Question
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Hello ,!
I was driving down the hill with established speed,
on a dry road and no cars in front of me. Suddenly , 50 feet before crossection,other car tried to cross my way from the left, hit my car front, on a passenger
site(damaging bumper, front grill,combinational marker light and right fender) and stopped on my side of the road (2 lines) , facing wrong direction
(up the hill).When I climed out my car and asked the
driver how he could do that - he replied that he was
going up the hill and some other 3rd car (which I
have not seen) was making left turn without giving
him right of the way. To avoid collision with that
car, he had "no choice" as to turn left and hit me.
No one was insured. Police refused to come, because
from their point of view, it was just minor "fender bender". We exchanged all required information and he
gave me phone number of a man , who supposedly seen
that mistical third car.
Myself and driver who hit me have insurance ( I have
only liability coverage ).
I have immidiately filed both claims ( to my insurance
and to insurance of the guy ,who hit me ).
Pretty soon , after interview, my insurance called me
and wished me "good luck", saying that because it was not my fault and I have no collision coverage - I have to deal with other insurance company. These
guys (State Farm) also questioned the driver ( who is
NOT denying hitting me ) and that was it !!! Almost
two month has passed and I still have no settlement,
can not repair my car and risking to get ticket every
time when I drive (almost every day) damaged car.
I have called State Farm 3 times asking what the problem was and why my claim is not moving anywhere.
Every time during the phone conversation I was told
that they were trying to contact eye witness (all
we have is his phone number - no address)and he never
returned the call and they could not proceed with my
claim without information from that witness).
When I asked , what difference could it make to me -
person on the phone told me, that if they will not
be able to get information from the witness - I
might NOT get any settlement at all.
I do not understand this situation:
I was hit by another car ( insured, with liability
coverage), driver admitted that he has hit me ,
the collision was NOT my fault ( I did not do anything wrong) and still insurance company could
refuse to pay for damages to my car ???????????
How could that be possible? What should I do now?
How long insurance company will be trying to contact the
witness, before they deside to do anything?
Please, advice me what should I do?
P.S. The reason I have no collision coverage is my car
is old (1984), with a current market value of $1000 -1400,
which is teoretical max I can get, but even minor damage repair will cost more than that. Car is in perfect condition, never was involved in auto accident and I am
an owner of the car from 1991.
Thank you very much for your response in advance.
Sincerely Vladimir
AnswerHello Vladimir,
Sounds like you are in a little bid of pickle here. The insurance company is arguing that they have no negligence because their driver was avoiding an accident. Since you do not have collision coverage, you are left to defend your own claim.
Sounds like they do not have much evidence and that it's possible that your damage is low. You may consider taking this to small claims court. There you can explain to a judge the situation and the other driver (not the insurance company) will have to provide evidence.
The judge will render a binding decision on fault that must be honored.
For more about small claims court, please see:
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/small-claims-court.html
Other than that, you will probably need an attorney to help you with your claim. The insurance company holds the card of investigation and if they do not want to settle, they might leave you without anything.
I hope this helps,
Anne
http://www.quirogalawoffice.com/
http://www.spokanelegalhelp.com/
