Auto Insurance Claims: Wondering what to do now....., habitual offender, car keys


Question
Hi Richard,

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and I hope you can help me. I'm going to provide as much detail as possible so you have a clear picture of all that has transpired.

I was involved in an accident on 2-22-2012. I was stopped at a red light and was rear ended. The driver of the vehicle (after checking to see if I was ok) fled the scene and has been on the run from the police since. This man has a warrant out for his arrest and has been charged with aggressive driving, hit and run, suspended license and habitual offender. The car this "gentleman" was driving did not belong to him, it was his roommates vehicle. The roommate initially reached out to me to try and resolve this between me and him but advised me several times if I wanted to go thru his insurance company that was fine too. I was going to work thru him directly however after he began to act shady in regards to providing me a rental car while my car was MIA and paper work of what would be done to my car showing I was not financially responsible for anything I told him I was going to go thru his insurance. After filing a claim it came to my attention that the policy holder is telling his insurance company that the roommate took the car keys and had no permission to drive the vehicle which is an outright lie! The man told me himself that his roommate had the truck b/c he had a doctors appointment earlier in the day. The man also told the officer handling the case that he was well aware his roommate had the vehicle and went so far as to admit that the roommate drove the vehicle from time to time. He never once gave any indication to the officer that the roommate took the keys or should not have been driving. After a very long and drawn out process I was advised today that my claim has been denied as the policy holder is adamant that the roommate took the keys. I offered to get a written statement from the officer but the claims adjustor basically told me that means nothing to them as the policy holder is firm he never allowed this man to drive. I hate to be rude but this claims adjustor has been a nightmare to deal with and VERY unforthcoming with information. I have to literally pick info from her when we do speak as she tends to give me 2-3 word answers. Is there anything I can do to force this company to cover my repairs/time missed from work? The claims adjustor has NEVER spoken directly to the officer working the case. She traded some voicemails w/ him but nothing came from that. I offered to get a written statement from him but she declined that.

To top it off: My car is covered by full coverage insurance however the car is listed on my mothers policy while I personally am not on the policy. As we do not live together would I be ok to say I borrowed the car and have my mothers insurance pay to have the car fixed? I missed time from work b/c I had no vehicle to drive, will my mothers insurance cover those missed hours/pay even though I am not on the policy? Will this cause her rates to go up?

Again, thank you SO much for reading this and any info you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Have a wonderful day!

Answer
Hi Maggie,

You should file the claim through your mothers insurance. They will repair the vehicle but they will not pay for your lost time at work. Your mothers insurance company will then try to recover the money from the other vehicle owners insurance. You will need to provide them all of the information including the contact information for the police officer. You will be responsible for paying your mothers deductible. However, if her insurance company is successfull at recovering the money, they will refund your deductible. This process could take several months or even more than a year.

As far as your lost wages, the only way to recover that would be to file a law suit against the at fault driver and the vehicle owner. This would only work if the driver can be located to be served with the suit papers. And this would only be worth while if the lost wages were significant.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh