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I’m afraid to see my next auto insurance bill.

My daughter “totaled” her car recently. Yes, it was her fault, and no, no one was seriously hurt, thankfully. She ran into the back of a pickup truck at a stoplight, damaging her ever-reliable 1990 Toyota Camry to the point where it would cost a whole lot more to fix it than the car was worth. The pickup sustained minor damage.

As teenagers go she’s usually a pretty good driver, but this was her second accident. The first wasn’t her fault–an adult driver in a hurry to get to a business meeting rear-ended her car last summer as she was turning into the parking lot of the public swimming pool where she worked as a lifeguard. Luckily, no one was hurt then either. Her rear bumper was left with a few bruises but, again, it wasn’t worth fixing.

I guess the plastic Virgin Mary figure, stuck on the dashboard by our 17-year-old’s older sister when she was the family’s teenaged driver, finally got too sunburned and bleached out to perform her protective duties. Poor Mary, once so pristine and white in her 戮owing robes, had faded to an ashen gray that made her look more like the evil emperor in Star Wars than the blessed figure she was meant to portray.

We didn’t carry collision insurance on “Mother Camry,” but we had liability and personal injury protection. In the aftermath of both accidents I was impressed by my interaction with our insurance agent’s customer service representative, as well as with the adjusters for the insurance companies that were involved. In every case their first concern was for the welfare of our daughter. And in every case they were thorough, informed, professional and kind. After the most recent accident the adjuster who called from my insurance company repeatedly assured me that coverage for medical expenses were available for my daughter should she need medical attention (she didn’t). She also asked me about my impression of the accident scene in an attempt to determine that the person who owned the pickup was being truthful in his version of the facts.

While I hope never to have to interact with an insurance agent or adjuster again because of an auto accident, or any other claim for that matter, I am thankful that my experiences so far have been positive ones. I’m sure I won’t be so pleased when the insurance bill comes. But at least there’s one thing to look forward to: my teenager’s heading oV to college in the fall, and she won’t be taking a car with her.

Topics Auto