Involved in accident-what do we do if our vehicle is totaled but we were still making payments?
Never been in an accident before so I’m new fighting with insurances. We are not at fault, a guy hit t-boned us and our truck might be totaled. Its a 2013 f150. we bought it used about a year and a half ago. What happens if the insurance says she’s totaled and we still owe on it? We have gap insurance. Do they write us a check for what she’s worth. I know we owe more than she’s worth. We owe probably 23k. Any ideas or experiences is greatly appreciated through this stressful situation
mark_poc2018-01-14T03:45:31Z
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The insurance company will pay for what the truck is worth. The check will be written out to you and your lien holder (bank or lender). So if you owe $23k and it's worth only $11k then the insurance only pays the $11k. Your lender will get that. Then your gap insurance should pay the rest of what you owe ($12k) and then your truck will be all paid off and you will be left with exactly nothing. And the insurance company will take possession of the truck and sell it as junk or whatever to get whatever money they can squeeze from it.
But you can see why your lender required you to get gap insurance otherwise they may have been out $12k if you failed to pay it.
Damaged vehicles involved in accidents and towed are usually sent to a wrecker yard that charges a fee to remove the vehicle and charges for every day the damaged vehicle remains in the lot. There should be information on how to find which lot your car was sent to and how to pay the tolling bill and rental charge. Of course, you will need a wrecker to carry your damaged car to a repair facility. You still must make payments on your car.