QuestionQUESTION: A dump truck damaged my vehicle in an accident. The company who owned the truck promised(verbally)to pay for my repairs if I would not file a claim against there insurance carrier. I got several bids to repair the body damage all of which were around $1800. Several weeks after the accident my vehicle broke down due to mechanical problems that were caused by the collision but were not at first apparent. A month after the accident the company who at first had promised to pay for my repairs then said they could offer me $450(what they said my car was worth). Although I'd asked for there insurance info on the day of the accident and several times after they refused to provide it. The accident was a hit and run so I never talked to the driver involved. He was fired for failing a drug test the day it occurred. After receiving there offer of $450 I responded with a counter offer of $1200 which is what the auto body shops said my car totals out for. When they didn't respond I lowered my offer to $800 which is what Kelly Bluebook's condition quiz indicated the car was worth for a person to person sale. The safety manager who was my contact at the company involved continued to ignore my e-mails and wouldn't return my phone calls either. Eventually I was forced to rent a car with my own money. After paying for that rental for a week and containing to be ignored I sent e-mails to the safety guys boss and owner of the company threatening court action and demanding they give me there insurance info so I could file a claim. The safety guy responded the next day, gave me there insurance info, denied ever promising to pay for my repairs and stated in an e-mail and to my cell phones voice mail that his company was not fully at fault but that a check for $450 was waiting for me if I would sign a release form which I refused to do. I paid for the rental car for another week after that, which was all I could afford. Then a few months later I filed a small claims suite against them for a total amount of $2800. ($1800 for the promised repairs + $800 for the car rental fees + $200 for court costs) Due to circumstances beyond my control I missed the court date which was many months after filing the papers due to the courts being way behind. I can re-file if I want to pay the fee's again but I would have to wait many more months for a date.
NOW MY OPTIONS ARE:
#1 TAKE THE $450 OWNERS OF THE DUMP TRUCK ARE STILL OFFERING ME
#2 TRY TO FILE A CLAIM WITH THERE INSURER (over year since wreck)
#3 RE-FILE SMALL CLAIMS SUIT EVEN THOUGH I CANT PROVE THEY PROMISED TO PAY FOR MY REPAIRS and THEY NEVER OFFERED TO PAY FOR A RENTAL CAR FOR ME. It may be some time before I can come up with the small claims fee's again due to impact lack of a vehicle has had on my life for over a year now. I am wary of investing in more small claims since I could just end up with a few hundred or lose in court and get nothing at all.
My question: Is it to late to file a claim with there insurance company and how might they respond after this long or do they even have to?
I'm sure there insurer would have rented me a car till I was paid off or my vehicle was repaired if the owners of the dump truck would have given me there insurance info when they first should have.
I'd also like to know if the insurer would have to compensate me now for those rental costs if I did file a claim? Do you have any advise or suggestions for me?
Thank you for your time and interest. Dave
ANSWER: Dave,
I would have to know the state where this occurred to tell you the proper time limit. . . .
In general, you have some misconceptions . . .
1. Even if you file a claim with the insurance company, the insurance company is normally under no obligation to respond to you, but it may be worth a try.
2. If there is no police report for the accident, then there is really no proof the accident even occurred.
3. If your vehicle was totaled (up to the insurance company), then you normally don't get rental costs.
4. The value of your vehicle is normally best calculated by taking the average of the NADA rough trade in value and the NADA retail value.
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QUESTION: I live in the state of UTAH. Time limit there? Sorry about misconceptions. In hind site I should have filed a claim as soon as I was able to. Im not sure if the highway patrol trooper I reported the accident to wrote up a physical report or not but I have several witnesses and it was that trooper who figured out who owned the dump truck from the license plate number I gave him and it was that same trooper who contacted the owners of the truck and after talking with them called me back and told me they had offered to pay for my repairs. I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE GOT THAT IN WRITING BOTH FROM THE TROOPER AND FROM THE COMPANY WHEN I SPOKE WITH THEM IN PERSON. Guess I'll know better next time.
Thank you for your input.
AnswerSorry for the delay, I have been popular lately. The statute of limitations on property damages in Utah is 3 years. If you have witnesses you can contact and who will testify on your behalf, it may be worth it to gather their testimony in the form of affidavits and present those to the owner of the dump truck. Witnesses are golden when it comes to proving that an accident occurred in a certain way. Certainly, documentation of how the accident occurred and who and what vehicles were involved is paramount if one intends to recover damages.
