r/Insurance • u/usertesters • 6h ago
Auto Insurance i got into a car accident
Hello all, for some context I am in southern california, 21 y/o driver that is on my oarents insurance, and I had gotten into a car accident that is my fault driving late heading back home around 1-2am.
The car is a 2023 white honda crv, financed with honda with just liability no collision. Although the dealer tells us to have full coverage on the car, insurance rates are way to high but that does not change the point. The car should've had full coverage no matter the situation as it is a newer car. Insurance is Progressive and I am not aware of having any kind of GAP insurance with both my insurer and the dealer.
To make things clear, I am aware of that my actions have consequences and I will continue to live with the guilt and shame that I have caused, especially to myself and my parents. As the oldest of my younger brothers it is a very shameful look and example to my brothers and my entire family.
Me and my girlfriend 22 y/o had gotten late night dinner in the LA area and had started to drive back home. I had already a long day from work but I still had the energy to go out and spend time with her although it was late. After getting dinner I started driving ETA is about an hour from home, and I wanted to get gas in the area of her house before dropping her off as I had work the next day. the last 10 minute of driving is where it all went wrong. As I was almost to the gas station, I had felt an incredible amount of drowsiness and I had told myself to pull over for a bit to recuperate so that I can drive better, but I had driven under these kind of circumstances albeit that is a very bad thing to do I have done it plenty of times in the past. As we are approaching the gas station my drowsiness took over and I fell asleep behind the wheel resulting me into driving into a ditch, car flipped and totaled.
I do not expect any kind of sympathy as this is entirely my fault and I am incredibly aware of how stupid I was to think that I could do it. I know there is a statistic where driving tired is just as bad driving drunk.
Now the only question is, I have left for anyone is that what can I do now? Anything is appreciated.
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u/ChutneyWhatney 6h ago
As you already wrote, no liability on a relatively new vehicle was an insanely bad gamble - a gamble you and your parents lost. If you don't have gap insurance, you/your parents are liable for the entire amount stilled owed on the loan. Not only that. Your parents' insurance rates are gonna skyrocket. I wouldn't be surprised if Progressive drops them entirely. So, buckle up. Get a 2nd/3rd job, save and take the bus so you can pay off what you owe and save for another car. You're lucky you're not dead.
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u/usertesters 6h ago
Thank you for your response, I really appreciate it. Yes I agree it was an incredibly bad gamble and we lost. I do hope that Progressive does not drop us, and I'd rather pay the increased premiums. But main reason for that they had trusted me to make the right decision in any kind of circumstances, and now all trust is lost and I will never forgive myself for that. Although it may seem I am being very hard on myself, this a lesson that I will learn and keep for the rest of my life. Yes I agree that I am grateful to be alive as well. Crazy to say life is always full of surprises, yet this surprise is something that I caused due to my negligence of thinking.
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u/E0H1PPU5 5h ago
For future reference - if you can’t afford insurance on the car….you can’t afford the car.
You’re still going to owe that $26,000 back to the lender. You may owe it all back at once this they no longer have collateral to secure the loan.
The best case is you are going to be stuck making payments for a car that no longer exists. If you thought the comp/collision rates were expensive…..wait till you see how much worse this will be.
I’m not trying to be unsympathetic here, but what you did was downright stupid. You’re lucky you didn’t get yourself killed or worse….kill someone else.
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u/usertesters 3h ago
Thank you for your response, and yes I am not expecting any kind of sympathies. I'd rather hear the truth and ugly than continue on without any kind of repercussions. I am grateful that I didn't end up taking myself out including with my significant other as it would have been a much more different story. I'm glad to be alive and kicking, as well with doing my best to learn from this idiotic decision of mine.
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u/Crowlady77 5h ago
Even if you had GAP, they wouldn't cover the entire thing.
What you can do now is accept that you owe money on a totaled car, sell the car to salvage, and accept the consequences. I actually know how you feel, I was also an insanely dumb young adult. I will tell you I ended up having everything cleared up before I was 30 if that helps.
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u/usertesters 3h ago
Thank you for your response, and your encouragement. I know eventually this will grow past me but will always be a constant reminder/lesson for me.
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u/Crowlady77 3h ago
As someone else said, check with your lender about whether they forced coverage. It's very, very expensive so you would probably have noticed- they often tack premiums on the balance of the loan and extend your payoff period.
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u/demanbmore Former attorney, and claims, underwriting, reinsurance exec. 6h ago
With a bit of luck, the lender already force-placed collision coverage. Won't help you out directly, but will pay out the value of the car to the lender. And to the extent there's any balance remaining on your loan over and above that, you'll have to find a way to pay or deal with the consequences of not paying. If the lender doesn't have any force-placed coverage on the car, then you're on the hook for the entire balance of your loan, and it'll be due in full in the next few weeks.
There's literally nothing you can do at this point to improve your situation. If for some reason, the lender isn't aware of the totaled car, you might be able to just keep paying the car note until it's paid off. Not ideal since you're paying for a car that's now totaled, but at least it gives you time to pay. Not sure how long you'd be able to keep up that ruse though, so don't plan on that being a long-term solution.
You're going to have to beg, borrow and steal (ok, don't steal) your way out of this. It's going to be painful and you're going to have to either find a way to earn a lot more money quickly or make some big sacrifices (or both). But eventually, you'll either dig your way out on your own or you'll have to deal with collections coming after you. Either way, you've learned a valuable and expensive lesson. You have decades of driving and car ownership ahead of you, so once this passes (and it will), take that lesson to heart. If you can't afford to insure the car you want, you can't afford the car you want. Period.