by Galak » Thu Apr 17, 2008 03:31 am
Hi Community,
I just found this website today, and have read a few posts, everyone seems very helpful, and I am in sure need of some help.
Setting:
Last Friday, I was involved in an daytime accident at a 4 intersection (with stop signs in all directions) in a residential area in Southern California. There is one lane for each direction. I was traveling southbound and came to a complete stop at the intersection. There we two cars to my right, going east bound, nobody coming from the south or east. The first car proceeded to onto the intersection, which meant it was my turn to go next. As I crossed the intersection, I look to my right side, and see the second car coming at me.
I was already 2/3 of the way across the intersection as she started to go. She hit my rear tire and rear fender. The lady was elderly, and she was more hysterical when we first pulled over, and kept complaining that someone had hit her just a few weeks prior and that her she just had her car fixed. I called the cops to ask them to come out and write a police report, but at the time she apologized for hitting me and that she didn't see me. The cops asked if she was complying, I said yes, so they said they did not need to come out. We both said we would call our insurance agencies that day. I had a passenger in the car, she did not. We did not have any witnesses.
Post Accident:
I filed the claim with my insurance company. They told me that since I did not have comprehensive insurance and only liability, I would have to have a claims adjuster from the party's insurance agency assigned to me. They called the other insurance company to notify them of the claim. I called the other party's insurance following day to find out the progress, and when I spoke to the claims adjuster, she told me that her client had claimed she had the right of way, and is claiming no fault. At this point, I was flabbergasted because she had claimed fault at the scene of the accident and now she is claiming no fault. She was not very nice at all. I asked if I could have the phone number of her client so speak to her about the situation, and she exclaimed to me that it would be considered harassment on my part. I was very friendly to her on the phone the whole duration.
I called my insurance company; they escalated it to a dispute. But my insurance company said that since I don't have comprehensive, they can't do anything for me, but to fight the liability issue of it. He told me that I should go to small claims. At this point, he took my recorded statement, and said he will contact the other party, or try to (since he did not her phone number). The other party's insurance agency has not even called me yet. I have a few questions to start with.
1)What are my options at this point? The damage to my car is not too severe, but I do not think it is right for her and her insurance company to get away scot-free.
2)What happens to my DMV record, if the insurance companies can't reconcile?
3)What are the insurance companies doing now? I called my dispute claims officer and left a message; he did not call back. I don't feel like he is too concerned for me, because he is not fighting for me, but rather if they have to pay the liability.
4)Related to 2, Is my insurance going to go up if this isn't reconciled?
I am really grateful if you made it down this far to read all I have written. I am only a 4th year college student, and do not have the resources to hire a lawyer, any help here would be greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance.
If you have any questions for me, or need pictures, please feel free to ask, I will provide as much additional info as you need.
I just found this website today, and have read a few posts, everyone seems very helpful, and I am in sure need of some help.
Setting:
Last Friday, I was involved in an daytime accident at a 4 intersection (with stop signs in all directions) in a residential area in Southern California. There is one lane for each direction. I was traveling southbound and came to a complete stop at the intersection. There we two cars to my right, going east bound, nobody coming from the south or east. The first car proceeded to onto the intersection, which meant it was my turn to go next. As I crossed the intersection, I look to my right side, and see the second car coming at me.
I was already 2/3 of the way across the intersection as she started to go. She hit my rear tire and rear fender. The lady was elderly, and she was more hysterical when we first pulled over, and kept complaining that someone had hit her just a few weeks prior and that her she just had her car fixed. I called the cops to ask them to come out and write a police report, but at the time she apologized for hitting me and that she didn't see me. The cops asked if she was complying, I said yes, so they said they did not need to come out. We both said we would call our insurance agencies that day. I had a passenger in the car, she did not. We did not have any witnesses.
Post Accident:
I filed the claim with my insurance company. They told me that since I did not have comprehensive insurance and only liability, I would have to have a claims adjuster from the party's insurance agency assigned to me. They called the other insurance company to notify them of the claim. I called the other party's insurance following day to find out the progress, and when I spoke to the claims adjuster, she told me that her client had claimed she had the right of way, and is claiming no fault. At this point, I was flabbergasted because she had claimed fault at the scene of the accident and now she is claiming no fault. She was not very nice at all. I asked if I could have the phone number of her client so speak to her about the situation, and she exclaimed to me that it would be considered harassment on my part. I was very friendly to her on the phone the whole duration.
I called my insurance company; they escalated it to a dispute. But my insurance company said that since I don't have comprehensive, they can't do anything for me, but to fight the liability issue of it. He told me that I should go to small claims. At this point, he took my recorded statement, and said he will contact the other party, or try to (since he did not her phone number). The other party's insurance agency has not even called me yet. I have a few questions to start with.
1)What are my options at this point? The damage to my car is not too severe, but I do not think it is right for her and her insurance company to get away scot-free.
2)What happens to my DMV record, if the insurance companies can't reconcile?
3)What are the insurance companies doing now? I called my dispute claims officer and left a message; he did not call back. I don't feel like he is too concerned for me, because he is not fighting for me, but rather if they have to pay the liability.
4)Related to 2, Is my insurance going to go up if this isn't reconciled?
I am really grateful if you made it down this far to read all I have written. I am only a 4th year college student, and do not have the resources to hire a lawyer, any help here would be greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance.
If you have any questions for me, or need pictures, please feel free to ask, I will provide as much additional info as you need.
Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 06:29 pm Post Subject:
Hi everyone,
Hey Tcope, I see what you mean. I guess what I meant was, in the case of a denial from my insurance company, it only helps my case to a certain degree in terms of getting a payment from the other insurance company, but if my claim was not denied, then it would be very detrimental to my case. Is that correct?
Hey Lori! Her company is AAA, and my company is Geico.
I made an excel spreadsheet of all the events that transpired from the accident till today(phone calls, times and dates). Right now I'm going over everything that was posted here again, then I will call her insurance company back today. I'll be going to get car estimates also. The damage is not very severe, at times I feel as though it is not worth it to fight it, but then again, when I think of the principle of the matter, it makes me very upset again. hehe
I'll write an updated post tonight, thanks again for the help and encouragement!
Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:09 pm Post Subject:
okay, after calling her 3 times and getting her voicemail, (she was probably at lunch or on the phone) and leaving a message with her supervisor. I tried one last time right after and I got through.
I told her I have not heard from her regarding the case, and I am calling because I wanted to give a recorded statement, and wanted to provide photographs of the accident.
We then proceeded with the recorded statement, there was some background noise, so she called me back.
I said pretty muchsaid everything I said above, she asked me a few questions.
One question she asked me was, "If I noticed if she stopped at her stop sign" First I said yes, I think so, then I said probably. That was because I dont think she could have continued on her way(running the stop sign) since there was a car in front of her. If she did, she would have been at the intersection before me, and I would have hit her. At that point the adjuster says, you either did see her stop or didn't. I responded, "hmm" and responds, "So you dont know. I see." The "I see" a wasn't typical one but more of a skeptism in her voice.
Another question was one was regarding the eastbound center line and where I was relative to that point when i had travelled through the intersection. She asked if the eastbound lane, at a center line. I said I don't know let me look at the picture I took. And she responded, "So you're looking at the photo of the intersection." i said, "yeah, let me see if it has one." Her reactioned seemed as though I wasn't suppose to be doing that.
So at that point, after clarifying that she wanted my my position relative to that center line, I told her that my car was 2/3 of the way through, so that point is 2/3 to the back of my vehicle. I hope she understood me clearly.
At the end she asked me if I understood all her questions, I said did for the most part, and she asked me what I did not understand, and I restated at the point about her question regarding the if I saw her stop, and this time I said that I wanted to clarify that I did not know.
Other than that I sent her 10 photos. The damage to the cars, the intersection. A overhead picture of the intersection on googlemaps. and directions to view 3D pictures of the intersection via googlemaps.
I was as polite to her as I could be. What do you guys think of it?
Thanks again
Sorry i wrote a really quick reply so my grammer and punctuation might be off. now off to the body shop
Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2008 09:20 pm Post Subject:
hi everyone,
I feel as though when I talk to her claims adjuster. I'm talking her lawyer, the judge and jury in regards to making a decision for a payment for my damages. It doesn't seem as though she will make make a fair assessment from her skeptical comments (not to say that she wont), but being a representative of her client, her interests are protecting her client and her company.
Am I going too far when I say this?
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:34 am Post Subject:
but if my claim was not denied, then it would be very detrimental to my case. Is that correct?
you are correct...I made an excel spreadsheet of all the events that transpired from the accident till today(phone calls, times and dates).
TERRIFIC! You are both an adjusters dream and nightmare! :wink: :lol:
I was as polite to her as I could be. What do you guys think of it?
Smart cookie....it rarely ever pays to be anything but polite honestly, and regardless of the others attitude...you did great! The did you see her stopped or not would be her trying to either bring some comparative negligence on you....or if you saw her come to a complete stop before you did then it would've been her turn rather than yours...but i'm sure you told her there was a vehicle in front of her that stopped while you were stopped when they cleared the intersection then you went...so clearly it was 'your turn'....re: the intersection p hotos etc....she was probably just surprised you were that well prepared (as she should've been)....don't worry about that at all....and 2/3 thru definately gives you control of the intersection...I feel as though when I talk to her claims adjuster. I'm talking her lawyer, the judge and jury in regards to making a decision for a payment for my damages. It doesn't seem as though she will make make a fair assessment from her skeptical comments (not to say that she wont), but being a representative of her client, her interests are protecting her client and her company.
No, you're not going to far saying or thinking this, although I wouldn't say it to her, at least not yet....there are some adjusters that do appear to have chips on their shoulder and the power part of the job is not something they deal with well...we (adjusters) are the judge/jury/ and executioner to a degree, we are the ones that investigate and render the decision re:who's at fault and who is not thus who is paid and what...that doesn't mean that there is no appeal process however...and some adjusters just automatically 'take their insured's side' regardless of the circumstances...i don't and any good adjuster won't...the will look unbiased at all the facts then make their decision, now if all the facts are a draw (for instance everyone claims a green light without witnesses etc) then I will side with my insured...but that makes sense...(assuming all things are equal)....What I think she's going to do is come back with some type of comparative negl.offer, meaning she will try and find you 'some' percentage at fault...personally I wouldn't accept it were I you....Am I going too far when I say this?
Let's see what she says though, then go from there if she offers you anything less than 100% of your damages let us know...if you don't think it fair and we will try and help you more....if she does say for instance, 'we will pay you 70% of your damages (meaning they think you are 30% at fault) ask that she explain in detail what you did wrong that made her come to this decision..
Did she ask that you get estimates and forward them to her? How was it left? Is she to contact you within ''x'' amount of time?
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 08:29 pm Post Subject:
Hey Lori,
Thanks again for your detailed responses. They answered a lot of the pending questions on my mind, and then some. I am amazed that you have so much energy to respond to all theses posts on the board. :D
I am really encouraged that there are adjusters out there such as yourself, who are so helpful and look at events in unbiased way (ceteris parabis).
Did she ask that you get estimates and forward them to her?
She did not ask to me to get estimates. But I went on friday to get 3 different ones. One of which was a body shop that does repairs for AAA. He told me that, even though ot an estimate now, the claims adjuster will probably send me back to get another one.
How was it left?
I told her I had photographs to send her, so she told me her email address.
Additionally, she said she would have to call the other party back to get additional statements(further clarification I'm guessing), because initially when the recording began, she said. this is xxxxx recording a statement for an accident that occured on.., at which point she said the wrong street.
When I corrected her, she seemed a bit shocked, (my guess is the other party did not give her the right location of the accident).
Is she to contact you within ''x'' amount of time?
she did not say specifically. But I will call my insurance company to check the progression of the event, and I will contact her later in the week to ask her progress also.
Just one question:
What I think she's going to do is come back with some type of comparative negl.offer, meaning she will try and find you 'some' percentage at fault...personally I wouldn't accept it were I you....
Lets say she did come back with a 70/30, and I appealed the decision. At any point will the insurance company renege on the offer? or if I lose the appeal, am I at risk of losing the original offer or any compensation?
thanks again!!!!!!
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:06 pm Post Subject:
No, generally in comp neg situations the offer isn't recended as in an injury settlement...injury settlements are usually timed...ie,''i offer you 10k for your injury and this offer is good for 10 days from today after that time it is withdrawn' physical damage comp neg claims don't operate that way....just make her work hard to prove that you had ANY comp neg in this accident...some companies/adjusters take the stance that being on the street at all gives you some comp neg (i do not, nor IMO does anyone with any brains)....let us know how you are progressing...sounds like you are handling this well to me keep up the good work! :)
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 06:25 am Post Subject:
Just to give you guys an update, there is actually no update yet as I have not had time to call the insurance companies, due to job interviews and also midterms. But I will call both of them on monday to see what the news is. Hope that has given the ample time to proceed to the next steps
Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 07:46 pm Post Subject:
hi everyone!!
So I didn't have a chance to call the other insurance company to get a status monday, but on tuesday, the other insurnace called me and said they have decided to pay my claim!!!!
So now i was sent a list of body shops I can go to, so I have called her back to make an appointment today!! Is there anything else I should look out for at this point?
Thanks again!
Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 10:45 am Post Subject:
Good news Galak! They must've actually investigated the claim huh? (finnnnnalllllllllly)... :wink:
You can go to any shop you wish, (even if it's not on the list) it's totally up to you.....The list might be preferred shops of the insurance carrier in that area....ones they will back or warrant the work for....
Let us know how your repair goes...have they offered to put you in a rental while your vehicle is under repair? They should've of...if not request one...
Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 04:59 am Post Subject:
hey Lori and friends,
So today I went to the claims adjuster/inspector, he did an inspection of the damage and wrote me a check. This was at an onsite autoshop, that the Autoclub works with, but they couldnt do the repairs there because my panel is made from fiberglass. So before I took the check I asked what would be the circumstances if the body shop I went to says it costs more or finds additional damage. He said I would have to call my adjuster, and they they send someone out for a reinspection.
So my questions are:
1) What are the procedures if the body shop has a bigger estimate, or the costs actually come out greater?
2) What happens if they repairs are less than the estimated amount? Do I pocket the remainder?
3) I haven't cashed the check, because I want to be sure that all the costs are covered. Does taking the check(but not cashing it in) bind the settlement price?
Thanks for the help again! oh ya, and they are paying for 9 days rental.
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