by Guest » Sun Mar 15, 2009 04:34 pm
Hi
My husband was involved in a hit and run car accident about 10 days ago in Newark, NJ. He did not receive any bodily injury(luckily) but the car was rear ended and damaged very badly. We do not have collision coverage but have UM/UIM coverage with GEICO. However, we could only get a partial license plate number of the at fault driver and our insurance claims they cannot pay us anything unless the at fault driver is found. The police is least interested in finding the driver of the vehicle given that there was no severe injury. We showed the car to a mechanic and he said there was no use repairing it. So now I have a couple of questions
1) We have on street parking only. So we cannot park the totaled car on street for long
2) It's my understanding that storage costs are very high.
3) The insurance adjuster never looked at our car because it is a hit and run case
4) We would like to give the car to a salvage yard as soon as possible but we have a small hope that the driver of the other car may be found
5) If we give the car to a salvage yard, will the pending insurance claim be annuled.
6) Are there any cheap storage options available? The metal portion of the back of the car got jammed into the tire due to impact and the car is undrivable.
7) We have already spent near 500 dollars on towing in addition we will probably lose the value of the car which is close to 4000 dollars
8) What options do we have? And how much will we get from salvage( The front portion of the car has minimal damage)
My husband was involved in a hit and run car accident about 10 days ago in Newark, NJ. He did not receive any bodily injury(luckily) but the car was rear ended and damaged very badly. We do not have collision coverage but have UM/UIM coverage with GEICO. However, we could only get a partial license plate number of the at fault driver and our insurance claims they cannot pay us anything unless the at fault driver is found. The police is least interested in finding the driver of the vehicle given that there was no severe injury. We showed the car to a mechanic and he said there was no use repairing it. So now I have a couple of questions
1) We have on street parking only. So we cannot park the totaled car on street for long
2) It's my understanding that storage costs are very high.
3) The insurance adjuster never looked at our car because it is a hit and run case
4) We would like to give the car to a salvage yard as soon as possible but we have a small hope that the driver of the other car may be found
5) If we give the car to a salvage yard, will the pending insurance claim be annuled.
6) Are there any cheap storage options available? The metal portion of the back of the car got jammed into the tire due to impact and the car is undrivable.
7) We have already spent near 500 dollars on towing in addition we will probably lose the value of the car which is close to 4000 dollars
8) What options do we have? And how much will we get from salvage( The front portion of the car has minimal damage)
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 06:02 pm Post Subject:
Yes, from what I have read UMPD does not apply to a "hit and run" accident in NJ if the owner of that vehicle cannot be confirmed. You can thank the number of fraudulent claims in NJ for this.
I'd recommend taking good photos of the vehicle, all around. Include the odometer. Called and send a letting to your insurance company letting them know that they have x number of days of they want to look at the vehicle (you have little choice but to make this a very short time, like a week or so). Your insurance company needs to be given the opportunity to inspect the vehicle. If they pass on this and then later want to inspect it, this is their own fault for not handling the claim correctly. If there is a possibility of coverage (and there is), they should inspect the vehicle anyway. You should tell them verbally that you will be getting rid of the vehicle and also put it in writing. That way they can't come back later and not pay the claim as they did not have the opportunity to inspect the vehicle... they did. They can review the photos you took if they want.
If you think the salvage value is much higher then the towing/storage charges, then you may want to pay to have the vehicle moved to someplace that will buy it. The salvage company where it's at may be willing to make you a deal but they will probably try to low bid on the vehicle.
$500 on towing? Why?
How much will you get from the salvage? How can anyone know that when you don't even mention what type of vehicle it is.
Cheapest storage may be at a public storage facility. You can store the vehicle outside with a tarp over it. Might only be $20/month or so.
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:57 am Post Subject: insurance
I'm gald to hear no one was hurt in the accident. Did anyone happened to see anything?the plate? the accident? I know you said you got SOME of the plate, from the other car. Did you talk to anyone who was in the area? The Police SHOULD be involved. It IS possible to 'find' a vehicle with half the the plate number. I wonder ( I don't know for sure, however..), if you can go to your State Rep, with this, if the police aren't going to help you.
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 07:14 am Post Subject:
How about checking up with the DMV office? You may hit the luck there.
Anyway, excpet following the path that tcope has suggested I can't see much options for you. Also you can urge the insurance company to look for the driver for you.
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:13 am Post Subject:
I think another good point to make is if you are sending your insurance company a letter stating they x number of days to look at the vehicle I would probaly send it registered so that later if something does arise you have proof you sent out the request asking them to take a look at the vehicle. The way paperwork and things get misplaced these days it would not hurt to protect yourself a little better.
As for fraud in NJ, it takes crooks to ruin it for the honest guys but you kind of have to see the insurance companies side of things. To keep paying claims that can not be proven is going to hurt their business and make the cost of insurance outrageous. Chances are if they took off they either did not have insurance, was n ot driving legally, or maybe intoxicated. I love how these types of people ruin it for the good guys.
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:18 am Post Subject:
takes crooks to ruin it for the honest guys
I think this 'action' is just ANYWHERE you live, FIREYONE. However......this kind of behavior does catch up to them sooner or later. OP..I'd keep persueing this issue with whomever you can until you get answers. :DPosted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 04:24 pm Post Subject:
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Some of the answers to the questions raised are
1) First we called the police. They said only the trooper who arrived at the scene of the accident would investigate the case and he was out for a week. SO we waited for a week, we called him back and he said he would get in touch with us but never did.
2) We were told the cops never really follow up on a hit and run case where there is no severe bodily injury.
3) The car is a 1999 Nissan Sentra. It has very low miles for its age and it was in a pretty good condition parts wise when we were using it. As I mentioned earlier, the maximum damage was to the rear end of the car.
4) I think the advice you gave on asking an adjuster to take a look at the vehicle is good. I will follow that up.
5) I will also look at the public storage facilities.
Thank you very much for your suggestions.
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 04:28 pm Post Subject:
I also forgot to mention regarding the towing charges. The accident took place on a Friday evening. And my husband had some minor injuries. So we could only collect the car from the towing area on Monday. They charged us for the towing as well as two days of storage.
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 06:08 am Post Subject:
well, it's glad to know that no one was injured in the accident, but how unlucky to be involved in a hit and run, and having not caught the entire license plate. call the police again, and see what they can do about it. it is most unfortunate to get such uncaring officers on the case. yes, do get the adjuster to take a good look at the vehicle. since you did not get the full license plate, it is unlikely that the insurance company will do anything to cover the claims.
i still think the police should be involved in this case. otherwise, finding the person responsible for this accident will prove difficult, and you'll find yourself on the losing end. do whatever tcope has suggested first. then try again with the police, until they're willing to do something about this case.
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