much more than the money you are given.

10:00 Thursday, August 22nd my car was hit.  I was deemed 100%, not at fault and only suffered a small cut and a few hours of soreness.  This is being written 23 days later and my car is still in the shop.

Yes, I have a rental and have had it available since the day of the accident.

Yes, I have no out of pocket expense for this accident since I am not at fault.

No, I am not terribly pleased with this whole claims process.

See I have consulted with a few hundred claims and know how to handle them but I missed the worst part when there are no physical injuries of course.  Cars can be fixed or replaced.  In most cases, people will heal.  But I did overlook the immeasurable and uncompensated annoying part that goes along with claims.

It sucks to not have your car.

Yes, that is a bit petty since I do have a nice enough car to drive around but it is not my car.  My driving habits have not changed, I have not changed my usage, I’ve just enjoyed it much less.  See there is something to be said for this situation.  See your home/rental/condo policy has loss of use coverage which basically provides living expenses if you are displaced from your home.  Now within that coverage, I am aware of claims adjusters having a little leeway when it comes to what they pay out.  This coverage pays for a hotel or even a place to rent but it also compensates for meals if you need to eat out and the cost exceeds what is normally spent.  I’ve personally had a claims adjuster work with me to pay for a hotel in a different city since we were to be out of the house anyhow.

What is the comparable thing for auto insurance?  I’m not looking for much, just a little something to acknowledge the inconvenience.  Maybe Geico sends me a $20 Starbucks card with a little note;

” We know this is annoying, hang in there your car will be ready soon…”  Of course, it would be funny if they wrote  “Sorry the dopey kid we insure chose to test his 0-60 time while coming out of a Dunkin Donuts.  Have a coffee on us”

Just a little something to be a bit more human.  After all, this is not a transaction, you actually have had an impact on my household.  Either way, I think I’ll start doing this for my friends.

Just some thoughts, do with them what you like.