QuestionHi! The car that my sister drove was her car. Today, the towing place called for her to pick it up and she went to sign the release form. My insurance said that the at-fault insurance can only pay 3000 less the deductible because the at-fault's property damage coverage is only up to 5,00 dollars and they have to pay the rest to the other car that they hit, too. The thing is that the actual cash value of my sister's car is not 3,000 dollars, but the insurance stated that they can only pay to 3,000 because the coverage is up to only 5,000 dollars. Also, how do I make a claim against the at-fault insurance if I made one under my own insurance? I can file for both claims? An addition, should I call the at-fault's insurance adjuster to negotiate after my sister is done seeking treatment? One more thing, should I ask for a medical report from the doctor and chiropractor to review and send it to the insurance adjuster? thanks again.
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The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
Hi! My sister got to a car accident a week ago and it wasn't her fault. She was driving and a truck hit her from behind which caused her car to spun and hit the car in front of her. I have made a claim under my insurance. Now, the towing place called me to pick up the car and they agree to pay me back but less deductible. Why would I have to pay the deductible? Also, after My sister is done seeking the docotor and chiropractor, should I make a personal injury claim against the at-fault insurance company? what should I do? thanks a lot in advance.
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Dear Nancy,
I take it that your sister was driving your car? If so, that is why you will pay the deductible. You made a claim on your collision coverage. That coverage (and also comprehensive) provides for repair of your vehicle 100%, less some deductible amount that you selected when you bought the insurance.
Usually, the older the car, the higher the deductible: I guess most people feel that they get a few dings here and there in life, so why not allow some to remain in their car.
But you will get your deductible back when you make the claim versus the tortfeasor's (at-fault) company. They will reimburse your company for the repairs and they will pay the deductible to you.
Now, as for personal injury, that should be something your sister needs to do. With the type of care she has, I suspect that she has some kind of soft tissue injury. Thus, there is no need to discuss excess coverage via your (or her) underinsured motorist coverage (UIM).
So, because we think the value of the claim will be within the policy limits of the tortfeasor, let's just talk about making a claim versus that company.
What your sister has to do is to initiate the claim by calling the company. She should read up on my website to see what kind of questions they might ask, and also decide whether or not she wishes to make a recorded statement.
Here is some basic information that you and she can learn to aid you in the process.
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1. Learn about the personal injury insurance claim system before you go too much further.
Learn how to submit and settle your own personal injury insurance claims—DO IT YOURSELF SETTLEMENTS. Here is a series of pages that you can review. Take what makes sense to you and don't worry about the rest. Just get a flavor of how the system works without spending a ton of time right now.
Overview Tort Law Personal Injury Legal Claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3000.htm
Managing Medical Care After Auto Accident: http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0203.htm
Medical Care Documentation-the Key to Successful Personal Injury Insurance Claim Settlements http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0217.htm
Keys to a MAXIMUM INSURANCE INJURY CLAIM SETTLEMENT http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0089.htm
Use a Confidential Personal Injury Diary for TOP DOLLAR Insurance Claim Settlements http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0208.htm
Outline of questions to be expected from insurance claims adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0190.htm
Detailed listing of questions to be expected from insurance claims adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0207.htm
By the way, did you know that getting an early settlement is a favorite trick of the insurance adjusters? Please see my website wherein we show Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0092.htm
Responding to Settlement Offer From Insurance Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0244.htm
Do It Yourself Advantages, or do these claims need an attorney? As for an ATTORNEY, this does not seem to be a case that involves any legal issues in dispute nor any large or complex damages. Why should you pay someone one-third to do what you can do yourself? Do-It-Yourself Personal Injury Claims; Eliminate Personal Injury Attorneys' Fees; Save Thousands of Dollars Settling Your Own Insurance Claim http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3011.htm
Without having to join my website, I have given a lot of free information on handling insurance claims without having to join as a member. Read the module at "5 Easy Steps to Do-it-Yourself Insurance Claim Settlement" http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0102.htm
This stuff is not rocket science, but it will take some effort on your part to read and cut and paste letter examples and to communicate. But hundreds of people are doing it each day, and they are getting good results.
What if you get only two-thirds the way to your settlement goal? Well, you can get as big a settlement as you can and then turn it over to an attorney and save a lot of fees. Thus, you could go it alone just to get an insurance settlement offer, and then take that insurance settlement offer to a personal injury attorney, thus exempting the amount of the offer from her fees. Do It Yourself Personal Injury Settlement Offer Reduces Personal Injury Attorney Fees http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0109.htm
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2. Learn about what elements of damages you can and should make a claim for.
What are you entitled to, and can the insurance company reduce any of the payments?
ELEMENTS OF YOUR SISTER'S DAMAGES
We consider the damages in three categories: special damages, general damages, and future damages (which will be both special and general).
Special damages are things that are capable of ascertainment by calculation or documentation. These include such topics as medical and chiropractic expenses, appliances (crutch or dental appliance for a jaw joint claim), physical therapy, lost wages, transportation to and from medical appointments, hired chore and personal help, and the like.
General damages are for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, severe emotional distress, and the like.
Usually general damages are the “wild card” in the settlement, and that is where the negotiation centers. Assuming that they agree to the special damages, what is left is to argue about the value of the claim for the suffering that your sister will have and will endure.
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3. FINAL TOPIC: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster.
Let him know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking him what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should he not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let him know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
AnswerHello again, Nancy,
I am going to print your latest question here so we can make reference to it:
Hi! The car that my sister drove was her car. Today, the towing place called for her to pick it up and she went to sign the release form. My insurance said that the at-fault insurance can only pay 3000 less the deductible because the at-fault's property damage coverage is only up to 5,00 dollars and they have to pay the rest to the other car that they hit, too. The thing is that the actual cash value of my sister's car is not 3,000 dollars, but the insurance stated that they can only pay to 3,000 because the coverage is up to only 5,000 dollars. Also, how do I make a claim against the at-fault insurance if I made one under my own insurance? I can file for both claims? An addition, should I call the at-fault's insurance adjuster to negotiate after my sister is done seeking treatment? One more thing, should I ask for a medical report from the doctor and chiropractor to review and send it to the insurance adjuster? thanks again.
OK, maybe I am a bit slow here, Nancy, but why is your insurance involved at all if your sister was driving her car and she was in an accident? You never identified yourself as involved in any way with your sister’s accident, so I am mystified as to why you are involved in this at all. If your insurance has anything at all to do with this claim, please explain. Or perhaps you just called your company for advice on how your sister should handle her claim?
What do you mean that YOU are making various claims? Were you a passenger? Were you injured? Is fault at all disputed?
Even in rear-ender accidents fault is often disputed, in which case the insurance for the truck driver would be making a partial defense based upon some real or concocted defense that your sister was partially at fault. Maybe no brake lights or she was not paying attention and had to stop as in an emergency. Anything like that will work for them to cut down their liability by 20% or more.
Of course at this stage you would have no idea whatsoever whether or not the truck driver’s insurance is going to make such a defense. Thus, you have no idea as to whether or not you are ruining your chances of any recovery from her insurance by potential collusion. This defense by your sister’s insurance would be based upon your handling both sides of the street in the deal: that is, working to promote her claim and at the same time, possibly making a claim in your own right.
So, AGAIN, ASSUMING YOU WERE A PASSENGER, you cannot involve yourself with your sister’s claim or have anything to do with your sister’s recovery inasmuch as you will be making a claim versus her for partial fault. And to do what you seem to be doing for her on handling her claim could possibly be considered collusion, thus potentially denying you of any insurance benefits from her coverage.
Now, on to your questions.
THE VEHICLE DISPUTE
Please explain what the dispute is about for totaling your sister’s car. What value does she place on her vehicle? She is NOT BOUND at all by what the other guy has for insurance. #1 she can open a claim in her own collision coverage. Since she knew the value of her car, surely she did insure it to its value. #2 she can just sue the tortfeasor for the total lost value. She is NOT BOUND WHATSOEVER to accept even one dollar less than the actual cash value.
Having dealt with that, you should also let her know that if she does not have good collision coverage and she likes the car, she can always arrange to keep it by having it repaired to a lesser standard. This topic therefore asks the question: does she even WANT it to be totaled? Has she any idea of what kind of car she can acquire with the insurance settlement for her existing car?
Some people will work to keep their ride by agreeing to have it repaired with USED and/or NON-OEM PARTS. (OEM is Original Equipment Manufacturers.) Thus, they can cut down the repair costs dramatically and the insurance adjuster will pay the reduced bill and they keep their ride.
Anyway, the next question is how did you and your sister figure out the actual cash value? There are a number of research sites that have vehicles for sale. But of course you need to know what the vehicle did sell for. That is how you dispute the actual cash value.
CAN YOU MAKE A CLAIM AGAINST BOTH THIRD PARTY INSURANCE AND YOUR OWN underinsured motorist (UIM) COVERAGE? I guess you must already know the policy limits of the tortfeasor. Assuming that the tortfeasor’s coverage is inadequate to pay for all of your sister’s (or yours—if you were a passenger) damages, then absolutely you can—and you should file with both, since you first have to prove that the tortfeasor’s coverage is inadequate to pay for all of your injuries before you get to tap into your UIM. Just open claims with both companies: your company will let you know if they are at risk inasmuch as they may be able to ascertain the policy limits of the tortfeasor. Of course if the third party coverage is sufficient to pay your claim, then you do not even have a UIM claim, do you?
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
Http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
