? Definitely do it.

[fayeelle]

Thank you for all of the replies. After doing some digging it looks like the trailer is worth $4k at a minimum. Its a hard side, not canvas and I guess those are worth more. We only paid $800 for it which was a steal. DH feels guilty about getting more for it than we paid. But we bought smart ya know?

Its really DH that is holding back because his dad is SO generous. He gives and gives and gives to all his kids. Not because they ask, but because he wants to help. An example - each child needed some type of money for their cars (new engine, repairs, buying used). He figured the average cost and gifted them each the same amount.
We were actually leaving a place that sells manufactured homes because his dad is considering having us build/put some sort of home on the property he just purchased


ETA- he just sent me a text letting me know hes got me set up for whatever I need at his chiro. Sweet guy right there

Sent from my VS980 4G using proboards

[kershnic]

What does he want you to do? If he's so kind and generous I can't imagine he wants you to give up having a camper because he ran into you.

[lolo]

DH's grandma backed into my car once. She was mortified and filed a claim immediately and DH's family were insistent that I use all the benefits, such as a rental car while mine was in the shop.

Also, my chiro says that often in a lower impact, your neck can be more affected because your body can absorb more of the impact (vs. the car in higher speed crashes). So defintely get on that stat.

[fayeelle]

Jun 23, 2015 14:08:57 GMT -5 kershnic said:

What does he want you to do? If he's so kind and generous I can't imagine he wants you to give up having a camper because he ran into you.

He hasn't really said yet. Right now he's more focused on me. Which is great and all. I just want to know where he is in all of this too

Sent from my VS980 4G using proboards

[vanillacourage]

No, no, no. The main reason to file a claim isn't even the trailer, since you're somehow okay with being without it. The reason to file is if down the road you do end up having a significant problem with your neck, and medical bills go much higher than your father-in-law was ever anticipating paying out of pocket, there will be an existing insurance claim to fall back on.

ETA - for this reason I would not even go down the road of having your father-in-law pay you out of pocket for the trailer. You need to file an insurance claim.

[VillainV]

Absolutely file a claim. Or if it makes you feel better, get an estimate first, then ask your FIL if he wants to pay for it, or just have you file a claim. If it were me, I'd at least like the option of paying it OOP to avoid my rates going up (assuming that I could afford to pay OOP, that is). But based on what you described, I imagine it will be expensive enough that he won't want to/won't be able to pay OOP, and you'll end up filing a claim.