Beware of DriveTime Insurance

About six weeks ago I was sitting at a stop sign before turning left. I was waiting because there was a car coming from the right. Then to my horror I saw the car begin to turn left, but instead of waiting until she reached the center of the intersection to turn, the driver was cutting to corner. She obviously didn't see me before she started her turn, because when she did she slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel a hard right.

However, since the roads were wet the car still smacked into my car's front bumper and slid off to my left. Needless to say I was a little ticked, to put it mildly.

No one was hurt, and her car suffered much more damage than mine; the license-plate holder with the license plate was torn off, and there were some scrapes across the top of the bumper. Very mild damage, thankfully.

Immediately I called both my insurance company and 911 to report the accident. Then because we were in the country, we had to wait a good 30 minutes before a law enforcement officer arrived.

While waiting we exchanged insurance information, and here is where the point of this blog comes in. She presented as her proof of insurance some papers from DriveTime indicating a policy #, etc. Being uninformed at that time, I gladly accepted it as insurance.

(The other error I made: although I got her name, license plate #, insurance information, I failed to get her address and phone number...can't believe I was soooo stupid)

When the police officer showed up, he said it was up to me whether to file a report, but that if either of us ever wanted to file a claim we would need the report. She kept silent, but I said, "Do it!" (I was still upset at her reckless driving.)

Anyway, to make a long story short. A few days later when I called her insurance "provider": DriveTime, I got a very unpleasant surprise. DriveTime is only comprehensive insurance. DriveTime requires all those who finance a vehicle thru them to carry their insurance in order to protect the interests of DriveTime. However, the purchasers are told that they will have to have liability insurance thru another provider.

Guess what? If she had insurance thru another provider, she certainly didn't share that. So, the only way to get her to pay for the damage to my vehicle is to take her to small claims court. I have some time to do that, and I just may...

By the way, when the police officer handed her the ticket, he said that the judge would probably just have her take a safe driving class. To which she replied: "I just got finished taking one...a month ago. And this is my second accident since then." ????!!!!!!

Anyway, if someone tries to pass off DriveTime insurance as proof of insurance in accident, make sure you ask for their other insurance provider. If they don't have one, make sure you tell the law enforcement officer who takes the report that they are an uninsured motorist. CYA

Has Your Car Lost Value?

If that car or vehicle has been involved in an accident the answer is a resounding "YES!" Even if the vehicle has been beautifully restored to pre-accident condition, you will never get pre-accident value for the vehicle.

Once an accident has been reported it goes into the databases, and when you go to sell it that vehicle history report is going to reveal the accident, immediately bringing down that amount you will receive.

However, all is not lost. It is possible to recover that value in cold hard cash...right now! If you've been in an accident and the statue of limitations has not expired, even if you've already received a settlement...you still may have money coming. To learn more and get the report that outlines exactly how to go about get that money, click here.