Auto Insurance Claims: Denied Claim, independent witnesses, bumper to bumper

Question
Ok, I was in a small accident a couple of weeks ago.. Traffic was bumper to bumper barely moving after a toll plaza getting off a highway... I was trying to get into the right lane, the party I got into the accident with wouldn't let me in.. He got very close so I stopped so he could go.. He slowly goes right into my front passenger fender.. We pulled over up the road and looked at our cars. I had a small scratch.. He had nothing. I was running late for a business meeting and couldn't wait for police or a police report.. I just got all his information. The next day I called his insurance company and filed a claim.. Shortly their after a estimator came from his insurance company and looked at my car. She said the damage is worth $900.00...She was saying I would see the check soon, etc... A few days after I get a letter saying my claim was denied because we have conflicted stories. The other person said I hit him.. Theres no damage to his car and you can clearly see by looking at my car that someone hit me.. Its almost physically impossible for me to have hit someone and gotten that damage.. The auto body I took it to also said that you can clearly see I was hit... What should I do from here??? I dont want to go through my ins because of the rate increase and it was not my fault at all... Thank you in advance for your advice!

Answer
Hi Dan,

This is a difficult situation. What you have here is a classic he said, he said. The other insurance company will always take the word of their insured unless there are independent witnesses or a police report that contradicts his story. In this case it sounds like you have neither.

About the only chance you would have is to file a small claims law suit against the driver of the other car. If the judge belives your story over his, you may have a chance of winning, but you will have to prove your case. You will need photos of both cars, a diagram or photos of the scene, etc.  However, based on what you said, I'm not sure it would be worth your while since it would be basically your word against his.

I hope this helps.
Richard Hixenbaugh