What to do if you have an accident with your Lucid

[swertheim22]

Owning an EV is still something of a novelty -- and sometimes organizations and people don't know quite what to do. If you're ever in my situation, hopefully this will help.

Last Friday early evening, I was stopped at an intersection waiting to make a left turn. While stopped, I was suddenly rammed from behind by a Jeep Wrangler. The crash basically destroyed the rear end of the car.

While the police were writing up their information, I called Lucid Customer care and got the name of two certified Lucid body shops. So here's what I've learned since...

1) The insurance company (in my case, the other party's insurance) tried to steer me to one of their "preferred" body shops -- don't accept it -- if you do not use a Lucid-certified body shop it will not be properly fixed.
2) Since it was the rear-end collision, I have to consider the car as undrivable as all of the electrical control components are in the trunk -- they cannot get wet. The care will be taken via flatbed and tarp to the body shop.
3) The insurance company is bucking my requirement that they pay for an EV rental -- they don't want to -- and I told them that I have no intention of paying for gasoline.
4) Since I am not at fault, "diminished value" of an EV will come into play. The key will be to get the residual value of the car quoted by a dealer with and without an accident to determine the claim against the insurance company (if one is at fault, that won't fly).
5) The LucidAir certified shop already warned me that parts or going to take longer than normal. With this process just starting, I'm figuring on 3 months without the car.
6) If, and it currently appears it is not likely, that the car is viewed as total, I will have to include years 2 and 3 of free Electrify America charging into my claim. Stay tuned.

My LucidAir Pure has been great so far -- 6 weeks old and 2500 miles...

 

[MorganB]

So sorry to hear of the accident! Insurance is always a battle and incredibly frustrating. I don't think the insurance company has a leg to stand on with the body shop as your car is brand new. I hope you are able to get the rental you want and that the process goes smoothly.

 

[Snafu]

So sorry to hear about your accident - it really is tough to know you're just a bystander in so many ways. Not sure where you are located regarding repair shops, but I was hit in the rear driver's side door/wheel well and the entire trunk/rear was also impacted. My car was brought via flatbed to the only Lucid-certified repair shop in the area and there were some delays in parts, etc.. It ended up being three months till I got the car back (good as new), and the insurance paid for a car rental (not an EV, since few rental cars were even available), and the insurance company (USAA) has paid for everything except for a small percentage of the ceramic coating replacement. (I was not at fault) Unfortunately, now that more LUCIDs are on the road, these accidents are necessary for insurance companies to determine how to deal with them.

 

[SubSailor]

Glad to hear USAA is working well for you. I have had them for almost 50 years and no major issues. My annual premiums on Lucid Air GT with 1k deductible is about 1500 every six months. They seem to be pretty familiar with Lucid at this present time.

 

[shredderc]

My AT has been in the body shop for a month. Shop says parts are slow in coming. Anyway, it seems they haven't plugged in the whole time, because the remaining range estimate keeps dropping. Should I worry? I suspect damage has already been done to the battery health.

 

[joec]

My AT has been in the body shop for a month. Shop says parts are slow in coming. Anyway, it seems they haven't plugged in the whole time, because the remaining range estimate keeps dropping. Should I worry? I suspect damage has already been done to the battery health.

Not unless the battery drops below 10% for a prolonged period. Othwerwise, it won’t damage the battery at all.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Owning an EV is still something of a novelty -- and sometimes organizations and people don't know quite what to do. If you're ever in my situation, hopefully this will help.

Last Friday early evening, I was stopped at an intersection waiting to make a left turn. While stopped, I was suddenly rammed from behind by a Jeep Wrangler. The crash basically destroyed the rear end of the car.

While the police were writing up their information, I called Lucid Customer care and got the name of two certified Lucid body shops. So here's what I've learned since...

1) The insurance company (in my case, the other party's insurance) tried to steer me to one of their "preferred" body shops -- don't accept it -- if you do not use a Lucid-certified body shop it will not be properly fixed.
2) Since it was the rear-end collision, I have to consider the car as undrivable as all of the electrical control components are in the trunk -- they cannot get wet. The care will be taken via flatbed and tarp to the body shop.
3) The insurance company is bucking my requirement that they pay for an EV rental -- they don't want to -- and I told them that I have no intention of paying for gasoline.
4) Since I am not at fault, "diminished value" of an EV will come into play. The key will be to get the residual value of the car quoted by a dealer with and without an accident to determine the claim against the insurance company (if one is at fault, that won't fly).
5) The LucidAir certified shop already warned me that parts or going to take longer than normal. With this process just starting, I'm figuring on 3 months without the car.
6) If, and it currently appears it is not likely, that the car is viewed as total, I will have to include years 2 and 3 of free Electrify America charging into my claim. Stay tuned.

My LucidAir Pure has been great so far -- 6 weeks old and 2500 miles...

Sorry about the accident, that sucks!! Who is their insurance company? I’ve made a case example of Esurance/National General Insurance and insurance commissioners were investigating them for breach of contract until they relented and paid my claim ($19K for front bumper/lightbar and right front wheel replacement). What you need to watch out for is some insurers (AllState, Esurance so far) are playing this “we’ll cover parts but not labor for the certified shop” game and try and slow down repairs on your car hoping you’ll agree to their BS. Don’t do it. Lucid labor rates are $175 hour, yeah it’s expensive but when you learn the details of the repairs involved and the enormous expense the body shop has to take on to be “certified Lucid repair”, the pricing makes more sense although of course it is very high, same as Aston Martin and McLaren labor rates. The insurance co is legally obligated by contract to restore your car to pre-collision condition, which includes an intact warranty, and for the warranty to remain valid the repairs have to be done by a Lucid certified shop.

 

[swertheim22]

The good news is that the other party was liable and her insurance company (Liberty Mutual) acknowledged liability — so they are on the hook to pay for everything. They didn’t want to use the Lucid-certified shop in North Jersey but I didn’t give them a choice. They’re covering the rental car for the duration (v. Going through my insurance would have only covered the first 30 days). Since the rental is and ICE car, I already advised Liberty Mutual that they will be paying for gas (my attorney confirmed that though unique, it’s a valid claim). I will also claim for diminished value and will work with Lucid to determine that.

Since the accident is the result of gross negligence on the other driver’s part (as documented in the police report) I can always, if I have to, sue.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

The good news is that the other party was liable and her insurance company (Liberty Mutual) acknowledged liability — so they are on the hook to pay for everything. They didn’t want to use the Lucid-certified shop in North Jersey but I didn’t give them a choice. They’re covering the rental car for the duration (v. Going through my insurance would have only covered the first 30 days). Since the rental is and ICE car, I already advised Liberty Mutual that they will be paying for gas (my attorney confirmed that though unique, it’s a valid claim). I will also claim for diminished value and will work with Lucid to determine that.

Since the accident is the result of gross negligence on the other driver’s part (as documented in the police report) I can always, if I have to, sue.

Yeah Liberty Mutual is an Allstate company. There’s another thread in here where there’s currently a class action suit against them by a Porsche Taycan owner that revealed they had a systematic internal policy of rejecting labor rates from certified body shops (my supplement adjuster based their estimate on rates of $40/hr and never relented until I reported them to the insurance commissioner). Stay on top of them, some Lucid shops are not even accepting AllState anymore meaning the insured would have to pay out of pocket then seek reimbursement from the insurance company. My Lucid shop said they’ll no longer accept Esurance after their experience with trying to make a claim through them. I got an EV rental through my insurance but it was a Hyundai Kona . You’ll be covered obviously and won’t cost you $ but it might be a pain in the ass.

 

[swertheim22]

I don’t know if there are differences in various state laws but what I’ve been advised by both AllState and my attorney that Liberty Mutual must pay all fees and charges now that they admitted liability — up to the limit of their insured policy (supposedly $100K/$300K). If the loss exceeds those thresholds I can either sue the insured person directly and/or file a claim with my insurance company subject to applicable deductibles.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I don’t know if there are differences in various state laws but what I’ve been advised by both AllState and my attorney that Liberty Mutual must pay all fees and charges now that they admitted liability — up to the limit of their insured policy (supposedly $100K/$300K). If the loss exceeds those thresholds I can either sue the insured person directly and/or file a claim with my insurance company subject to applicable deductibles.

Oh definitely, they must pay, and they have no second option other than to pay whatever the Lucid shop says it will cost. But that hasn’t stopped them from trying to haggle over rates and make the process as painful as possible. Maybe over the last few months they’ve learned some hard lessons, but at least in my case and that Taycan owner’s case, the entire claims process from start to finish until regulators (in my case) or lawyers (Taycan owner’s case) got involved was a constant fight. In my case the insurance company literally ghosted me and the shop, not responding to emails, phone calls, etc, meanwhile initially refusing to extend the rental car due to delays they caused, then forcing me to pay the whole thing out of pocket to get my car back since they’d not responded to the shop or me and my extended rental car expired that day. It was truly idiotic of them as they had to pay my claim, and of course they instantly lost me as a customer for both of my cars when I got the car back, meaning they lost any ability to recoup the huge expense of repairing my car.

 

[LisasLucid]

Glad to hear USAA is working well for you. I have had them for almost 50 years and no major issues. My annual premiums on Lucid Air GT with 1k deductible is about 1500 every six months. They seem to be pretty familiar with Lucid at this present time.

Also a happy USAA member- good to hear (though not surprised) they are familiar.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Yeah Liberty Mutual is an Allstate company

No its not. As the company title states Liberty Mutual is a mutual insurance company owned by its members.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

No its not. As the company title states Liberty Mutual is a mutual insurance company owned by its members.

Oh right, they’re totally separate. Liberty Mutual is partnered with GEICO, which is should know cuz I have Liberty homeowners and GEICO for the car ‍♂

 

[Steveinarizona]

Oh right, they’re totally separate. Liberty Mutual is partnered with GEICO, which is should know cuz I have Liberty homeowners and GEICO for the car ‍♂

I have GEICO for the car but when I added home insurance via GEICO it set me up with Travelers. Common ownership.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I have GEICO for the car but when I added home insurance via GEICO it set me up with Travelers. Common ownership.

It might depend on the state? My GEICO policy is through Liberty Mutual homeowners, LM set it up and gives a discount to GEICO customers, at least in Rhode Island.

 

[E11eevans]

Owning an EV is still something of a novelty -- and sometimes organizations and people don't know quite what to do. If you're ever in my situation, hopefully this will help.

Last Friday early evening, I was stopped at an intersection waiting to make a left turn. While stopped, I was suddenly rammed from behind by a Jeep Wrangler. The crash basically destroyed the rear end of the car.

While the police were writing up their information, I called Lucid Customer care and got the name of two certified Lucid body shops. So here's what I've learned since...

1) The insurance company (in my case, the other party's insurance) tried to steer me to one of their "preferred" body shops -- don't accept it -- if you do not use a Lucid-certified body shop it will not be properly fixed.
2) Since it was the rear-end collision, I have to consider the car as undrivable as all of the electrical control components are in the trunk -- they cannot get wet. The care will be taken via flatbed and tarp to the body shop.
3) The insurance company is bucking my requirement that they pay for an EV rental -- they don't want to -- and I told them that I have no intention of paying for gasoline.
4) Since I am not at fault, "diminished value" of an EV will come into play. The key will be to get the residual value of the car quoted by a dealer with and without an accident to determine the claim against the insurance company (if one is at fault, that won't fly).
5) The LucidAir certified shop already warned me that parts or going to take longer than normal. With this process just starting, I'm figuring on 3 months without the car.
6) If, and it currently appears it is not likely, that the car is viewed as total, I will have to include years 2 and 3 of free Electrify America charging into my claim. Stay tuned.

My LucidAir Pure has been great so far -- 6 weeks old and 2500 miles...

So sorry to hear! My GT has 1,100 miles and is currently at Lucid in Miami for repair from a tire flying off a truck on the turnpike. I avoided most, but still ran over a piece of it and it ripped off the bottom of the front Stealth Trim and little vent as well as the battery coolant pump. The car worked, but I could only drive very very short distances to get it towed, since the coolant leaked out of the battery.

I had 2 choices here, Lucid Miami Service Center or another authorized dealer in Palm Beach. I chose to take it to Lucid since it's a lease and brand new. At first I was not able to get a loaner and my insurance policy doesn't cover one, but Lucid ended up getting a loaner in for me to use (it's never guaranteed).

I think the parts are pretty standard for me. They have had the car for a week and I just got the estimate (but it's been a holiday week).

I have Geico and they didn't cover the rental.. but I honestly would have been fine with any car just to get around town.

My experience has been great so far. They had a very nice covered flatbed come to tow the car and they have been very easy to work with. I hope you get your car back quickly and it's not too much fuss. Also, hope no-one was injured.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I have Geico and they didn't cover the rental.. but I honestly would have been fine with any car just to get around town.

GEICO covers rentals for me. It is either a policy option or location based.

 

[shredderc]

My Touring has been in the shop for over a month (I suspect they thought they would do pdr, and found they couldn't and needed to order a hood). Insurance covered a rental for 30 days. Now it's in final stages, but has to go to Lucid (who is of course backed up) for calibration. Does anyone know how critical this calibration is needed? Maybe I should get the car and schedule a calibration on my own? I was driving it for over a month before it went into the shop.

 

[LisasLucid]

Going to see how this process works. Rock to the windshield and flat tire (CalTrans construction site). Should be interesting.