Accident after calling lender for surrender

[ItCudHapen2U]

Funny how things happen. We are surrendering our car in a Chapter 7. Lender received Relief of Stay to pick up. We called them last Thursday to get a pick up date. They said it would be another department making arrangements and they would call us that evening or Friday. Never received a call as of this morning (Monday). Well, got a call from my DW this morning, she'd had a deer run into her on the way to work. Caused pretty bad damage. Should we call the bank back and let them know? Should we let our attorney know? Do we fix it before they pick it up? Does this delay pickup?

Thanks for the help.

[HHM]

Call your auto insurance company first and see if you are covered.

The bank takes the car as is so it should not matter. But if you make an insurance claim, assuming you are covered for the accident, that shows good faith if it were to ever become an issue.

[StartingOver08]

Let your attorney know right away so they can advise you as to what your options are because this accident is post filing. I hope the car is still insured! I have no idea what happens when the collateral is damaged after your commitment to surrender. I hope your wife is ok and that the damage only happened to the vehicle.

[relief13035]

OMG - deers running into cars. I do hope that your wife is OK. I can't even imagine that.

[ItCudHapen2U]

Yeah, she is fine. But the timing was weird. We have great insurance on the car paid up through the first of next month. Even have rental on it. We have emailed our attorney, not heard back yet. She had law enforcement come out and filed a report. One twist to the story, is right after making the OP, I get a call from the recovery company wanting to pick the car up tonight. I told her I would love to but... (details in op). She said she would call the lender and ask them what they want to do. No calls yet. Our initial reaction is to have it fixed under Comp ins. Then have them come get it. If thats what they want to do, should we? Or would it make more sense to tell them to come get it as is. Can be driven fine, mostly body and headlight damage.

[Brighterdays]

Deer accidents happen all the time here in ohio, but that is just dumb luck ;) What state are you in, as ohio has one of the highest deer to auto accidents in the nation.

[ItCudHapen2U]

We are in VA. Got an email from our attorney. He said to let the lender decide what they want to do. Apparently they CAN sell it as damaged and pocket the insurance money. Still havent heard from the recovery folks. They may call today after receiving a decision from the lender. My biggest concern is when to call the insurance company and file a claim. Not sure if there is a time frame or what.

[ShouldWeFile]

My biggest concern is when to call the insurance company and file a claim. Not sure if there is a time frame or what.

If you don't file a claim now, the lender can legally file a claim after repo (per the original note you signed, and that is why you are required to maintain full coverage insurance). Losses do not need to be reported within a short timeframe after the incident occurring. I know of cases where hail damage claims have been filed many many months after the date of loss.

Some lenders may not even attempt to recover from the insurance company and simply take the entire loss - that assumes you do not inform them the collision occurred post filing and offer to file a claim...