At fault insurance company says the max they can give me is $5000... Help!

The long & short of it is that the PD minimum in PA is $5k. Maintaining your own policy should include the foresight that if something happens to your vehicle, whether you get hit by an un/underinsured driver, or at fault, that you don't get screwed. If you don't have an agent to thoroughly cover this with you, find a. New one. State Farm has received a premium for $5k, they have no obligation beyond that, regardless of how much it sucks for you. Similarly, your policy would only pay out what it is rated & paid for. Had you had collision & rental coverage, your insurance would likely make you whole first, then eat the cost. If you knew that the PA min is so low, and you could easily blow it, that is even more reason for better coverage. Beyond that, you still have a duty to mitigate your damages (prompt & reasonable towing, not letting it linger in a salvage yard, a reasonable rental rate).

If you cannot afford to replace your vehicle, then you need to revisit your policy coverages and/or your emergency fund for future instances.

You should be able to retain salvage & keep the vehicle without affecting the $5k payout, since it sounds like you're over the limits by a fair bit. You can then repair it to some extent or sell it to their salvage vendor directly (these are often avail to the public).

Two things I learned as an adjuster: never ever rely on a 3rd party to cover your damages if you can avoid it, and very, very rarely is a vehicle worth as much as the owner feels. In fact, we were hit late last year by a driver with NO coverage - we were out those costs completely (beyond our coverage). We had well over 15k in damages. That's why we pay for a good, comprehensive policy.

If you sue the driver, they will refer it to their insurance company (as they should), and they'll offer up their limits in court. If the other driver cannot pony up the remaining, you'll be out even more. If you accept that $5k, you may forfeit further recovery, but at least you have that. You can try contacting the other owner to see if they will assist. Lawyers are virtually useless/unwilling in PD claims (zero profit).

I get you're pissed, and I would be too, but it shouldn't be all that surprising. You got nailed by someone with minimal coverage, and you didn't have sufficient coverage to make up the difference. If sounds like State Farm is going to do their due diligence to give you as much as they can, and try to find coverage somewhere (umbrella policy, etc). Honestly, they can write you a check minus costs already incurred, tendering the limits, and call it a day. They're not out to get you or lowball you, they will pay what they owe and the policy allows.

Tl;dr: this sucks, hard, for you but is not an uncommon or surprising scenario. Get what you can, retain salvage, revisit your own policy, and write your state legislators for a reasonable PD minimum.

/r/Insurance Thread