Auto Insurance Claims: Collision claim, company letters, uninsured motorist

Question
Hello,

On 05/01/07 i was involved in a collision, which wasn't my fault. The other party refused to respond to my insurance company letters and phone calls, resulting in nothing until yesterday. My insurance company processed the claim as an uninsured motorist and paid for my car's repair. The only thing is that now i have to sign the following:

"It is agreed that (the owner) releases, acquits and discharges (the company) and it's representatives, of and from all claims and demands, now in existence or later arising, under policy number( my policy) because of the loss described in the proof of loss below. "

The explanation of this is the Section 1542 of the civil code of California, which seems right. The thing that doesn't make any sense, according to my interpretation of the paragraph is that now if i get involved in another accident I'm not going to be able to perform a claim under my policy to my insurance company because is mentioning "...or later arising, under policy number (my policy)..." Another thing i noticed is the paragraph doesn't mention the claim number instead, refers to my policy.

am i right?

Thanks in advance,

David.

Answer
Hi David,

Although the release form does not mention the claim number, it should indicate the date of the accident. You will not be releasing them from future accidents but rather from future claims arising from the accident dated 5/01/07.  If the release form does not specifically indicat the date of the accident, you shoud demand that they rewrite the release form to include the date of the accident. That should take care of the situation.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh