Question
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Followup To
Question -
My sons were in an accident which completely totally my 1996 4Runner. A car had stopped in the center lane to make a left hand turn and did not proceed to the turning lane as she was suppose to. My son stopped to miss her but the young lady behind him did not see him stop and crashed into the SUV causing minor injury to my older son because his air bag deployed and his set broke; and the youngest sustained facial injury and swelling from his airbag on the passenger side and was taken to the hospital. The young lady admitted to the police she wasn't paying attention and it was report as such, but her insurance is disputing the claim now because she has changed her story to say that my son had already hit the vehicle in front of him and she has witnesses. Now I am having to file this accident on my insurance because we need another vehichle and my insurance company isn't assiting me in any way after 30 years of loyalty to them. I don't know the first thing to do and they have stated that my car is totalled and the rental is due back in less than 3 days. Suggestions please.................
Answer -
The answer to your question hinges on the statements of the person in the first vehicle. How many impacts did they feel?
As far as your statement "and my insurance company isn't assiting me in any way after 30 years of loyalty to them" this is very emotionally charged, but doesn't tell me anything. What are they not doing and how much time have you given them to do anything?
Follow up to your question:
It will be three weeks tomorrow since the accident and each time I have called to speak to my insurance company, they tell me that someone from the claims office will be in touch with me to answer my questions or concerns, but in the meantime I should file the accident on my insurance and wait for the other parties to settle out the dispute. I mean, shouldn't I be included in on the settlement portion of the accident or at the least be informed as to what my "outcome" or future penalities I may be facing" since my vehicle was a part of the accident? They have not been able to contact the dirver who was supposedly hit before the initial impact and I would have to assume that since she was transported to the hospital also, she may have an attorney. What if she say she felt two impacts even though the police report says that the 3rd vehicle caused the collision. What kind(s) of reprecussions am I facing here? If we have a police report on hand and everyone was questioned at the time of the accident and the 3rd person was ticketed, then how long can this dispute be prolonged and will this affect my rates? Shouldn't my insurance company inform me of these kinds of answers automatically? I haven't had to deal with this so I am blind to what to expect. Why should I have to get on the internet for answers to questions I should have had 3 weeks ago?
AnswerThey are correct in recommending that you go ahead and file under your own policy and then let them handle under subrogation. You should be included in the settlement decision, but under the terms of an insurance policy, they have the right to investigate and settle based on the available evidence. A police report is by far, not the final word. It is only a summary of what happened based on the statements taken at the time of the loss. Most of the time though, the police fail to ask the right questions so it is only one part of the puzzle. The insurance company will need to speak to that first party and as they are having trouble contacting them, that is likely why you are not hearing anything. They likely have no new news to share.
Let them fix your car and complete their investigation. These things often take months which is hard to accept in our microwave world.
