QuestionMy wife was involed in car accident,WHERE A CAE MADE A LEFT HAND TURN IN FRONT OF HER AND SHE HIT HIM. He got a ticket for it.Now his insurance is saying my wife is at 20%at fault and they are taking 20% off the repair bill.Can they do this?
AnswerHi Charles,
NO THEY CANNOT DO THIS IF YOU STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS. This is a nationwide scam started by insurance companies about five years ago. I am going to give you a little background on this scam so you will be better prepared to shove it back at the adjuster. Then after that I will give you some advice on how to proceed.
Thanks for writing to Doctor Settlement for comparative negligence advice. That is what they are calling this: a case of comparative negligence, wherein they intend to prove that your wife is 20% at fault. Since you and I KNOW this is not true, what you intend to prove is that you will not be a sucker and roll over for this tactic.
You see, Charles, the insurance industry has discovered that they can bully some victims into accepting a lower settlement if they contend that the victim was partially at fault. They try to do this even when they know it is not true.
Don't you feel the LOVE from your "good neighbor" insurance carrier, or don't you know what it is like to be "in good hands"? Welcome to the world of the insurance industry: They show beautiful TV feel-good ads, but they lie and cheat in claims.
You are being subjected to the latest craze in the ever-greedy insurance claims industry. They are instructing their adjusters that they need to find and assert "comparative negligence" in every claim that they handle. This means that they will allege negligence against an innocent claimant, such as your wife, hoping that some of it will stick.
Thus, the companies are also telling their adjusters that part of their employee review process will be based upon how many times they were able to make a claim of comparative negligence stick against a claim by the victim of their insured's negligence.
THIS WAS PROVEN by a TV expose in the state of Washington in 2006. The allegations were against Farmers, and the TV investigators had a memo from the company on these topics. Of course Farmers denied that they would ever do such a thing. Right.
This is a side note, but you can see an actual Farmers Insurance employee evaluation in which the goal is set to achieve comparative negligence in 18% of all claims, even if there was no comparative negligence. A little further down the page you can see that this employee was downgraded because he/she only achieved comparative negligence in 10% of his claims. Hence the rating, is ALL CAPS was "BELOW EXPECTATIONS".
http://www.farmersinsurancegroupsucks.com/pdf/farmers_insurance_colossus_interna...
So, Charles, now you know that this is a ruse, and what should you do about it?
Number one: turn the property damage claim over to your own insurer ASAP and make them fix the vehicle. Yes, you will have to pay your deductible, but that is going to get returned to you when you settle with the tortfeasor's insurer. Do NOT let your insurer tell you that you have to get the tortfeasor's company to fix the vehicle. You paid for that insurance, now make them do what you paid for.
Next, if your wife was injured, open a claim in your own health insurance or use your PIP or Med/Pay to pay the medical bills.
As for the tortfeasor's company, DO NOT TALK TO THE ADJUSTER. COMMUNICATE ONLY IN WRITING. E-mail is best.
Tell them why their insured is liable 100%, and that they need to explain IN WRITING ONLY why they believe otherwise.
Open your collision insurance claim and have your own insurance pay. Then THEY will go for the payment versus the tortfeasor, and you just await that and get your deductible back.
File a complaint with your state insurance commissioner http://www.settlementcentral.com/links.php if the third party adjuster does not come around on this. Make the allegations that I have told you about above and request that the commissioner investigate whether or not adjusters are being put under pressure to find comparative negligence in their claims even when the liability is clear.
If your wife had injuries that have caused her pain and suffering, then you will need to make a claim for those, so it is IMPORTANT to establish right off the bat that you are NOT going to be pushed around. If you have questions on how to present a personal injury claim for your wife, you can write me back and give me some details on her injuries and treatments and I will give you some free pages of information from our website on personal injury insurance claims www.SettlementCentral.Com
FINAL TOPIC: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster. E-mails are best these days.
Let him know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking him what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should he not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let him know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
