Safeway Insurance Their insurance totalled my car and only want to give me $5000 Monrovia, California

It appears that the other guy has some fly by night insurance company that just fights every claim. That's too bad, but not at all uncommon, especially in CA.

As far as you not being listed on your Dad's policy, that is total BS. You don't have to be. It covers any licensed driver, by law. I have been down that road personally. It doesn't fly once you get it in the courtroom.

Your Dad may be partially at fault here though as it appears that he has a bare bones policy without adequate uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

Be sure that you go see a doctor and get all of the MRI's etc that you can just to be sure you are OK. They have to cover those as well.

What about "loss of use" costs? The other driver is responsible for your rental car bills if this goes to court. Did your Dad have loss of use coverage? If not, why not? Its like $30 for 6 months.

Don't let them off cheap.

You REALLY need to get a GOOD attorney and just file suit against the other driver.

You can also sue your own / your Dad's insurance company.

There does not exist an insurance policy with less than $200K coverage for public liability and damage. If someone smashed into my Ferrari (well, if I had one) when they ran a stop sign, why should I suffer the loss? The insurance company of the person at fault is just trying to get you to settle. Don't even talk to them, and as suggested above. tell them that you need to go to the doctor first. They will change their tune, but it might take a while.

Your father's coverage should also kick in unless you live in the same household. His insurance company is respnsible for sue the other drivers insurance company to recover his loss. If you do live in the same household, then he probably shouldn't have lent you his car, because that IS a violation of his policy. That doesn't mean that the other driver and his insurance company is off the hook, only that they might know this and make you a lowball offer right off the bat.

UPDATE:

So my dad talked to our attorney today and she said that the best solution we have is just take the 5000 and put it towards fixing the car on our own because that is all the mans insurance policy covers and also the vehicle has been declared a total loss. Our attorney has tried to take it through our insurance being that it had full coverage but they refuse to deal with it because I am not in the policy.

Our vehicle is able to move around but its not safe because the back tires are unaligned if that makes sense..the steering wheel is sideways.. and the sideairbag is out..I think this is an unfair settlement because the man was completely at fault..we are stuck with a monthly car note for a car that is salvage now and we still have to pay for the damages.. I suggested to my attorney if we could sue the man himself to pay for the damages that his negligence caused but she said she didnt gurantee anything because he is complying with the law by having insurance and that its just prolonging the process. :(

..your lawyer sucks, or you were in some kind of policy violation for driving the vehicle. Might want to find a better lawyer if there is more to this.

Of course neither insurance company wants to pay (well it seems your dad's won't pay ANY)..and this is what they do best.... Deny, deny, deny.

In the worst case shop for estimates. If you find a place that can get the car safe to operate for $5,000 or less..at least it is not a total loss. Granted the resale value will drop substantially due to a salvage title, at least he still has the "technically" new car. If you find a good shop that is not a rip off, the car can be repaired to be just as reliable and safe as before the wreck. As far as how it looks...that can be very expensive if you want it to look factory again.

..again I don't think your lawyer is very good. Granted the other insurance company is dragging their feet..they do this well too..but to consider ..if they are offering 5,000 or 5 dollars..it is an offer and means they certainly are admitting fault of their insured. Keep that in mind. someone else mentioned this in a reply..they are hoping you settle.

You need a lawyer with a backbone. The other insurance company should not be deciding what they "say" is the maximum amount covered and this is the be all end all, but they should pay as much as needed within the law and state legal limits to make you "whole"..which would be to restore the car to the condition is was in before the wreck, or replace it...assuming you were operating within the law and are not considered at fault in any way.

Unless something is being left out of this report, I think I am correct. I have been there before and a good lawyer always got it done right.

This is typical, and is not a ripoff.  In California, the minimum required property damage liability coverage is $5000.  This is all the guy had, so obviously the insurance company won't give you more.  If you want to recover the remaining amount, you can file a personal lawsuit against the guy, because it is his responsibility.  Of course, good luck collecting on that judgment...

As to the guy with the Ferrari: no state I know of has a minimum property damage insurance requirement of more than $15,000.  So if your car costs more than that, you better damn well buy a comprehensive policy.

The other insurance company should not be deciding what they "say" is the maximum amount covered and this is the be all end all, but they should pay as much as needed within the law and state legal limits to make you "whole"..

- Ronny I guess in your world the OP should be totally covered regardless of the amount the other driver was insured for, unfortunatly this is the real world.  If the other driver is only insured for $5,000 that is ALL their insurance company is required to pay.  Could they pay more..sure, will they...I think it is safe to say NO.  But then again neither would any other insurance company.

If the Maximum amount meant nothing then EVERYONE would just insure their vehicles for the State minimums and be done with it.  Unfortunatly for the OP and the Dad, the State minimum in CA is only $5,000 for Property Damage. 

Now, this does not mean that the OP can not go after the other driver for the difference. But getting a judgement is only one part. If the other party has no means to pay the $10,000 it would be a victory in name only. Although I guess the OP could frame the judgment saying that they won..but that won't fix the car.

One thing the OP may want to also try is to file a small claims case. The limit is $7,500 but since there are not any lawyers involved it would cost around $100(or less) to file the suit. Again, it may still end up a victory in name only. But you may get lucky and be able to find their job or a bank account.

This also does not mean that the OP should not go through the Dad's policy with a fine tooth comb to verify that they are in fact not covered.  However, if you live at the same residence and are not on his policy you may be specifically "excluded" and may be one of the reasons they would not cover you.

As for the $200,000 minimum that someone mentioned.  That post came from CA(Canada) and not CA(California), and perhaps Canada has a higher requirement.

I was unaware myself as I am fairly new to the state. Live and learn. I copied the following from Auto Insurance online California auto liability..Seems your lawyer was correct. You would have to sue the other driver personally. I can only conclude that your dads insurance will not cover the rest because you were probably not supposed to be driving it unless you were on the policy. This state is in a sorry state, what else can you say?

California State Auto Insurance Law

The minimum coverage required by the law of California is commonly referred to as “15-30-5″. It actually means that $ 15,000 is the amount of physical injury liability protection required on a “per person” basis, $ 30,000 is the total in the event of multiple injured parties and $ 5,000 is the coverage if any property was damaged in that accident.

It is important to know that this coverage protects only the other people which the policyholder may have been liable for causing injuries or property damages. The limits required in California are not very extensive. They actually are rarely sufficient when it comes to covering all the incurred expenses because nowadays, hospital and vehicle repair costs are through the roof. In the event that the protection limits are exceeded, the policyholder may be left responsible and can be sued personally for unpaid damages; therefore it is always better to carry higher limits than the “minimum” requirements. The difference in price is usually insignificant.