The Aftermath
I have to say that I am very incapacitated without the car.
It is as though someone has chopped one of my limbs off and there is nothing we can do in this instance.
See the trouble with a multi car collision is, if you are one of the vehicles who is caught in the middle of the crash, chances are you are going to get your bum screwed by your insurance company. Even if you are NOT at fault at all.
And in this instance, because we are car number 5 in a chain of 7 cars.
We managed to stop in time when the car in front of us pulled an e brake, due to an accident that happened just ahead. But because the taxi didn't even brake at all and drove straight into our boot, our car got pushed forward and thus resulted in an accordion situation with a smashed up front and a crashed in bum.
So we now have two options.
1. We file a claim under our own policy and pay the excess. Get the car fixed and then follow up with an after claim, which means we request for a lawyer on our insurer's end to pursue for the cost of the damage and if we win, we get to reinstate our rating, claim back our NCB, claim our medical and rental car bills.
2. We go for a direct claim from the cab driver who drove his car into us.
So because it is a "supposedly" hazy situation in the insurer's point of view, we have to follow through on the procedures.
The first car garage that we went to wants us to file based on Option 1 but we are not convinced that it is the best way to go. They were really conservative with their quotes and was generally low risk takers. Plus, they did not want to issue a loan car to us. So D got another garage to tow the car away and fix it. And we got a loaner too, which makes life terribly easy now.
So , 3 things I am grateful for:
1. The car is wrecked. - And we are not. So that I am thankful. The whiplash is a bitch but it is still managable. And we get a face lift for the car, well, sorta. =/
2. Accident Insurance - Darien completely forgot that he bought that but whilst looking for his insurance papers, he found the papers for our cover.
3. Our kids are OK - Probably the most important thing in the whole equation. Funny how it all played out that evening, when we made that last minute decision to leave the kids behind.
I gotta admit that I was thinking of all the what ifs. What if we didn't go out? What if we had picked up our kitchenware on Sat night, instead? What if we waited for another minute at Paragon? What if this is more serious than what could've been?
But I guess we were put in this situation to show that God was out there looking out for us. =)