For the TLDR crowd - If your vehicle was in an accident and going to be towed to a site for estimates, repairs, etc., how much (if any) of your mobile radio gear would you remove?

For those who enjoy rambling, here's the longer version:

I was almost finished with the mobile install in my Jeep.  I had the antenna mounted on the hood with a Diamond K400 NMO mount, the radio body mounted under the passenger seat, I had 3D printed a base for the face to mount to, and just received a mount from Jeepuniq.com to mount the mic (and my HT) on the grab bar.  All I had left to do was mount the face and external speaker and run the cables for both.

I took a couple hours off work yesterday to run a couple of errands, when an elderly woman turned directly in front of me.  There were no injuries, and I've seen worse accidents, but there is a bit of damage to the bumper, the front passenger side fender is gone, the hood latch is no longer connected, there is body damage, and my steering wheel is now 45 degrees to the side when the front tires appear to be straight ahead.

According to her insurance company, her version of events is "significantly" different that mine, so the claim has been transferred to a unit for "complex" claims.  This is EXACTLY why I have a dash cam.

They said that after they review the footage I sent them, *if* they accept liability for the accident, my Jeep will be towed to one of their places for estimates, etc.

I'm trying to decide if I should remove everything I have installed so far, just the antenna, or antenna and mount?  I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that it would be stored outside while there.  If I just take the antenna off, I don't have an NMO rain cap or anything, and I'd hate rain to get in there and freeze.  I'm also paranoid about vandalism and/or theft.  Years ago I was in an accident right outside the airport on my way to a flight.  Since I was leaving the state, my car had to be towed and stored at an impound lot.  When the insurance company was going over the damage with me later, they listed some damage that was NOT there after the accident.  This damage was on the opposite side of the car from the impact.  I had to fight with them over the value of the car because they were trying to claim the car had damage before the accident.  Lesson leaned, take a bunch of pictures and video before it gets towed.

I'm also concerned that they may total it.  The damage doesn't look bad enough on its face - no damage to engine or anything that I can see, it appears to be all body and alignment related.  I've seen accidents before, however, where what looks like minor damage ends up costing a ton to repair/replace.  If they do total it, I'll have to remove everything anyway...

Have any of you been in a similar situation?  Would you remove some of your equipment?  All of it?

File the claim with your company. They will work with you on your terms. Otherwise you are at the mercy of the other company to include losing say so in OEM vs. aftermarket parts etc.

As far as the radio, pull just the minimums to prevent easy theft. You can get the rest later or claim the loss.

Totalling does not mean you have to surrender the vehicle, it just means they set an upper limit of what they will pay. And check your state regulations, the other driver's insurance company may not be able to total your car.

If you are worried about theft or damage, remove it.

Insurance (hers or yours) will not pay to have aftermarket stuff repaired or replaced due to an accident unless you've got some very unusual insurance.

If you feel the vehicle may be totaled, be sure to understand how you and the insurance company will handle that situation. I was faced with the results of a very bad accident once in which my car was well and truly totaled. I had to make special arrangements to get down to the insurance scrapyard before they scrapped the car in order to personally remove all of my aftermarket stereo and radio gear. It was lucky I was not injured because if I had had to deal with a hospital stay it all would have been gone, gone, gone. That was a huge PITA. And it sure was weird when the World's Biggest Fork Truck drove around the corner of the office building and plopped my totaled car down in front of me so I could pull all the stuff out of it.

With the dash cam video, if the other drivers insurance did anything other than fully cooperate, I would lawyer up...

It doesn’t need to be towed anywhere, they can come look at it.

Time to be a hard ass or they will screw you..

File claim with your insurance company.  Make sure they only us OEM parts.

Thanks for all the replies!

I'm hoping it won't be totaled, I'm just preparing for the worst.  I'm running through a mental list of everything I'll have to remove if that's the case.

I think today I'll remove the antenna and mount and leave everything else.  It was such a pain to get the body mounted under the seat, I don't want to repeat that if I don't have to.

And of course this happened on a Friday.  I'm seeing no action on their part (they have a website you can log onto to check the claim status), and wouldn't be surprised if I don't hear anything until Monday.  Which leaves me without a vehicle all weekend.  They said they will pay for a rental car if they determine that it is not driveable and for any time it's in the shop, but only if they assume liability.  I'm not too worried about that, though.  The footage from the dash cam shows what happened pretty clearly.

I'm considering renting a car now and sending them the bill.  I have things I need to do this weekend and work on Monday.

The way I understand it, if you file a claim with your insurance company it will count against you.  Here in Florida, you can file the claim against the at fought drivers company.  Lawyer up if there was any personal injury.  I recent filed  a claim against the insurance company of the driver who hit me.  Surprisingly everything went very smooth.  My truck was fixed with all factory parts in a timely manner.

Where's the video?

I knew a guy who worked for a tow company that would steal stuff out of towed vehicles. When I found that out I wouldn't let anyone tow my vehicle without getting all personal property, radios, etc out before they tow. Too much theft in this world and I value the stuff I paid for. Plus I wouldn't want people to have my radio that I have programmed unless they have a license.

I know this is getting out in the weeds, but why are you dealing with her insurance? You should be talking to your insurance and let them deal with it, thats what you pay them for. Your insurance should provide a rental car until everything is resolved.

The last time I was in an accident, it was also the other driver's fault and I had the dash cam then, too.  I called my insurance at the time and they told me that since it was the other driver's fault to go through their insurance.  They said that if I wanted to file a claim, I could, but it would "count against me" and I would have to pay the deductible.  Everything went pretty smooth that time.  There was a lot less damage on that one, though.

The same thing happened this time, but I have a different insurance company now.  When I called them, they told me that if I did not receive a citation, then to contact the other insurance unless I wanted to pay the deductible and have it "count against me" (deja vu all over again).  They told to that if the other insurance company was not cooperative, to call them back.

So far, things seem to be going well.  I called her insurance company back to ask for the status.  They told me that the video I sent them would take a few days to "process".   I reminded them that I was without a driveable vehicle.  The person I spoke to told me that their client was responsible to a degree, but they did not know if it was for all or partial because she told them that I was speeding.  He said that if I was speeding, though, the damage should have been worse.  He told me that he was looking up the intersection in their system.  There was a pause and then he said that they were accepting responsibility because it was her responsibility to yield to me.  He said that this could change after they reviewed the video, so it should not be considered final.

I have a rental car now (they are paying for it), and they are going to have the Jeep towed in 24-48 hours.  I figured it would be quicker - the longer it takes them, the longer they have to pay for the rental.  They said I could choose one of their approved shops to get the estimate done, or I could choose my own.  The shop I was going to use anyway was on their list, so that made it easy.  I've used them before and really like the guy that is in charge of the place.  The insurance company said that no work will be done unless I approve it, and that for anything outside/sheet metal, they only allow OEM parts.  Before I approve anything, I'll make sure everything on the list is OEM.  The guy that runs the place told me one time that they only use new OEM parts so that they can offer a lifetime warranty.

I removed the antenna and mount, but left the radio mounted under the seat (it was a huge pain to get it there, I don't want to have to do it all over again).  I did remove the power cable, though.  While I was out there, I decided to remove everything that wasn't bolted down.  I cleared out the center console, glove box, etc.  I figure I'll probably get the Jeep back and this gives me an excuse to clean it for once.

As far as posting the video, call me paranoid, but I'm hesitant to post it until I hear back from her insurance that they have reviewed it and they are not making any changes to who is responsible for what.

ETA - I went ahead and removed the radio body too.

Record all conversations with other insurance

Then if you get screwed, post it online with their name

Hurt them in the pocket book

To answer just the question asked, I'd remove anything you don't want to lose.  Certainly your radio, and maybe the antenna.  Your garage door remote too.  Those places are usually not in the best parts of town, and yes, the cars sit outside, unguarded and likely unlocked as well.

Time to find a better insurance company.

Update.

I removed everything from the Jeep that wasn't bolted down, including the antenna, antenna mount, and radio body.  I left the mount bolted under the seat.

It was towed to the shop I wanted it to go to, and it is NOT totaled, which is what I was hoping for.

They are replacing everything that had so much as a scratch on it with OEM parts from a Jeep dealership about an hour away.  I thought it was kind of funny, there is a Jeep dealership right down the road from the shop.  I refuse to use that dealership (went in for a recall, they insisted a bunch of other things were wrong, but I knew they were full of it), and I guess this shop does, too.  I'll have to ask them about that the next time I go in.

They said I should have the Jeep back next Friday.

At that time, I may consider cleaning it before I shovel everything back in.