Pure Comparative Negligence

States Applicable: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington State

Pure comparative negligence systems rely on a judge, jury or insurance company to determine the level of responsibility the victim had in the accident based on a percentage and then will allow compensation based on that percentage.

Example:
In Susan and John’s auto accident John was found to be 99% responsible for his injuries. The total in damages was $10,000. In a pure comparative negligence system Susan will only have to pay for 1% of John’s damages- $100.00

But the insurance company will give him retail value, not auction value.

So far it's 3/3 for me with Esurance, Progressive, and Vermont Mutual all waiving the deductible BEFORE the other party accepted liability. They said liability wasn't my problem it was theirs so they just got the car fix for me. They said if for some reason liability was put on me then I'd owe the deductible to them though. Never paid a dime on any of them.

However, if you file with your own carrier they pay less the deductible. Some carriers (not many) will waive the deductible but this is only if the other carrier accepts 100% liability (if they accept 100% liability then it would not be difficult to "deal" with the other carrier anyway).

If it's totalled, the insurance company will give you what it would cost to buy another 2006 with 69378 miles, plus tax, minus your deductible. If you just had a major expense like putting new tires on it, try to get the insurance company to give you a few extra bucks.

Auction Values  Date Range: 12/31/2012 - 1/6/2013   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------                   Low        Average   High                   Auction    Auction   Auction  Adjusted Value*:   $5,946     $7,771    $9,621   

Again, loss data exchange by insurance companies means that all participating insurance companies know about all of your claims for the past 7 years and maybe longer.

Some people may not want to even report a non-fault accident to their carrier (I don't recommend not reporting it) as sometime reporting several of these within a short amount of time can increase rates.

This is what the guy at the tow yard said this morning. He claimed it was probably 20-25 hours of work plus new bumper, new quarter panels new good and new headlights.

It's a 2006 with lots of options and only 69378 miles on it. Blue book said a little under 10k private party. Edmunds said like 7k. No idea what to believe. 7-10k seems legit looking at eBay and Craigslist.

But why would I want to do extra work, when I'm already paying premiums to a company that will do the work for me?

But maybe you can clarify this: If I did NOT have collision and someone ran into me, I WOULD have to deal directly with the other company, right? And what would happen if THEY didn't have collision?

Correct... you "can" make a claim under your own collision coverage and have your carrier seek recovery. This does not mean that you are required to.

said by State of NJ Auto Insurance Buyer's Guide :

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Collision coverage pays you for damage that you cause to your automobile. You can also make a claim under your own collision coverage for damage to your car from an auto accident you did not cause. This may take less time than making a property damage liability claim against the driver who caused the auto accident. Your insurer then seeks reimbursement (subrogation) from the insurer of the driver who caused the auto accident.

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Do you have collision coverage? Here in NJ, you only deal with your own insurance company. They pay your claim, then they deal directly with the other insurance company to get reimbursed (subrogation). If they do, you get your deductible back.

Interesting I always thought that in a case like this that you should contact your insurance and that it was up to the insurance company to file the claim against the other company.