The injury claim takes months. The car cannot wait that long, and it does not have to. Property damage is a separate claim that can and should be resolved quickly. The trap is that insurers use the car to get at the injury claim.
Who pays for the car
Two options.
The other driver’s insurer, once they accept liability. This costs you no deductible. The downside is that they may take days or weeks to accept liability, and your car sits in a tow yard accruing storage fees while they do.
Your own collision coverage, if you have it. Your insurer pays promptly, you pay the deductible, and your insurer then recovers from the other driver’s company and refunds your deductible, a process called subrogation. When liability is being disputed or the other insurer is slow, this is usually the faster path.
Using your own coverage for the car does not affect the injury claim and does not, under Indiana law, raise your rates for a crash that was not your fault.
Get the car out of the tow yard
Storage fees in Northwest Indiana run $40 to $100 a day. Insurers push back on paying more than a reasonable period. Move the car to a body shop of your choice or to your own driveway as soon as you can.
Repairs
You choose the shop. An insurer can recommend a shop; it cannot require one. The shop and the insurer’s appraiser negotiate the estimate; supplements for damage discovered after teardown are normal. Ask for original equipment parts if the insurer is proposing aftermarket parts on a newer vehicle, and expect a discussion.
Rental car
If the other driver was at fault, their insurer owes you a comparable rental or the cash value of one for the reasonable repair period, or for a reasonable period after a total-loss offer. If you are using your own coverage, rental is paid only if you bought rental reimbursement coverage. Keep the rental until the car is actually back or the total-loss check is actually in hand; do not return it on a promise.
Total loss
If repairs would cost more than the car is worth, the insurer declares a total loss and owes you the car’s actual cash value: what a comparable vehicle, same year, mileage, trim, and condition, would sell for locally. Insurers use valuation reports that start low. Pull your own comparables from dealer and private listings within 100 miles, document recent maintenance and new tires, and push back with evidence. You are also owed sales tax and title fees on the replacement.
Diminished value
A repaired car is worth less than one that was never wrecked. Indiana allows a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurer for that loss in value. It is rarely paid without being asked for and usually requires an appraisal. Worth pursuing on newer vehicles; often not worth the fight on older ones.
Keep the two claims separate
Resolve the car, sign the property damage release for the car only, and read it before you sign. A property damage release should say property damage. If the paper in front of you releases “all claims,” it is releasing your injury claim too. That is not a mistake on the insurer’s part.
Next: Part 6, your own insurance policy, and the coverage you already paid for that most people never use.
This article is general information about Indiana law, not legal advice about your situation. Laws change and every case is different. Talk to a lawyer about the facts of your case.