by Guest » Thu Jun 03, 2010 08:31 pm
Hi everyone,
My car was rear-ended this morning, the traffic was sluggish, and the car behind me was rear ended by the car behind it and pushed into mine. The bad car fled and the lady who hit my car stopped and gave me her insurance information. She has All state and I have Horace Mann. There is no damage except my rear bumper might need to be changed.
Now my question is, should I contact her insurance company or should I file a no-fault claim through my own insurance company and let them to deal with the other insurer. I called Horace Mann earlier today and the representative seems to think all-state is unlikely to pay for my repair since it is not the lady's fault either, then I need to claim through Horace Mann, if I do so, will my rate increase because of my claim?
Thanks everyone!! This is my first car accident and have no clue what to do...
My car was rear-ended this morning, the traffic was sluggish, and the car behind me was rear ended by the car behind it and pushed into mine. The bad car fled and the lady who hit my car stopped and gave me her insurance information. She has All state and I have Horace Mann. There is no damage except my rear bumper might need to be changed.
Now my question is, should I contact her insurance company or should I file a no-fault claim through my own insurance company and let them to deal with the other insurer. I called Horace Mann earlier today and the representative seems to think all-state is unlikely to pay for my repair since it is not the lady's fault either, then I need to claim through Horace Mann, if I do so, will my rate increase because of my claim?
Thanks everyone!! This is my first car accident and have no clue what to do...
Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 09:06 pm Post Subject:
You can call Allstate and see if they will pay the claim but if their insured states that she as pushed into your vehicle then they probably will deny liability. If you file with your carrier they will issue payment less your collision deductible (unless you have uninsured motorist property damage). If their investigation finds that the person that hit you was at fault they will seek recovery. But again, I don't think they will be able to prove fault against her.
Some other possibilities... I don't know if joint and several liability applies in the state where the accident occurred. If it does, you'd still need to show that the person that was pushed into your vehicle was somewhat at fault (might be 1%, might be 10%) but if it applies and you can show this then you can collect from Allstate. I doubt that this is going to be the case either.
Did you see this 3rd vehicle? Is their any damage to the rear of the other person's vehicle? I ask as I wonder if you personally know that there was a 3rd vehicle involved. Perhaps you heard the first collision and then felt the impact.
Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 09:42 pm Post Subject:
Thanks for your reply.
No I did not see the third vehicle, there is damage on the rear bump on the lady's car, but what I know about the 3rd car was all based on what she told me. There was a police officer passing by and we told her what happened, we did not want to wait for the troopers so she gave us an event number.
Do you think I should still try all state or just go through my insurance company? It seems like if I go through all state it will take a lot of time arguing... and will this affect my future policy rate?
Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 10:29 am Post Subject:
You always want to try your claim with the other party's insurer first. If they would have paid, you'll have troubled your insurance company for "nothing". They collect back from the other company, but it will have cost them many dollars to do that.
If the other party's company denies the claim, then you can turn to your insurance company. If you're covered, they'll pay. If they feel like they might be able to go after the other company, that's up to them, and the only thing you may have to do is make a recorded statement to the adjuster.
If you end up paying a deductible, you can always try suing the other party in small claims court. There it's a toss-up.
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