Should I accept this settlement offer from the insurance company?

I got into a car accident on November 18 in Boston MA and the guy claimed to his insurance company that it was his fault so I'm not at fault. And because of this, I didn't call the cops or a police report or anything like that. He totalled my 2008 Honda Civic LX sedan 4D with 179,000 miles and it was worth $4,881 according to Kelly Blue Book, and the insurance company offered me $4,813.13. I had some back pain right after getting hit but that has since subsided. Lawyers have honestly been no help so far and this looks like a good offer but at the same time, I've heard that they don't really offer their best amount to start. They sent a check already but I haven't cashed it or anything.

Added (1). Actually, I do recall filing the Crash report a couple days later and did go to the police station but I didn't call them in the moment

If you are not hurt, accept the payment and move on. That's very close to retail.

Since your not hurt and don't have any Dr's bills, i would cash the ck and go on your way.

"And because of this, I didn't call the cops or a police report or anything like that."

That was stupid. Obviously you didn't read the state drivers manual very closely. In MA, if you are involved in an accident where the damage exceeds $500 you are required by law to report it to the DMV and you can be fined for not doing so. A reasonably intelligent person would have also notified the police.

In any event, just cash the check and move on. Your car probably wasn't worth as much as you think it was. Those online calculators aren't very accurate and most people think their car is in better condition that it really is.

You've now got down-payment money for a much better vehicle, so take advantage of it.

They are offering you close to retail which is $5,050 according to NADA http://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/2008/Honda/Civic-4-Cyl/Sedan-4D-LX/Values

You need to go talk to a lawyer go get a free consultation most of them do free consultations in the ones that don't just don't get a consultation from them. Attorneys will also take your case and only get paid if you win you shouldn't have to pay the money up front when it comes to accidents give an accident attorney a call. Ask if they do free consultations and when you're there at the consultation ask them if they would take your case without any payment contingency. Also ask them what their percentage is if you win you should get paid 4 at least the amount of what your vehicle is worth and if you have documented Hospital checks due to the accident then you can also claim pain and suffering and get paid for that as well don't cash that check they're trying to Railroad you cuz they know they're trying to get off easy.

If you rented a car to get around while yours was totaled and the other person's insurer hasn't reimbursed you for the cost of the rental too (in other words, if they valued replacing your car AND the cost of a rental car at $4813), then I'd consider challenging the settlement amount to get that money back for the rental cost. You shouldn't have to pay for that out of your own pocket. They should have covered the cost of a rental car.

If you didn't rent a car or they've already covered the cost of a rental car separate from the $4813 value of the settlement check, then I'd accept the settlement and go cash the check - $4813 is close enough to the book value of your car that it's not worth the time or effort to challenge it in my opinion. Honestly the situation probably worked out about as well as it could have seeing as you let them go without getting a police report to back up your claim that the collisions was entirely their fault and not yours. Next time any accident happens and you're sure it's not your fault, get a police report to back that fact up. Not everyone is as honest as the person who hit you this time.

Cashing the check settles the claim and you get nothing more. Usually they offer something for your pain and suffering and a period of time you lost the use of your vehicle until you settle. You should have made a police report and you need to get your insurance agent to appeal for you instead of wasting money on a lawyer. You have been paying for insurance for this kind of service, and instead chose to give more money to a lawyer instead of getting service you already paid for. Your car was worth twice what they offered. They're quoting the KBB trade-in, not wholesale value. If you missed work, they owe you for lost wages you missed because of your injury.

The offer they made appears reasonable due to the age of your vehicle and the (high) mileage of 179,000, which most companies consider 12,000 per year to be the average so you should have about 120,000 miles, thus they can hit you with a deduction for high mileage.

They are (not) going to offer you more, since your vehicle is worth what it is and is black/white. Unless you can prove that they (left) something off of the value that (adds) value to the offer you made, then they will stand on the offer.

NO lawyer can make this higher, and NO lawyer will take for (only) property damages since they get (zero), thus not interested.

Lawyers are only interested in injuries and it appears you suffered some back pain (common) after the accident, which then subsided, thus you sought no treatment. You state you have talked to a lawyer/s who states not interested which I'm guessing that they know (if) you start getting medical treatment (almost) 3 weeks after the accident, then the insurance company won't believe this. It is not uncommon after an accident that (some) lawyers will refer you to (their) doctors which many companies are aware of.

So, since you did not seek treatment, then there's nothing else that the insurance can pay you. The (real) money is in injuries, thus if you had sought treatment back w/in a week of this accident, then you would have had plenty of lawyers interested, since then the lawyer could take 1/3 of (any) injury settlement. With injury settlements is when in most cases you can reject the offer and ask for more, since with injuries is different.

One last thing, getting a police report or not does not matter, (since) insurance agreed that the other person was at fault, thus have offered to settle for your totaled car.

If the pain wasn't enough to go to the doctor and has already gone away, then you shouldn't get much for pain. If you take the offer, then you get almost as much as the Blue Book value. If you find a lawyer to help, then they still won't pay much more than the Blue Book value (and might pay less), and the lawyer will get about 1/3 of whatever they do pay, so you'll get much less than if you took the offer now.

You ain't getting any more than that, so yes you should accept it. Insurance companies don't use KBB.com, only amateurs do. Kelley is a guideline, not the final word.

If you want to challenge the insurance company's assessment of your vehicle, there's one and only one way to do it. Hire a professional auto appraiser to appraise your vehicle's (pre-accident of course) value on a without prejudice basis and provide you with an itemized copy of their report. Without prejudice is a legal term that any appraiser will know very well, so if anyone asks what it means hang up and find a real appraiser.

If your appraiser says the vehicle was worth way more than the insurance company's appraised value, you've got a case that any judge will hear. If not, you just wasted a few hundred bucks on the appraisal fee.