by Guest » Sat Feb 23, 2008 01:42 am
Dear Friends,
I am so happy to have found this place, could anyone please help me.
I recently has a collision with another vehicle, it was a rainy day with bad weather condition, the car in front of me stopped so hard and sudden without any previous signs, I stepped on my break hard, but I still skid onto the rear of the other car's bumper, both of our cars only had minor damage, no bodily injury of course.
The other driver reported to both her own insurance company and my insurance company, I was going to report to my insurance company as well, but she did it the next day and when I called my insurance company the day after, the claim was already there.
My insurance company asked me if I am willing to accept fault and liabiliy on this car collision.
Is it true that I am fully at fault in this incident? I was maintaining a long distance from the other car, but the other driver stopped so suddenly, is the other driver particially at fault as well or do I have to admit full fault?
If I do accept fault and liability, is there going to be any bad affect on my part, because I have never had any car accident in 13 years of my driving life, I am not sure what to do?
one more question, is there a time frame that I need to respond to my own insurance company to accept fault? I am in California.
Thanks to whoever helps!!!
I am so happy to have found this place, could anyone please help me.
I recently has a collision with another vehicle, it was a rainy day with bad weather condition, the car in front of me stopped so hard and sudden without any previous signs, I stepped on my break hard, but I still skid onto the rear of the other car's bumper, both of our cars only had minor damage, no bodily injury of course.
The other driver reported to both her own insurance company and my insurance company, I was going to report to my insurance company as well, but she did it the next day and when I called my insurance company the day after, the claim was already there.
My insurance company asked me if I am willing to accept fault and liabiliy on this car collision.
Is it true that I am fully at fault in this incident? I was maintaining a long distance from the other car, but the other driver stopped so suddenly, is the other driver particially at fault as well or do I have to admit full fault?
If I do accept fault and liability, is there going to be any bad affect on my part, because I have never had any car accident in 13 years of my driving life, I am not sure what to do?
one more question, is there a time frame that I need to respond to my own insurance company to accept fault? I am in California.
Thanks to whoever helps!!!
Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 02:53 pm Post Subject:
This happens all the time and to be honest, you should not be overly concerned about it... as it's beyond your control. Your carrier should review all medical records to confirm that the injury the other person claims came from the accident and that the medical treatment is related. Consider this though... if this goes to a jury, who are they going to believe when determining if this person was injured... you or... the other person, the fact that they were hit by you in their car, and all the medical records showing that they indeed had an injury right after the accident? You may not like it but that is life.
Also keep this in mind... an adjuster is always going to ask if someone was injured. People who don't fully understand the situation are almost always going to say they were hurt as they think if they say no that it rules out filing an injury claim in the future (they don't want to slam the door closed on that possibility). So they mention the sore neck they had. Most people will feel a little sore after an accident. But that does not mean they are going to seek medical treatment. So this might not even be a big deal.
You have insurance. You have insurance to deal with situations like this.
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 10:18 am Post Subject:
Hi Sally,
I am admitting fault for rear-ending the other driver's bumper, but I will not admit that cause the other person's neck and back pain, what can I do???
You better let the adjuster deal with the issue. Its not unusual to develop the soft-tissue injuries after the accident.
I think the other driver is trying to get the money and insurance payment that they should not get, what can I do to protect myself?
You actually don't have a way to prove that the other driver is trying to skim money from you. Your insurer will certainty review all the medical documents provided by the injured before recognizing the claim. Hence you can be rest assured that they will not entertain any unethical claim. The insurer will put the best efforts to protect the interest of their customer.
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 01:02 pm Post Subject:
Dear tcope, Dazzlingdiamond, and all,
Thanks a lot for all of your kind reply and information, I will follow up with my case and do whatever is required, I will keep you guys posted and hope you guys could help me if more issues come up, I really appreciate all your time and effort for reading and replying to my message.
Best,
Sally
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:39 am Post Subject:
Hi everyone, its me Sally again,
I received a letter today from the other driver's insurance company, the letter just wanted to let me know that the claim is currently under process.
But my question is that other driver's insurance company sent the letter to my sister's address??? how did they get my sister's address? I never gave anyone my sister's address, on the day of the accident, I only gave the other driver my own home address, driver license number, license plate number, and my own auto insurance policy number, I never gave out my sister's address.
Both my driver license and car registration renew use my sister's address, because I move around alot, so I use my sister's address as my permanent address, but I did not give that address out, I only gaver the other driver my own home address where I live now and where my own auto insurance policy belongs to.
How did the other driver's insurance company get hold of my sister's address? Do they have access to my DMV records?
Why didn't other driver's insurance company sent the letter to my own home address, the one I gave them?
I am just concerned about privacy issues, as how can they access or get my personal information without notifying me? Plus I don't want my personal information been accessed by others without my permission, what can I do?
Thanks a lot.
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:53 am Post Subject:
Both my driver license and car registration renew use my sister's address, because I move around alot, so I use my sister's address as my permanent address,
I'm sure that your sister's address is the one listed on the police report, that's why they sent it to her address....Do they have access to my DMV records?
Yes, to the same degree that you could get an address of another with certain information (name, dob etc)...I am just concerned about privacy issues, as how can they access or get my personal information without notifying me? Plus I don't want my personal information been accessed by others without my permission, what can I do?
"Big Brother'' is everywhere, and things like permanent addresses etc are readily available to anyone who wants to look...sorry, won't be anything you can do about that....Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 05:20 pm Post Subject:
First and foremost... the DMV _will_ sell their mother for a buck! When you buy a vehicle you usually get tons of warranty marketing mail? Because they buy the information from the DMV! What better info to sell... as the addresses HAVE to be correct.
But in thise case if their was a police report filed the info probably came from that. Officers put your drivers license info down, including the address on it. If no PR was filed, the carrier _might_ have obtained your address from DMV records but that is unlikely. Possible... but unlikely.
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 08:41 pm Post Subject:
Dear All, thanks again for the reply and information, there was no police report done on our incident, a police officer did drove by and said to us that since our damage was really minor, he does not want to do a police report on us and told us to talk to our insurance carriers.
In this case, even though unlikely, but did the other driver's insurance company really have access to my DMV record and obtained my personal information from DMV?
In your experience, is it legal for the other driver's insurance company to access my personal information from DMV or other sources without my permission? I am just concerned about the privacy issues of my personal information and if the other driver's insurance company have access to my personal information without my permission, maybe they could get my other information other than my sister's address? Do I have a way to prevent this?
Thanks a lot.
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 09:19 pm Post Subject:
Depends on your state. Insurance companies can have access to DMV records (not directly... it's done through other companies) but states do have usage requirements and I know at least some states have set standards for when that information can be accessed.
In this case I could see a carrier looking up the info. There was no police report filed and they would possibly be seeking recovery from you if your insurance did not address the matter. So they might want to make sure they have your address correct.
Legal depends on your state laws but I would think it would be... since they have a right of recovery against you.
Really no way to prevent it. You can't lie to the DMV about your address. Legally it needs to be correct on your DL.
Obviously google maps has not photographed your city yet for access on Street View? No one is safe any more! :)
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 01:54 am Post Subject:
Sorry something went wrong with my computer, so I ended up posting the same messges 3 times, sorry.
In this case I could see a carrier looking up the info. There was no police report filed and they would possibly be seeking recovery from you if your insurance did not address the matter. So they might want to make sure they have your address correct.
I have another question regarding the above quote, I have already told the claim adjuster at my own auto insurance carrier everything that had happened on the day of the car accident, and also gave the claim adjuster at my own auto insurance carrier a recorded statement and provided all the required documents to them, the claim adjuster at my own auto insurance carrier told me that she will investigate the claim and I don't need to do anything else except waiting for her final investigation result, why is the other driver's insurance carrier keep on looking up my personal information and continue to contact me??? Shouldn't they be contacting my insurance carrier and not me??? What do I need to do, do I still need to contact the other driver's insurance carrier ??? but my own claim adjuster said that she will take care of the claim??? What should I do?
I am confused with another issue as well, since I have collision coverage with my own insurance as well, the claim adjuster at my own auto insurance carrier asked me if I would like to use my collision coverage to pay for my damages or pay for the repair of my own car damage totally out-of-pocket by myself without using the collision coverage.
because my own adjuster told me that when they use my liability coverage to pay for the other driver's car damage, my insurance premium will go up to a certain degree, but if I use my collision coverage to pay for my car damages as well, then my premium will go up even more, so since my damage is minor, I told my own adjuster that I will pay for the repair of my own car damage totally out-of-pocket by myself without using the collision coverage.
But my own adjuster still made an appointment for me to go for an estimate of my car damage, she said just to let me have an idea as to how much I will need to pay out-of-pocket.
But after I went for the car damage estimate, my own insurance company gave me a check (of couse minus my collision coverage deductible) and said that they will pay for my car damage because I have collision coverage,
what should I do with the check?
Should I return the check to my own insurance carrier?
since my own adjuster told me that when they use my liability coverage to pay for the other driver's car damage, my insurance premium will go up to a certain degree, and if I use my collision coverage to pay for my car damages as well, then my premium will go up even more, and I really don't want my premium to go up that much, can I still pay for the repair of my own car damage totally out-of-pocket by myself without using the collision coverage and return the check to my own insurance carrier?
or paying by myself out-of-pocket or use my collision coverage really makes no difference as my premium will go up about the same?
What is the consequence if I cash the check? are there any regulations that I need to be aware of?
sorry that I have so many questions and thanks a lot for replying.
Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 06:17 am Post Subject:
Hi Sally, I think tcope has already explained the reason why the other carrier is looking for your personal information. You can tell them that you have already turned the claim to your insurer and better they negotiate further with them.
But my own adjuster still made an appointment for me to go for an estimate of my car damage, she said just to let me have an idea as to how much I will need to pay out-of-pocket.
This was done to estimate the value of the damage.
What was the estimated value of the damage? Is it way above your deductibles?
what should I do with the check?
Repair your car with it, or if you still want to pay for the repair out-of-pocket, then use the money for any other purpose. Normally once the insurance company has issued the check to the claimant, the claimant can use the amount at her own discretion.
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