QuestionQUESTION: I was in a 5 car non-fault accident. The insurance company for the driver that caused the accident (commercial) has settle with everyone but me. My feeling is because I was the only one without legal representation. I have called the adjuster several times since the accident and always has an excuse/run-around. It's been almost a year since the accident. My settlement was very reasonable as I'm trying to minimize their liability. Tired of waiting I called the adjuster's supervisor and complained. That did nothing. I called the owner of the business that the driver worked for and told him I will have to take him to court if his insurance company doesn't settle within 10 days. Am I doing the right thing by taking the driver to court? Why is the insurance company not settling?
ANSWER: I'm sorry to hear about the accident, I hope things worked out all right in the end.
There's quite a bit missing here. What state was this in? What was the accident scenario? To me it appears like they are denying liability to you - often in a multi-vehicle accident more than one party is negligent.
The fact that a party is represented shouldn't affect the speed of settlement; however, if it is a minimum limits case (4 claimants is a lot) and one party has filed suit, the other parties will be forced to wait until settlement or adjudication because the insurer can't pay more than their limits.
The insurer will provide a defense for their insured; as to how this will affect the settlement, it depends on the loss.
I am sorry I couldn't be more specific, but without details, it's difficult/impossible to explain further.
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QUESTION: Thanks for your response. Here's a more detailed of the accident...
I was in a 5 car non-fault accident. A tanker truck (commercial) disregarded a red light and hit 4 cars as the driver lost control of his vehicle (7 people went to the hospital). On the police report shows the driver as being the responsible party and was cited a ticket for running a red light and displaying the wrong license plate on the truck. This accident happened in Texas. The tanker truck driver’s insurance company has accepted liability because they already settled with my insurance company for fixing my truck, and also settled with another driver. They’re only settling with everyone after it goes to litigation. I found out after the accident everyone was getting an attorney. I was the only one without legal representation. I have called the adjuster several times since the accident and always has an excuse/run-around. I have never received any calls or letters from the adjuster or the insurance company acknowledging anything about the accident, like it never happened. It's been almost a year since the accident. My settlement was very reasonable as I'm trying to minimize their liability. I don't have medical bills. For us it was a mental anguish and stress due to the lack of sleep after the accident. My son (15 years-old), who was with me at the time of the accident, had trouble concentrating in school. Tired of waiting, I called the adjuster's supervisor and complained. I mentioned to her that I was going to hire an attorney and sue her driver since his insurance company wasn’t responding, to which she responded “ok”. She didn’t offer any feedback, nothing. All she did was listened to me. Never gave me an explanation as to why is taking so long. In my settlement I was asking for my car rental, diminished value ($32k truck which was only 3 months old at the time of the accident) and $2k for pain, suffering and mental anguish we went thru. I called the owner of the business that the tanker truck driver worked for and told him I will have to take him to court if his insurance company doesn't settle within 10 days. Question: If I take the driver to court, can I suit him to also recover all legal feeds? Please advise.
ANSWER: Thank you for the followup.
First, it needs to be stated I'm not licensed for Texas. So this may or may not apply in your situation.
In order to have a bodily injury claim, it's generally accepted that there needs to be bodily injury. There needs to be treatment. If there's no treatment, the insurance company will state there's no claim for bodily injury, and be just in stating so. One of the elements of legal liability is damages: if there are no damages (we are disregarding the truck physical damages), there is no legal liability. Without actual bodily injury treatment, you do not have a claim that can be successfully pursued. The insurance company owes you for your proven damages, in this case, your vehicle repairs and rental expenses.
I see they did reimburse your own company for Collision damages paid under your coverage. Have you received your deductible back?
Not sure the law regarding unfairly delaying a claim in Texas, but it can't be dissimilar to most other states in that a company typically has 30 days (some states less) to pay, delay or deny. In writing. If you have proven your damages - which need to be backed up by evidence, such as reasonable rental car days to match the labor hours etc. on the estimate - they have a set time frame to pay your claim, delay your claim (and explain why, in writing, why the settlement is delayed), or deny your claim (in writing).
At any point in time - even going back to the first weeks after the loss - did they ever ask you for documentation to support your demands? If so, did you send it (and have proof)?
What I would do is break down your demand into components, and send a certified letter, return receipt requested, to the company's local claims manager detailing each portion of your demand:
1) the rental bill, a courtesy copy of the estimate and/or any documentation you received from your own company as to estimated repair time;
2) whatever they require to support your diminution of value claim.
Follow up in ten days after sending the letter with a series of phone calls.
If you still do not have any formal response - pay, delay or deny - after a reasonable time of "reasserting" your formal demand, contact your state's insurance commissioner and file a formal complaint.
The insurance company will not see your threat to take their insured to court for anything more than the fact that they will now be obligated to defend their insured. It will simply draw out the settlement even further; while you can certainly ask for court costs and fees, it would be up to the attorneys who draw up the ultimate settlement (and it's a virtual guarantee it won't make it to a judge, they'll settle first) to sort that one out.
Good luck with your pursuit; I see no problem with your vehicle-related demands, and sometimes it just takes being assertive to get what you are owed.
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QUESTION: Thank you for taking the time on my follow up….
Right after the accident, I called the driver’s insurance company adjuster and told me to fix my truck through my own insurance company and keep all receipts/invoices. He never mentioned anything that was or was not allowed or where to even take the truck to, so I took it to the dealership I bought it from 3 months earlier. I rented a car only for the time period that my truck was in the shop, which was about 1 month.
In mid Dec 2011 I mailed all receipts/invoices certified to the adjuster. I called him back late Jan 2012 and he said he received it but has done nothing with it and then gave me some non-sense excuse, so I offered him another month to which he stated that that would give him enough time and if not “he would have to bite the bullet”. Not sure what he meant. I’m still waiting for a settlement 7 months later. On my settlement, I’m asking for the rental vehicle and diminished value of the truck.
After the wreck I went to see my salesman and he was reluctant on a train-in because he said most people steer away from vehicles that have been in a major collision with front-end damage and the only way to sale it is if you sale it cheap. After the truck was fixed (definitely not to pre-accident condition), I hired a licensed vehicle appraiser and got it appraised for $7,800 less that the vehicle is worth.
AnswerApologies for the delay, life sometimes intrudes...
All of what you have done sounds perfectly reasonable. I suggest you write a letter to the company's claims manager detailing your frustration and timelines of what you have done, and follow up with a phone call a week or so later. Also, I would suggest you follow up with the Texas insurance commissioner (or whatever they have there) with a complaint.
Beyond that, there doesn't appear much more you can or need to do; you are not being unreasonable in your demands and most high-profile auto carriers would not have strung this out this long for what in essence is a Loss of Use claim.
Hope this helps and that you can finally put this behind you.
