September 10, 2018 - October 1, 2018
In the past few weeks Bob and I have spent countless hours dealing with the fallout from my accident in which I was sitting at a red light and was slammed into by a pick up truck. I have been going to physical therapy twice a week and Bob has been dealing with issues concerning the damage to our car. Here are the particulars:
- After several days the insurance company of the truck driver (Allstate) determined that the accident was not my fault and they would accept responsibility
- It took several more days to get an initial estimate on the damage and repairs
- After a week the car was towed to Koon’s Toyota in Annapolis for repair.
- By the end of the next week Koon’s determined that the car was a total loss due to structural damage
- During this time period I was informed by GEICO (our insurance company) that they would be paying my medical expenses under PIP (whatever that means). This entailed several hours of filling out paperwork and talking with insurance agents.
- When I took out my Sailrite sewing machine (that was stored in the back of our car) several pieces fell off and when I used it to repair a friend’s canvas it made all kinds of terrible noises. This caused another round of phone calls to Allstate and Sailrite to determine what to do to get the machine repaired. We took the machine to UPS and had it packed and shipped to Sailrite for repair.
- I took pictures of the machine which I sent to Allstate along with the repair estimate given to me by Sailrite. I payed for the repairs out of pocket as I needed the machine to complete projects before our departure for Charleston. Sail rite repaired my machine in one day and sent it back to me immediately. I still haven’t heard from Allstate about paying for the repairs.
- Bob is still in negotiation with Allstate to determine the evaluation of our car. They want to pay us trade in value and we want replacement value. It just doesn’t seem fair that we should be penalized $3000 for sitting at a red light and getting slammed into by a truck. We will see what happens.
- Bob researched and found a Toyota Prius that was the same model as our old Prius but 2 years younger at the Koon’s Toyota in Westminster which we made arrangements to buy. We still haven’t been paid for our totaled car but we got a loan and picked up the car last Thursday relieving Allstate of the expense of a rental car.
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| We are very happy with our new (to us) car. |
- Who knows what the outcome of all this will be, but I get the feeling that we will be royally screwed by Allstate no matter what we do.
- I am still being treated by a physical therapist to correct the damage to my neck and upper back. I am recovering slowly.
Another incident that occurred to rock our world was hurricane Florence hitting the Carolinas early on September 14th. New Bern, NC (where we were planning to spend the winter months) took a direct hit. The damage to the marinas and the town was colossal. After much discussion we decided to cancel our marina reservation in New Bern and make a reservation in Charleston, SC. We can only hope that no more hurricanes will hit the area this season.
Bob and I have been working to complete the few remaining projects and provision for the trip south. A major project which I finally completed was the
Androsia Batik quilt that I started when we were in the Bahamas. After having it machine quilted by a local quilter I sewed on the binding and here it is!
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| I think it was worth the effort to have this quilt which will not only keep us warm, but also remind us of our time in the Bahamas. |
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| Here is the quilt tucked into our bed in the V-berth. |
Our plan is to leave our marina on October 18 as the work to replace our dock will begin on October 19. We still have several doctor’s appointments to attend and provisioning to complete by then.
I have been able to spend lots of time with Jessica since she got back from Aspen and have met up with my sister Laurie. Seeing the rest of my family will have to wait until my next trip back to the area.
My next blog post should chronicle the final dealings with Allstate, our last preparations, and our first few days of our seasonal migration south.
Thank you for reading my blog.
