In our case, when our car was totaled by a distracted Ambulette driver with a CDL (who was ticketed at the scene), GEICO went after her insurer for our deductible and the whole thing ended up not costing us a dime. Well, we did need to buy a new car, but their payout was a very fair assessment of the car which was totaled. This was in NJ (since I know state laws differ).