Background: My wife and I bought a beautiful new maroon 2017 XF last Fall. It was the first car we ever owned as a 35-year couple that had a warranty. We loved it. Then in Chicago a month ago, a lady who was reaching for her cigarettes forgot to stop and slammed into the back of our beautiful new XF, forcing it into the pickup truck in front. Friggin' state farm (her company, herein to be known as friggin' sf) took a month to figure out what they were going to do about it and finally decided to total it, all the while paying for our standard rental car. After our friggin' sf contact dragged his feet for a month, I spoke to a different agent who had his (stuff) together, and we got everything worked out, except he had to clear it with his superior who was the first guy we talked to. The superior said that we had to forget everything and let our own insurance company take care of the accident, and he forbade the new guy from talking to us again. PUNK!!!!! So we did that and our company had everything taken care of in a couple days. Hopefully, our premiums won't go up too much.

Then we shopped online for a new 2017 XF because I don't like the 2018 XF's - the red is ugly and the supercharged 6 is now a very expensive option. Just when we thought there were none available anymore, we found one on CaGuru at a reasonable price. The dealership honored the price, and we drove her home last night. What a sweet car - the technology option (which we didn't have before) seems to be worth it so far.

We ended up paying around $5,000 more to replace a car that was totaled by an inattentive driver, and that really stinks; but it sure is nice driving a beautiful Jaguar XF again instead of that bare-bones Camry that we had for a month. Friggin' sf will not be on my Christmas list this year.

 

They shouldn't go up at all if the accident wasn't your fault, and it sounds like it wasn't.






What's the difference? I think they're the same car.

 

A few years ago, our Lexus was sideswiped, causing a crease in both doors. It was absolutely no fault of ours, but the at-fault person's insurance didn't cover all of the damage (or in this case, totally fund the coast of replacing the vehicle which was actually totaled after only having two doors creased), so our insurance kicked in for the rest; and that caused our premiums to go up.

In this case, the at-fault person's collision part of their liability insurance was too low, which might cause this to happen again. I thought there was a legal minimum for this, but apparently, there is not. Maybe we could all save money on our insurance (and screw those whom we are liable to) and just have ridiculously low collision in our liability insurance.

Also, after dragging their feet on this for over a month, friggin' sf cut off their funding for our rental car, so we've been paying for it on our own since then.

 

Just be aware that if you cut down on your collision insurance and someone hits you, all your insurance will pay is what you are covered for. Since the other party will never admit fault, you will be on your own hiring a lawyer to sue them for additional damages.

Side Note: I've had State Farm for awhile with no issues. I had one claim and they handled everything pretty efficiently, although that was covered under comprehensive, so there's a lot less variables involved.

 

As they explained it to me, there are three parts to your liability coverage: medical, collision, and I forgot the third. The collision part of the liability insurance is what the other driver had too little of, and that's why my insurance will likely have to cover part of the claim; and when they do that, UP go my premiums. I thought there was a minimum coverage that policyholder had to have; but evidently, the collision part of your liability can be as little as you want.

 

I'm not an insurance agent, but I've been dealing with it long enough to have a decent idea of everything.

The three parts of insurance are:
Comprehensive: Which is theft, fire, hitting animals, etc.
Liability: The damages you inflict to others.
Collision: The damages you inflict to yourself.
In New Jersey, liability is mandated and as part of that basic required insurance there is medical coverage (for injuries you cause) and uninsured driver coverage (for damage done to you).

So if someone hits you, its their fault and falls under their liability. If that doesn't cover it, then the rest should be covered under your uninsured driver coverage (which also should cover under-insured). Neither of these should raise your rates. If, their insurance is refusing to pay at all (or partially) because they are not accepting its their drivers fault (or completely their fault), then it gets covered by your collision because their claim is that some part of it is your fault. That can cause your insurance to go up.

However, if it really wasn't your fault, that's when lawyers get involved. If you have collision, they will pay from that initially, but your insurance company should go after theirs to recover that money, and if they do then it shouldn't count against you.

Of course, if you don't have collision, then you have to pay out any money their insurance doesn't cover and its up to you to hire a lawyer and sue them to get your money back. I've seen insurance companies refuse to pay even when a police report listed their driver as at fault because they knew it was their lawyers against an individual, and the deck was stacked. So what collision really buys you is lawyers.

Fun with insurance. Obviously, some details will vary state to state, because we would hate to have the same rules everywhere.

 

 

+1 But there is a fourth part ..... medical. My dealings with insurance companies have been a mixed bag. I do know that you don't have to accept what they offer you if you feel it's not enough. You can argue/bicker for more as long as you have good reason. Also, if there's no a lot of money involved in a claim your insurance company will accept blame on your part to get it over with and later charge you more on your policy because you've been in an 'at fault' accident.

 

Congratulations on your new XF. Love that V6. Is yours AWD?. Jaguar AWD is awesome. Your insurance should not go up but I suppose it depends on the State you are in and the insurance you have.

 

Here is our new 2017 XF, "Annie" with her stable-mate "Ilsa" (my performance-prepared '03 Chevy SSR).