by Guest » Tue Dec 18, 2007 09:02 pm
My girlfriend was rear-ended by another driver looking for his cell-phone at a stop sign. My girlfriend had no insurance, but he did. Police arrived and made the report but did not write down his insurance info. because he told the police he was going to pay for the damages himself. Nobody was given citations by the police. 2 weeks passed and we never recieved a call from him to get the damages fixed. We called and his girlfriend answered telling us that he was not fixing the damages but his insurance would pay for damages. We never recieved any further calls from neither them or their insurance company.........Now we are trying to make the claim ourselfs but we dont have their insurance information, and they are refusing to give it to us. The police officer who made the report called and left a message and they have not returned the call to him. Now they are saying "talk to my lawyer or take it to court" but all we need is their insurance info to make the claim ourselfs and get the damages fixed. They have done their best to avoid talking to us and seem to be having fun doing it. What can we do to get their insurance information so we can make the claim and avoid taking it to court and waste more time.
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:45 am Post Subject:
AWESOME! I was hoping that the rest of his family was more responsible...that's great, yes please let us know...and DO NOT let him ''get the parts'' blah blah...get him a couple or three estimates from shops that you would ACTUALLY let repair the truck...present them and he will probably pay from the lowest which is fine, DO NOT sign anything until the truck is completely fixed and back in your driveway, MANY times there is hidden damage that isn't discovered until a vehicle is actually under repair...also if you need one he really owes your girl friend a rental while her truck is in the shop...(his insurance company would cover one) that's up to you guys.........keep us updated!
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:04 pm Post Subject:
I will keep you guys updated, and thanks to everybody that helped me clear things up. Have a safe Christmas and a happy New Year.
Lori, thanks for your great advise about everything, be safe and take care.
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:08 pm Post Subject:
Our pleasure Jaun, we'd appreciate updates.... and girl friends truck has insurance now right? :wink:
Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:00 am Post Subject:
of course! thank you.
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 07:23 am Post Subject: URGENT UPDATE!!!!!!!!!URGENT UPDATE!!!!!!!!!
Well, first let me thank everybody that helped us out before, but this dilema is still bothering us to date.
Well after talking to his sister and hoping for the best, nothing happened. They never called us back and we decided to take it to court ASAP. We sued him in small claims court in early January for damages caused to my girlfriend's vehicle. Ever since early January we have never received any calls from anybody regarding the accident or the claim we made in court. We were told that the court date was probably going to be in June but it was not confirmed.
Well, yesterday April 7, 2008 my girlfriend received a letter from FARMERS INSURANCE informing her that they need a statement from her regarding the accident before April 9, 2008.
It states
"If we have not been able to speak with you by April 9, 2008 we will process the claim based on the availably information we have gathered."
Now we are wondering what to do next, because we only have until tommorow to call FARMERS. My question would be: What do we do now? What happens to our case in court which we have invested money in? Are they trying somekind of scam on us? Are they tricking us somehow?Or is this outcome positive for us and we should react quickly?Should we ignore the letter and wait for the court date?
Also I must mention, the letter states:
INSURED: (guy's name)
CLAIM NUMBER: (######)
POLICY NUMBER: (######)
LOSS DATE: (Nov. 29 2007)--Accident occured on Nov. 20, 2007 not 29th. is this O.K. or might there be something fishy???
Well in conclusion, please help us determine the next step we should take or guide us with any useful comments you may have.....THANK U IN ADVANCE!!!!!!!
JUAN FROM BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS.
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:13 am Post Subject:
Hi Jaun great to hear from you (and really this is FINALLY good news I think!)
My question would be: What do we do now?
First the April 9th thing isn't a huge deal at all....Call them give them a statement about what happen.....What happens to our case in court which we have invested money in?
I'm just sure the carrier won't pay for this...how much have you invested?Are they trying somekind of scam on us? Are they tricking us somehow?
No they probably just found out about it...their insured has probably just reported it to them and they are at the very begining of the claim.....Or is this outcome positive for us and we should react quickly?
I think so the jerk finally decided to report it to his carrier...who now is just doing their job trying to get ahold of you all and find out from you what happened, your damages, etc.....Should we ignore the letter and wait for the court date?
I don't think so cause this will probably just piss the Judge off, that they attempted to settle it, and you all ignored it...(judges don't like it when you take up docket time, more than likely if you went and the carrier said, hey judge we tried they wouldn't respond...he would throw it out)...Also I must mention, the letter states:
Most likely the guy couldn't remember the exact date, just tell the adjuster when your girlfriend talks with them...INSURED: (guy's name)
CLAIM NUMBER: (######)
POLICY NUMBER: (######)
LOSS DATE: (Nov. 29 2007)--Accident occured on Nov. 20, 2007 not 29th. is this O.K. or might there be something fishy???
Well in conclusion, please help us determine the next step we should take or guide us with any useful comments you may have.....THANK U IN ADVANCE!!!!!!!
I say call them immediately be honest and forthright, tell them the whole story, including how they have jacked you all around....
Please keep us updated!
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 05:17 pm Post Subject:
Thank you so much Lori, this serves as great help to us and we greatly admire you helping us.
Regarding court cost, it was not that much. Total court cost including notary public was around $110.
Considering the possibilities of the judge giving each party citations that were not given by the cop, I think we should drop the small claims suit as soon as we receive a check from their insurance for the damages and forget about the court cost. My girlfriend is calling FARMERS today.
Thank you again and I'll keep you updated.
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 05:57 pm Post Subject: Update!
Well my girlfriend called Farmers Insurance 20 minutes ago, and they seemed very understanding and she told them the whole story including how they jacked us all around. Farmers currently doesn't even have a copy of the police report, and my girlfriend offered to fax them over a copy of the report and an estimate of our choice, including our court cost which they said were not sure they will cover. The adjuster said that we can choose any estimate we already have, including the estimate from the Isuzu Dealership which was the most expensive.
My question is:
Do we submit the most expensive estimate which includes new replacement parts? or
Do we submit the estimate from a local body shop which will use used parts to repair the vehicle?
Its important to note that the claim made in court included the local body shop estimate + court cost and not the estimate from the dealer.
Should we submit the same estimate from court to the Insurance Company, or submit the dealer estimate which is $800 more.
Estimates:
Local Body Shop Average price = $1,000
Dealer Repair cost = $1,800
Considering the frustration we have gone thru the past months, we would love to submit a higher estimate, but we also dont want things to get messy with insurance company either. Also, would she receive a check under her name or under the body shop name? Any suggesttions?
Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:28 am Post Subject:
My question is:
If they said you can submit any estimate you wish, then do just that..ask that they make the draft payable to your girlfriend only.Do we submit the most expensive estimate which includes new replacement parts? or
Do we submit the estimate from a local body shop which will use used parts to repair the vehicle?
Its important to note that the claim made in court included the local body shop estimate + court cost and not the estimate from the dealer.
I wouldn't concern myself with that...If they ask for only one estimate and didn't care which one it was then (again) send the one of your chosing...The adjuster said that we can choose any estimate we already have, including the estimate from the Isuzu Dealership which was the most expensive
Since she made this statement (I'm frankly surprised she didn't ask for two or three estimates :? )..Send in the high one if you want...As an adjuster I get claims like this occassionally, and actually embarrasses me that an insured behaved to someone this way...and if that claimant (you) are reasonable, and understanding that 'I' (or the company) had no knowledge of it till now, then I go out of my way to try and make it up...Sounds like this adjuster is of like mind....They ''could'' have (although rarely happens) actually denied the claim entirely, forcing their insured to pay the damages alone, because their insureds (and yours too with your company) contract calls for 'promptly' reporting all losses....like I said this is rarely used, but still is possible...so sounds to me like you have a good adjuster who is going to try hard to make this thing right...They will also owe you all a rental vehicle while yours is under repair (should you chose to repair it).....Please do keep us informed.Please keep us updated on the progress...oh, is the adjuster or claims office in the same city you are in? or very near by?
Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 06:27 am Post Subject: Reply to LORI
The claims office she called was a 1-800 # with an extension #. We have no idea where she faxed the documents. But the lettter she recieved has an Oklahoma address with a (800)# Fax, and says "Farmers National Document Center".
Well, on Tuesday my girlfriend faxed the highest Isuzu dealer estimate, including the police report, a copy of a certified letter we send to the coward to inform him that he had 15 days to contact us or we would take it to court, and the court cost receipt.
On Wednesday she received a call from Farmers, and they told her that everything she submitted was accepted including the court cost. And that she would receive check in the mail.
Hopefully, everything is as smooth as it has been with insurance, and I hope we get that check soon and finally fix her truck.
I sincerely want ot thank everybody that gave me some good pointers, especially you LORI. You have been a great asset to get to where we are now. I hope this stressfull situation ends soon, and we can go on with our lives. I will keep you guys updated on the conclusion to this dilema soon, hopefully!!!!
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