QuestionQUESTION: On 6/29/10, my wife was turning right onto an on ramp on the inside lane and an enterprise rent-a-truck was next to her on the outside lane. when they turned, the truck turned into her lane and hit her car causing significant damage to the driver side door, the front left tire and the whole panel around it. He pulled over and gave my wife his name, drivers license number and the rental agreement he had with enterprise. Also, he gave the name of his trucking company, which appeared to be his own company and had rented a commercial truck from enterprise for work purposes.
My wife called the police but the dispatcher asked if the driver was being cooperative and since he was, an officer was not sent to the scene. I went to pick her up and the driver was still there on the scene. He continued to apologize and said he did not see her there when he turned. After making sure information was exchanged, the driver left the scene.
We filed a claim with our insurance to find out that we did not have collision on the vehicle. We had the vehicle towed and two days later paid the fee to take it out of the tow yard and back to our home, where it still sits today. It has been over 30 days and our insurance person told us yesterday that they have done all they can and have closed the case. Now it is up to Rental Insurance Services. We have continued to call Rental Insurance and they continue to say they cannot contact the driver. I spoke to them yesterday and they said if they cannot get a hold of him to verify he was the driver on that day, then they will deny coverage, which I'm assumming leaves us screwed.
Can you please tell me what we should be doing now? We thought that everything would be fine since he had insurance, but this is turning into a nightmare. On Monday, it will be 40 days since the accident occured. Now I have to take public transportation to work, my wife missed half of a day at work and it's just been a big headache.
Can they really deny coverage if they can't get a hold of the driver? If so, what do we do and what should we be doing now?
ANSWER: Jacob,
Take this as a lesson learned and always demand a police report. Although a police report won't make the other driver call in and confess, it couldn't hurt. Not meant to lecture, just had to say it. . .
Okay, so if have the name and address of the person that hit her, and the name of his trucking company, then you need to put pressure on the individual, not the insurance company. His insurance will cooperate when he does. They can deny coverage for non-cooperation, but really if the driver ever comes forward, the denial won't stand and the coverage will come into play again.
There is nothing you can do to the insurance company, they didn't do anything to you. I would look into small claims court or dare I say, show up at the trucking company and track the guy down with cell phone in hand and statement ready for signature.
Unfortunately, in this situation, it is up to you to get the at fault party involved, if you don't press them, nobody will. The insurance company may claim to be trying, but they aren't trying very hard, trust me. They will send a letter and make a phone call or two and then simply close the case noting that they were unable to verify the facts of the accident or coverage due to non-cooperation which is perfectly valid.
If you need detailed assistance, I suggest you look us up on the web and contact us directly. Information is always free at Petty Details, LLC!
I hope this helps!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks so much! Can I file a complaint with the Dept of Insurance since this thing has dragged on for 42 days now?
AnswerSorry for the delay, I've been out of the office today. The department of insurance can't help you on this matter, but to answer your question, yes, you can file a complaint. It will simply be answered by the insurance company by stating their insured is not cooperating and that will be the end of the department of insurance's involvement.
