I hit a rental car and need advice about loss of use

[Shilacl]

Aloha!

I live on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii (Honolulu County).

In 2008, I hit a car from behind. I was going about 25 mph and rear ended the car in front of me straight on. The car I hit was coming to a stop due to sudden stop in traffic ahead. I was on a strip of country highway where the speed limit was 45mph and it was a clear, sunny afternoon (approximately 4:30 p.m.). I failed to stop in time. No other vehicles were involved in the accident. The police were called to the scene and filled out a minor accident report, but I was not given a traffic violation ticket. I have a clean record and no prior tickets or accidents. I was not distracted on the phone or playing with my radio, or anything else either.

I have full coverage insurance with property liability damage of only $10,000. The three people in the vehicle, all under the age of 30 and in shape (surfers), were fine and have not reported any injury to date. No ambulance was called to the scene. The car I hit was a rental car. Both vehicles were drivable, although my Mercedes Benz C230's front end was smashed in (no structural frame damage, no bag deployment, and no windows broken). Even less damage appeared to be done to the car I hit - the trunk and back of car was dented in and one side of the car's body panel had been shifted slightly upward about a 1/4 inch (again did not appear to have structural damage, no bags deployed, and no windows were broken). I have seen worse visual damage done to a stationary car being backed into in a parking lot, although I do understand that damage is not always visible from the outside and I am no expert on the field. I took photos at the scene of both vehicles and the damage done to them.

It was a rental car company who owned the vehicle, Alamo. Alamo has since came back to my claim's agent and said that the car, a brand new 2008 Chevy Impala, was considered totaled and the value of the car assessed at $16,000, $6,000 more than my coverage. (I understand that my coverage is way too low and have since decided it would be a smart idea to up my coverage). Alamo has also threatened to charge for the opportunity cost of renting the vehicle which they call "Loss of Use" in addition to the vehicle amount.

Question: I realize that you can be sued for just about anything these days, but is there any precedent in Hawaii and/or federally to charge for opportunity cost of business in the form of "Loss of Use" especially in the case where they total the vehicle? I could see how they might charge me if I was a customer of theirs and had an accident with their car, but I cannot see them having a viable claim to charge someone who hit their car this loss of use fee? I guess the parallel that I could think of is if it is standard for an average person to charge a similar loss of work wages if they missed work due to an accident where they were hit.

Should I worry about this fee and am I entitled to an unbiased independent third party assessment of their vehicle to assess if the vehicle is truly totalled? My husband is in the car business, and is by no means an expert in the field of assessing damage, but to him and to me and to others who witnessed the damage, this is outrageous that they could claim a totalled vehicle for the damage to their vehicle. It seems to me almost as if the car was defective if it had to be totalled in minor car collission?

What should I do to protect myself from Alamo and potential future mishaps like this? I don't own a home, I rent. I have heard of Renter's Insurance that may be useful to protect my assets. I don't currently have renter's insurance or any other insurance besides my car insurance. I don't own much of anything outright as an in my 20's recent graduate from college except what I own along with the bank, namely my car. I don't know what else of mine would be an asset. I do have a job.

Basically my question is: What should I worry about, what steps can I take to protect myself, and what could I do to have a better outcome in the future should a similar or worse situation befall me.

I really appreciate any advice given. Thank you in advance. Mahalo!

[seniorjudge]

Alamo has also threatened to charge for the opportunity cost of renting the vehicle which they call "Loss of Use" in addition to the vehicle amount.

Sounds like a load of crap to me.

What does your lawyer say?

[ecmst12]

Renters insurance does not protect you from liability due to car accident, but it DOES protect you from other types of liability similar to homeowners, and it protects your stuff in case of fire, flood, or other accidental damage. It is absolutely essential for any renter and you should sign up for it TODAY. It's also dirt cheap.

To protect yourself in the future, raise your property damage limits to at least $50k, $100 would be better but $50k will cover a lot more situations then $10k will. And raise your BI limits as high as you can afford them; 100k per person/300k per accident will protect you in MOST situations. Raising liability limits doesn't even cost that much. Someday if/when you become a homeowner, you can look into a $1million umbrella policy that will cover amounts in excess of your limits for auto or homeowners liability; again usually not that expensive considering what you get.

As far as that loss of use though, it's bogus and don't fall for it. They would have to show that they did not have ANY cars to rent and actually lost business due to the accident, in order for a court to award that to them. They know it won't hold up but try anyway because they can. Your insurance company should have received the estimate of damages to the car, as well as the value report they used to determine the value; ask them to send you a copy. You do have the right to review that information. Make sure the value report reflects that it was a RENTAL vehicle, not a private owner. Rental cars take quite a bit more abuse then privately owned cars, and usually have higher mileage too.

[caslerst]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

raise your property damage limits to at least $50k, $100 would be better but $50k will cover a lot more situations then $10k will.

Raise your limits but I would suggest at least $100k because there are a lot of cars out there these days that cost more than $50k. You total one new Escalade, BMW, Corvette, Porsche, heck some pickup trucks, and you're going to pay the extra out of your pocket. Heaven forbid you hit 2.

[ecmst12]

There are very few cars on the road today that would be worth more then $50k after being driven off the lot. Maybe a Bently or Ferrari or something else not commonly seen on the roads. The reason to raise the limits over $50k is because you don't always only hit ONE car when you have an accident.