Auto Insurance Claims: In accident with dumptruck. Owner wouldnt give me there insurance carier info., auto, accident

Question
A dump truck damaged my vehicle in an accident. The company who owned it promised(verbally)to pay for my repairs($1800)if I would not file a claim against there insurance carrier. The damaged car totals out at $1200 which they knew at the time of promise. The car functioned for several weeks after then broke down due to mechanical damage that was not apparent at first from the accident. The repair bids for $1800 were for body damage only. A month after accident the owner company stated they would only give me $450(what they said the car was worth). At that time they still refused to give me there insurance info although I'd asked for it the day of the accident and several times after. They kept saying I didn't need there insurance info becuase they were going to pay for my repairs without involving there insurer. It was a hit and run accident so I never talked to the dump truck driver involved who was fired for failing a drug test given to him the day of the accident when the owners became aware of it. I told them $450 would not be acceptable but offered to take $1200(what the auto body shops said my car totals out for)to settle it. Our communication was through e-mail which they stopped sending or responding to after making the offer of $450 to me. I sent them several more e-mails and lowered my counter 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 had been working with me from the company involved continued to ignore my e-mails and wouldn't return my calls. I was forced to rent a car for transport and after paying for that rental for a week I finally 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, denigned ever promising to repair the damage, and stated in an e-mail and to my 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 rent a car for another week after that, which was all I could afford. I then filed a small claims suite against them for $2800 total. ($1800 promised for repairs + $800 car rental fees + court costs) Due to circumstances beyond my control I missed the court date but can re-file if I want to pay the fee's again.
NOW MY OPTIONS ARE:
#1 TAKE $450 THEY 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 OFFERED TO PAY FOR MY REPAIRS and THEY NEVER OFFERED TO PAY FOR A CAR RENTAL and 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 still have the car stored but 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.

Do you have any idea as to how there insurance company might respond to filing a claim after this long or if they even have to?
I'm sure there insurer would have rented me a car till I was paid off or my vehicle repaired if the owners of the dump truck would have given me there insurance info when they first should have.

Would the insurer be forced to compensate me now for those rental costs if I filed a claim?   

I live in UTAH so any state laws would apply.

Answer
David,
Ask the small claims clerk how long you have to sue for property damages in Utah. Then refile the small claims action if you can. Liability insurance technically covers someone for something in which they are found "legally liable" for, which is a court judgment. The other driver does not have to turn in their claim to their insurance. By the same token, their insurance does not have to cover the claim if their policy holder does not notify them of the claim. Therefore a court judgment against the other driver would have to be paid by the other driver, not the insurer. And you are entitled to the lesser amount, the repair cost or the cars value, plus "reasonable" rental car cost.