Got hit by car while out of state on a road trip, claim approved but now have to pay for an extra 10 days of hotel stay. Anything that can be done?

Hi all,

I hope you are okay. I am currently on a road trip and drove from Illinois to Massachusetts. On the 3rd day of a 6 day trip, I was hit by a car while stopped at a traffic light. Thanks to the dashcam footage and the driver who hit me being cooperative, the claim was approved the same day and I scheduled an appointment the next day with a body shop.

Now today, which is 3 days after the incident and 2 days after I dropped my car off, the repair items have not yet been processed by the insurance company. When I called the repair shop, they informed me that once all repairs are approved, it would still take an additional week for the car to be ready.

I wouldn't normally mind waiting but for each extra day I wait, I am also paying out of my own pocket for a hotel. My original reservation runs out on Saturday, and for each day thereafter, I have to pay for a hotel and boy they are expensive in MA.

I appreciate that I was given a rental vehicle free of cost, but even that is more of a strain on my pocket since I have to cover fuel costs on my own, and the replacement vehicle is more than 60% less efficient than my own car (I have a plug-in hybrid that I was charging in town for less than half of gas price equivalent and would average 90mpg, and the replacement Altima is barely getting 30mpg).

Is there anything I can do in this situation to reduce my expenses? The insurance company claims that they cannot reimburse or pay for my accommodation expenses, and they are not willing to pay for the car to be shipped back to IL either once the repairs are done if I need to take a flight home.

In case relevant, I am a AAA member. Are there any credit card benefits which may cover this, or anything else that I could try? I have the contact details of the person that hit me if that would help. Thanks.