I stepped off the train and walked to my car. I quickly saw the front left of the car was hit. Hard.
I am grateful that the perpetrator was a school bus. Grateful because it meant there was a police report of the incident. Ungrateful because the damage was that much greater.
Insurance. Adjuster. Police records. Claim number. Damage. Body shop. Car Rental. Carpool.
All of these words explain what I went through this past month.
Thankfully today I am closing the file. I have processed the claim, repaired the vehicle, returned the rental undamaged, fared well during the period without my car, requested reimbursements.
I got my beautifully freshly painted van back.
I had to pay $0.75 for the official copy of the police report which states that the bus driver is completely liable for all damages. "Driver of vehicle 2 misjudged the distance between vehicle 1 and vehicle 2."
I paid $135 for the car rental. This includes tax on the rental and $50 for one extra day because I could not pick up my vehicle within the 3 hour window they gave and instead left it there over the weekend.
I had to call the insurance company back to get them to reimburse the $50.
I had to process a personal claim to get reimbursed from the bus driver's insurance for the tax I paid, which is an out of pocket expense.
Phone calls. Emails. Files. Credit cards. Messages. Money. Time.
By now you understand the headache this was. But it was JUST THAT. Thank G-d no one was in the car at the time of the accident. I am grateful that I was able to handle the details and not have to worry about personal injury or disability. Damages. They are all relative.
I am proud to say that I did not get stressed about this. I had the presence of mind to see it in perspective right from the start. My car is just a tool (a convenient tool), a thing. We are all safe. Let this be the worst form of suffering that G-d metes out.
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