by Guest » Sun Jul 20, 2014 10:52 pm
Apologies if this has been covered, I did not find a thread with the exact circumstances.
My story- I was rear ended by a semi about 18 months ago and subsequently pushed in to 2 other cars that produced minimal damage to both. The impact was relatively low-speed but did cause a significant amount of damage to the rear of my car. I contacted the truckers agent within a couple days of the accident but never did get the work completed. I am now considering selling my vehicle so would like to get this resolved but I am having some difficulty.
I had a repair shop do a cosmetic estimate (nothing taken apart) and I sent that to the agent which he amended (used parts etc) and sent me a settlement letter. I contacted him and asked him what would be done if there was internal damage and he stated that he would take care of that down the line (complete BS judging by the wording of the letter). Anyway, I didn't like the vibe I was getting from the repair shop so I took it to a delearship which performed a tear-down and revealed a fair amount of internal damage. The dealership sent the info to the adjuster but he said he would not pay any additional damages because the truck driver said he wasn't going "THAT fast".
I'm not sure what recourse I have at this point but it becoming increasing frustrating and inconvenient to not have a vehicle. I do understand the concern that there were separate incidents but I think any trained eye would be able to discern that this was a single accident.
Any advice would be appreciated and i thank you for your input.
My story- I was rear ended by a semi about 18 months ago and subsequently pushed in to 2 other cars that produced minimal damage to both. The impact was relatively low-speed but did cause a significant amount of damage to the rear of my car. I contacted the truckers agent within a couple days of the accident but never did get the work completed. I am now considering selling my vehicle so would like to get this resolved but I am having some difficulty.
I had a repair shop do a cosmetic estimate (nothing taken apart) and I sent that to the agent which he amended (used parts etc) and sent me a settlement letter. I contacted him and asked him what would be done if there was internal damage and he stated that he would take care of that down the line (complete BS judging by the wording of the letter). Anyway, I didn't like the vibe I was getting from the repair shop so I took it to a delearship which performed a tear-down and revealed a fair amount of internal damage. The dealership sent the info to the adjuster but he said he would not pay any additional damages because the truck driver said he wasn't going "THAT fast".
I'm not sure what recourse I have at this point but it becoming increasing frustrating and inconvenient to not have a vehicle. I do understand the concern that there were separate incidents but I think any trained eye would be able to discern that this was a single accident.
Any advice would be appreciated and i thank you for your input.
Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 02:18 am Post Subject:
The dealership sent the info to the adjuster but he said he would not pay any additional damages because the truck driver said he wasn't going "THAT fast".
I'm sure much more went into the adjusters decision as "not that fast" is not a measurement of damage. How does the adjuster explain the damage that was found on your vehicle? Ask the adjuster if he would like to have someone inspect your vehicle rather then going by a judgement of speed from a bias person when that is not even a measurement of damage to begin with. If he does not want to inspect the damage then you pretty much have a slam dunk case. You have a 3rd party body shop stating that there is damage to the rear end of your vehicle and you have the person hitting the back of your vehicle. On the other side... there is just some 3rd party opinion.
File with your own carrier if you have collision coverage. You can suit against the at fault party. Personally I'd recommend 1) filing a complaint with your states Dept of Ins and cite Unfair Claims Practice and then 2) completing small claims court paperwork and mailing that to the adjuster along with your dealer estimate and giving them 14 days to pay or you will file the paperwork with the court to proceed with the lawsuit.
Your biggest issue is that it appears you waited 18 months to do anything about this which now leaves the door open for the question of this damage being done after the accident.
Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 04:41 am Post Subject:
Not only is the "biggest issue" the fact that you have now waited 18 months, you have probably lost any ability to pursue this claim through the insurance company. Normally, notice of claim and proof of loss must be completed in a timely manner.
It does not even appear that you gave proper notice of claim -- indicating that your contact was with an insurance agent and not an insurance company. Agents do not have authority to get involved in the claims process as your post indicates, so I don't even know if the insurance company was ever properly involved.
At this late date, about all you can do is sue the at-fault driver and see what happens in court. It is not a "slam dunk" by any means.
Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 05:38 am Post Subject:
Tcope, Thanks for the reply and what you suggested is pretty much the exact recourse I had planned on taking and the advice to contact the DOI is an excellent idea but fingers crossed it never comes to that.
Max, I appreciate your input as well but I think there are a few key points you have overlooked and/or missed. I realize that I may have misused some of the verbiage (adjuster/agent) but I think you misunderstood the content.
I'm not totally sure what the parameters of "notice of claim" includes, but I did notify the adjuster (?) within the first week and there already was a claim established (presumably from one of the other drivers).
Also, I stated that the adjuster had issued a settlement letter, which was within the last few weeks, so it is evident that he is willing to settle said claim. The complication I am dealing with is his compliance to deal with some, but not all of the damage that occurred.
Also, in addition to contacting the insurance company within the first few days, I had an estimate done at a shop approx. 10 days after the incident that would document the same pics and external damage as the more recent estimates.
Hope I'm not missing something here and appreciate the interest and knowledge provided by all.
Adam
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 03:23 am Post Subject:
If I misread the "content" of your post, it's because I applied "ordinary reasoning" to what you wrote. Your subsequent remarks may have shed some new light on the situation. Still, there is little to explain why this has yet to be resolved within 18 months. Insurance companies are not required to wait forever to pay a claim, and I think you will be quite fortunate to get a payment of any amount at this late date.
I had an estimate done at a shop approx. 10 days after the incident that would document the same pics and external damage as the more recent estimates.
Maybe so, but I thought the dispute concerned hidden damage that photos won't show.Add your comment