Sorry to hear about your accident Linda. Absolutely you have a right. You are entitled to compensation for ALL of your inconveniences. Document everything. Write down all the hours you are spending not only driving back and forth, but making calls to the insurance companies, calling for estimates, etc. I work for myself and when I was in a similar accident last year, the insurance company paid me for EVERY hour I lost away from work, every penny I spent (including gas), etc. Take a look at the Nolo site. They have a lot of very clear advice on how to handle a vehicle accident. Also, even if you were not bruised and banged up, please consider going to a medical practitioner if you are showing any signs of soreness, loss of sleep, etc. Ann Here is a link that might be useful: NOLO: Take notes after an accident or injury

As long as your policy carries liability for injuries to others, property damage for damage to other property and collision for damage to the rental vehicle you should be fine. That is unless your policy excludes rentals. Most policies don't but some companies won't extend to rentals. Comprehensive will cover fire,theft and generally glass, flying objects etc. You will have to pay your deductible and yes, if the accident was your fault you could possible lose a driving discount but that all depends on your state and your insurance company.

And I also thought it was odd that they started the article with that line, but never referenced the details. That's most likely because they are just trying to prey on people's misguided fears in order to get more people reading the article. It's like those news teasers that announce "Are (insert common item here) slowly killing your children? Tune in at 11 for our in-depth expose." Then everyone panics and tunes in and finds out that the answer is "No, except for this very rare isolated case." In this case it's "No permits? Lose everything!!! ... Now that I have your attention, forget about what I just said because if you look too closely at it you'll realise that there aren't any facts to back up what I'm trying to imply. Instead, let's talk about the fact that cities really want you to pay for permits and it really sucks because a lot of people don't do it and 90% of old houses have unpermitted work done on them."

The insurance company compares the repair cost to the value of an un-crashed vehicle of the same vintage and pays the lesser of the two amounts. In my opinion, if this were a collector and show car, he would entitled to getting it back to the same condition as before the crash, however, it is not. Is very unfortuante: I see two options: Total the car and take the appraised value, or keep the car and accept the cash settlement and have it repaired on his own. However, he should first get an estimate of the repair. I see $4000 to $6000 or more repair cost. There is something more wrong under the hood since it will not start. You did not say what that damage was. Was the engine damaged, say a cracked block? Maybe a bunch of busted accessories and brackets on the front of the engine? Cracked manifold? The visible damage is front bumper, bumper cover, probably 2 radiators (engine and air conditioner), left fron fender, hood, grill, front headlamp assembly, running lamp in bumper, possible frame and steering links, 2 shock absorbers (if there is any age on these, these are replaced in pairs to keep the front suspension action balanced), possible front suspension spring and spring brackets, There could be distortion of the sheet metal under the windshield, Possible wiring harness damage, battery and battery pan depending on where the battery is located, possible battery acid damage if the battery was cracked, The right front door may have scratches that will have to be fixed and included in the paint job, and front end alignment after everything is put back together. The paint job will be over $1000 for color matching and fairing the paint into the old paint. The front wheel should be checked for damage and replaced if there is any dents or distortion. The front brake may need rebuilding and any damaged brake lines replaced. As you can see, the repair is extensive, and that's unfortunate because your vehicle appears rust free, rare for an Explorer that age. There will be no settlement until the police report is available. You did have the police survey the scene, didn't you? Expect about 1 week before the report is available from the police station. The police report and witness statements are used to determine fault or percentage of fault of each party.