My vehicle was totaled out by my insurance company due to frame damage from a recent accident, I took a loan out through my credit union who basicly owned the vehicle until I payed back loan and interest fees. Along with this vehicle loan I had gap insurance, which from my understanding pays the difference if the insurance company doesn't write off the complete value of vehicle or something like that...also had full coverage insurance which is a must when getting a vehicle loan..had the vehicle 7months, never missed a payment, what to expect next??? / What shall I do next to be prepared, .......new to situations like these any advice or suggestions would help thanx...

Hi Ellisjay,

Did the accident just happen? How long have you been waiting for the insurance to pay you?

It sounds like you have all your bases covered with your full coverage insurance and GAP (Guaranteed Auto Protection) insurance. I would say to follow up with your insurance company (or the other person's insurance company if you weren't at fault) to check on the status of the claim depending how long it has been since the accident.

Also, if you were at fault, I would start shopping around for another insurance policy in case your current premium takes a big jump. You can get free insurance quotes here: http://www.filife.com/topics/car-insurance/products

Well I was at fault, the other person went to the hospital for injuries, and here recently I have had attorney call me and left a message in reguards to the other persons medical bill Im guessing, so what would this mean Im expecting Im going to be paying their medical expenses or does the insurance company help with that????

I am fairly certain that you have bodily injury liability (BI) coverage with your insurance policy, but you might want to check on that and the amount they cover.

Bodily Injury coverage protects you from other people's injuries or death in case of an automobile accident.

I am not exactly sure how you should deal with the attorney. You can contact your car insurance company and ask them. Or maybe one of the experts here would know.

Hi Ellisjay,
Your situation intrigued me, so I checked with expert Bob Passmore, senior director-personal lines with the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, Des Plaines, Ill. Bob offers the following advice:

“If you have "gap" coverage, you should be fine because “gap” coverage pays the difference between the actual cash value of the totaled vehicle (which is what the auto insurance will pay) and the loan amount. The one thing to be aware of is that “gap” insurance doesn't always pay for amounts "rolled over" from a previous loan, i.e. trading in a car you still owe money on, you may roll the balance of that loan in to the new loan.

“The second situation should be reported to the insurance company immediately. Liability coverage would cover those injuries. Give the insurer all the information about the attorney and any letters you may have received from them.”

I hope this helps.
Jim Connolly

at this point I want to make a good financial decision now that I have a fresh start over again in getting a vehicle: I figured the best thing to do to not get back into payments, interest rates, and full coverage rates would be to fix my previous owned vehicle which I may have to take a loan out for around 2-3k and kinda get back on top of things the. I also had figured too look around at some private sales of vehicles around a decent price range around 4-5k which would still involve a loan, now Im not sure if I should take out a personal loan or a vehicle, reason I ask is I figured if its a vehicle loan the bank is going to want a full coverage plan which I am trying to avoid at the time due to my driving record and more than likely after the accident my rates will go up, im just kinda looking at my options around me, but mainly I want to make it easy on my self vehicle wise and to get caught up fiancial wise on a few bills.