by greenpuppet » Mon May 03, 2010 11:28 am
I attend Purdue University here in Indiana and I was rear ended just last week. I do not have collision insurance. However, based on the circumstances, it is the other party at fault since I was waiting for a pedestrian to cross and he just rear ended me. The police took a report and everything. Is there a law in Indiana that forces the other party to report the accident to their insurance? Cause according to the their insurance, the only thing stopping the claim process is because the they haven't been able to talk to the other guy. If the other guy doesn't talk, should I sue? This is a major problem for me since I have a summer job in Canada that I have to drive up for in a week. I already have estimates and everything set up.
Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 05:02 pm Post Subject:
The insurance company that insures the party that hit you will want to speak to their customer about the collision, take a statement etc.. This is not a state law but a normal insurance company claim procedure. Because you do not have collision insurance on your vehicle you cannot submit to your own company and expect them to pay your claim and get their monies back from the company of the party that hit you. Your only recourse is to contact that company directly and try to get them to take action on your claim and clearly their inability to get a statement from their customer is delaying the process. I don't believe that this is a reason to deny your claim but it seems that time is your issue. I recommend continued pressure on the adjuster or supervisor of claims for that company to get your car fixed. I would also recommend a department of Insurance complaint before suing. DOI complaints generally get pretty swift attention from companies.
Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 08:31 pm Post Subject:
There is likely no 'law' on the books..but it is breach of his insurance contract...if there was a police report, ask the adjuster if they have that. If they do not get it and fax it to them. Ask them if they can determine liability based on the police report (assuming of course it's clear cut). They should've sent out a reservations of rights letter for non-cooperation to their insured. Ask them if they sent it. Ask if they have done a 'cold call' or sent someone to his house. Have they called his agent for additional phone numbers etc.
Unfortunately, this happens WAY more than you'd think. I'd call the adjuster everyday...ask them about the police report...if you've got the guys number, you call him..tell him to call his adjuster and give him the phone and claim number. Tell him if he gets an v/m to either zero out, and talk to someone live, or leave a detailed message with the claim number, stating who he is and that , 'yes, i rearended this guy'...etc...
Ask them what they need (other than contact from their insured) in order to pay the claim once liability has been determined..then get that done..whatever it is...
Filing suit, may or may not make him call his carrier, they have to serve him first..and sounds/looks like he hides well.
You just need to make sure that they have everything they physically need from you before you leave the area for summer, (ie do they need to inspect your vehicle? photo it? do they write their own estimates)? They can still mail you the draft after you leave if need be.
Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 10:03 pm Post Subject:
There may be state law that requires all parties to a collision in which there is any injury/death or property damage in excess of $500 - $1,000 reportable to the Dept of Motor Vehicles (in CA it's $750). Failure to report can result in the revocation of one's driver license and other penalties/fines.
If nothing else, if you allow say 30 days to go by and nothing has happened, then just march down to the small claims court that has jurisdiction and file suit for the maximum amount allowable (CA is $7500), even if the damages to your vehicle are less than that, and pay the fee to have him served by the local law enforcement agency. Any hearing will be at least 45-60 days from the time you file your complaint.
It should serve as a wake-up notice ("What! $7500? I didn't do that much damage to his car!") and cause him to talk to his insurance company. If he still doesn't turn things over to his insurer after he is served and appears (or fails to appear) in court, the judge will ask you to prove your damages -- which you would simply do by showing any a police incident/traffic collision report showing the other party as having been involved in the collision, along with photos of the damage, and a repair estimate from your choice of body shops. Go ahead, feel free to pick the most expensive one you can find. The idiot deserves at least that much.
There is virtually no defense to a rear-end collision unless there is proof you were driving in reverse. The premise is that given enough following distance, there would not have been a collision. If due to the driver's inattention, enough said.
After the judge awards your damages, the difficulty will be collecting. If the knucklehead has still not notified his insurance company after being sued, they will likely not bear liability for the award because he interfered with their contractual obligation to defend him. You'll have to give him perhaps 30 days to pay, and if he doesn't, then you have to go back to court to get the judgment enforced (procedures vary by state) so you can have the local law enforcement agency take possession of any of his named property or assets for transfer to you or sale by auction, the proceeds of which would be yours up to the amount of the judgment plus costs.
As others have said above, putting continual pressure on the insurer/adjuster should help move the matter along to your satisfaction, but don't wait more than 30 days for something to happen that makes you happy.
Least of all, don't give up!! It might require that you return from Canada for a couple of days to appear in Small Claims Court.
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