So I was coming back from a rather uneventful day at work. Dealing with the normal traffic idiocy on I95 northbound out of Greenbelt. However, today was slightly different.

There was a green Honda CRV in front on me in the left-most lane. This was the idiot. He didn't bother to clean off his car. So as I was driving along I see this GIANT sheet of ice coming at me, the entire roof of his car was covered in ice, it was airborne now. So I try and figure out where it's going to go so as to make sure I'm not there.

That didn't work out so well. There was a rather disgusting crunch, I was hoping it was just me running over the ice, but unfortunately that was not to be. It took out my driver's side headlight, parking/turn signal, and fog light. It also cracked my front bumper skin something good. Seeing this was I95 the guy was clueless that anything happened at all so there was no chance of getting him to pull over and fess up to the damage he caused.

I stopped off at the rest stop between 216 and 32 and took some pictures. I have the guys license plate but when I called up the insurance it didn't seem like that made any bit of difference.

Right now I have a claim filed because I know this isn't by any means going to be a cheap fix. I also want this taken care of ASAFP. Unfortunately I have to wait until I get contacted by the claims adjuster and they look at the car before I can proceed any further. Needless to say I'm just a wee bit miffed.

 

Ice did this? WOW thats some crazy S**T. I hope everything works out for you.

 

That is too bad. In fact, the national news just talked about exactly that ... flying hunks of ice

It might not be as expensive as you think. The plastic bumper cover is not terribly expensive. For example, the lower grille is about $40. The headlight might be depending upon if you have to get an entire new assembly. But i'm guessing less than $1K damage (but probably wrong) w/out labor.

Then it depends upon your deductable if its worth making a claim for a small amount. If you got $500 deductable and $1000 in damage, the question becomes how much will insurnace go up next year for making such a small claim

Sorry for the damage... people can be clueless.

 

That just sucks. Did you file a police report?

I hate driving in this weather for that very reason: Morons abound!!!

~Ryan

 

Whoa!!! That sucks...

 

I don't know if is true but a client of mine, just this afternoon, told me that in MD there is a law stating that vehicles must be clear any snow, ice before getting on the road. He was nice and cleaned Streghina's top because did not want for me to get a ticket. Since you have the license plate maybe is worth a call to the police and you can take the driver to small court to recoup damages.

 

OMG.... I am sorry to hear about your MINI, but I am glad that it was not worse. I would file a police report though, so that you have everthing documented. They may even be able to help to track him down.

 

That really sucks, Matt.

Your insurance company didn't really care about the other car's tag number because it's going to be a comp claim. Your policy says comprehensive coverage includes being struck by a missile, which means an object flying through the air (usually it's rocks and stones).

So, your comp deductible is going to apply here. Again, that sucks. But it's not as bad as chows is making it out to be. A comp claim is not going to affect your premium.

 

I remember reading an article stating the driver is responsible for cleaning off their car to stop the flying ice and snow. I would file a police report as well.

 

That sux. Sorry to hear about the damage. good luck with the insurance company. I hope they fix it quickly.

BTW I saw a roof shaped piece of ice fly at me on the GW parkway this evening but I was lucky enough to have room to maneuver and get out of its' way.

 

Its not collision but comprehensive? ... like a broken windshield or the car stolen? If its collision ... the cost can go up. If its comprehensive, most likely not. However, dont kid yourself. Get yourself a couple of broken windshields or the car stolen and see if the rates dont go up next time. It wont be like an accident where the policy may actually state ... first one is free. second one rate goes up 30% but insurance companies will assign a risk to you.

Its the same as making small claims on your house insurance. If you make a lot of piddly claims for $1K or $2K, next time around they may raise your rates or drop you simply because your making claims ... and hence a risk. It happens and the advise is always, dont make a small house claim. Save if for the $10K claim. It sounds ridiculous ... what the point of having insurance if you cant use it but they are in the business of making money .... not paying your claims.

 

Yeah, Matt... even though it's not a liability issue with the other driver and the insurance company, it IS still against the law and perhaps the police will issue the other driver a fine.

 

Definately file necessary paperwork to its documented. Morons like that should not be allowed to drive.

 

That's right, it's not a collision loss. It's clearly considered a "missile" by policy definition.

And I'm not sure what Insurance company you use, but the one I work for and the one I'm insured with do not raise rates for Comp Claims. Now... we will cancel people for excessive comp claims but we're very lenient with our state-approved standard (four claims in a three year period). We'll normally ask a policyholder to consider raising their comp deductible to $500 or $1000 before we take a step as drastic as termination.

 

Sorry to hear about your mishap. At least you weren't hurt and it wasn't like you had a moose in the front seat of your car. How awkward would that be for you and the moose!

 

I mentioned this in the MiniNurse thread, but I saw three cars on my 20 minute drive home tonight, each with smashed windshields from the same thing. Irresponsible drivers FTL

 

Right now it's in as collision because the guy on the phone said something along the lines of you were driving at the time and were struck by an object. When I call up my actual agent tomorrow we'll see. As it stands I have a $250 collision deductible, I know a bumper costs ~$400 to replace, at least that's what a rear bumper costs.

Quick look up of parts, just covering some basic things:
Xenon headlight housing - $700
Front Bumper Skin - 200
Parking/Turn Signal assembly - 25
Fog Light assembly - 60

Right there is almost $1000 just in parts, yes I realize those are over the counter prices and shops get a discount.

But on a better note I can not have my front bumper drilled for a plate holder and just get one of the tow hook mount ones.

Also, it wasn't like it was a tiny piece of ice. I'm thinking it was probably about 3' x 5'. Not to mention if it was anything like the ice I cleaned off my car this morning it was 2" thick.

 

Sorry to hear about your luck my friend...glad you are okay...the car can be repaired. It could've been worse.

 

Matt, who's your insurance with ?

Their policy is obviously different than ours. What sucks is, if they call that a collision loss, it's going to be an at-fault accident, like striking a pothole or an object in the road. It also means a premium increase.

Perhaps you can talk to a Claim Manager and ask them about the policy language and if it includes "missiles" under their comp coverage. Would save you considerable money.

 

I thought flying ice was considered an 'act of god' and treated differently than say debris off a dump truck with regards to how the claim is handled.

 

What if your atheist how can it be an 'act of god'?

 

According to our policy, the stone kicked up by a vehicle in front of you and a slab of ice flying off the vehicle in front of you would be no different, both are comp claims. By the way, nowhere in our policy is God mentioned.

Most major companies have very similar policies. That's why I'm interested in learning who Matt is insured with.

Of course, there is a chance they're considering an Uninsured Motorist claim and are simply going to pay it out of his Collision coverage due to the state-mandated deductible for "U" coverage.

 

I gave a call to my insurance company (Ameriprise) and they said this would be considered a comp claim to them.

 

I don't own an atheist

 

They can't issue a summons if they did not witness it.
Samething why red light cameras are not moving violations.

I can't believe this isn't a comprehensive claim.