Would it be a good idea to sue someone over an accident if their insurance doesn't completely cover my vehicle?
Location: Illinois/Iowa
I live in Illinois, and this happened in Iowa.
I was in a car accident about a month ago. While I was stopped at a red light, a woman rear ended me. We have the same insurance company. The insurance took a month (separate story. They messed up the claim when they had to refile under her insurance policy, and they marked my vehicle as driveable while it was in a tow company storage lot. It took over two weeks between hearing from the insurance rep to get it figured out) to get my car to a shop to even assess damage.
Now, they're only offering me $11k to total it out. I still owe $15k on the loan for the vehicle.
Could I file a suit against the woman that hit me to cover the remaining costs? Is this even a good idea or would it not matter in the long run? I don't have the money to cover the remaining balance, and I'll likely lose my job if I'm not able to get another vehicle soon, which is nearly impossible with the remaining $4k I owe.