Auto Insurance Claims: delay of settlement due to multiple claims, statue of limitations, other vehicles

Question
Hi,

My vehicle was hit, while it was parked, by a hit-and-run driver.  Fortunately, the police found the driver and came to my house to provide me with an accident report card.  Approximately 3 weeks later, their insurance company sent out an adjuster to examine my car and I was told that it was considered to be totaled.

Unfortunately, their insurance company told me that their insured driver also hit 2 other vehicles.  They also told me that the owners of the other 2 vehicles had not contacted them.  As a result, they said that they can't settle with me until they are contacted by the other vehicle owners so that they can determine the value of all claims.  If that weren't bad enough, they also told me that their insured driver only has $10,000 of liability insurance.  When I asked how long I would have to wait, they told me that it could take up to 3 years (the statute of limitations.)

I can't wait 3 years.  Is there anything I can do to speed this up?  Considering the limits of liability ($10,000), it doesn't seem practical to get a lawyer.  Since this car is only worth about $8K, I only had liability coverage myself.

Thanks if advance.


Answer
Hi Darrell,
Unfortunately, the claims adjustor was correct that they can't pay you until the have reports on the other two cars, are able to evaluate the damage to each and then proportionately pay an equal  percentage of the amount of damage to each car in relationship to the total damage to each car.
He was just taking himself of the hook time wise by quoting
the 3 year statue of limitations.  During my 43 years in this business, I have never seen a similar situation take longer than 2-3 months.
I trust this answer has been of help.
Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay area 11-03-07 5:55 AM PST