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Insurance companies are great at taking your money, but not nearly as great at paying it back out.

A man was settling his late father’s affairs when a car accident left his dad’s car damaged.

He planned to cover the deductible himself and get reimbursed later, but the insurer kept asking whether his father had given him permission to drive it. Of course he hadn’t, because the man had passed away.

The problem was, the insurer refused to pay a cent for about three months, and his HOA wouldn’t let a damaged car sit in the driveway that long.

So after endless calls, he made the insurance company an offer they couldn’t ignore.

Keep reading for the full story.

I shouldn’t have moved my dad’s car when he passed

When my father passed away, he lived in an apartment about 2 hours from my home.

My son, husband, sister, and I went to clean out his apartment.

Then came the matter of the car.

My son and sister drove his car to the hotel we were staying in, and we planned to move the car to my home for storage until we could dispose of it during probate.

Soon, the universe threw a curveball, so insurance had to get involved.

They were in a car accident that left the car drivable.

My father had State Farm insurance, so I brought the car to a repair shop local to my home to get repaired.

I planned to pay the deductible ourselves and get reimbursement from the estate.

But of course, things weren’t near as straightforward.

We got a call from the repair shop saying State Farm would not pay for the repair.

When I called State Farm, they kept asking me if my father had given me permission to drive the car. I said, “Of course not, he had died.”

This was a big problem for the insurance company.

They insisted that since he had not given any of us permission to drive the car, they would not pay anything for the car until the probate court appointed an executor to make decisions on his behalf.

This man knew there weren’t a lot of viable alternatives, so he knew he had to get creative.

I live in an HOA that would not allow a damaged car to sit in my driveway for the 90 days it would take for Florida to make me the executor. This situation just would not do.

After the sixth call, I asked if a third party could continue to pay the car premiums. They said they didn’t care who paid, as long as they were paid.

He informed the insurance company of his plan.

I told State Farm that since the car was drivable, and I was not going to pay my HOA a dime to store this car in its current condition, I was going to drive it back to my dad’s old apartment.

I’d keep the keys, but leave the car there and continue to pay the premium myself.

He plans everything out to the letter.

Once I got appointed executor in 90 days, I’d go back to the apartment complex. If the car was still there in its current condition, I’d bring it to the repair shop to get fixed and then sell it.

If it wasn’t, if the apartment towed it, if it was stripped or on blocks, I’d report that claim too, and they could just reimburse the estate for the total value of the car.

I got a call the next day from a car transporter arranging storage until the case cleared probate.

Smart thinking!

What did Reddit have to say?

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It’s important to realize that these people are mainly following a script.

It doesn’t always pay to be forthcoming.

This user has two main takeaways from this story.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman whose family wants her to spend way too much time redoing paintings to make them match.

This user thinks this could have been a lot simpler.

This man had a calm head, a clear plan, and a very patient way of making a point.

Dealing with a deceased parent’s paperwork is hard enough without an insurer asking whether the deceased signed off on his own car being driven.

Six calls in, he stopped asking for a favor and started describing the consequences, and that was the only language they seemed to understand.

Read the fine print, then read it back to them.

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Author

Benjamin Cottrell

Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.