Auto Insurance Claims: accident - their fault - what is their insurance companys responsibilities?, tow truck driver, full time job

Question
My little sister was in a car accident with a tow truck last Wednesday.  The tow truck was totally at fault, he admitted as much and the police cited him.  My little sister's car is totaled but the tow truck driver's insurance is dragging their feet.  They say they won't give her a rental car until they investigate the accident themselves.  My sister has a full time job with no transportation now.  What is the other insurance companies responsibilities towards her?  What is the time limit they have to investigate or to issue her a rental car?  The accident was Wednesday night and they said they would get someone out to look at her car either Friday or Monday, but now they are saying they're not liable and they will have to investigate.  The police cited the tow truck driver, he admits he did it.  What are my sister's rights?  Thank you so much for your time and attention to this question.  

Answer
What State are we in?

What are the loss mechanics/description (provide as much detail as possible)?

What was the other driver cited for?

Whatt carrier are your dealing with?

What the other party tells your sister and/or the respoding police and then tells his insurance compnay may not be the same thing.

Most states have Fair Claim Practices Act or something similar... call the Consumer Unit of your State's Insurance Department and ask them about whether there is an applicable Act and the time-frames invoved (if any).

The other carrier has a "reasonable" amount of time in which to conduct an investigation and make a liability determination... could be a day.. could be 7-10 days (depends on the loss details)..

The other carrier will not agree to be responsible for any rental costs until they have accepted liability.... that does not keep your sister from renting a vehicle assuming her's is not safely driveable...... she will obvioulsy have to pay the costs upfront and then try and get them back from the other driver's carrier once they have completed their investigation.

Lastly, if you siater had her own Collision Coverage with or without Rental Reimbursement coverage she may want to consider getting her own carrier involved subject to her deductible.... she can trigger her Rental coverage (assuming she has that) to get into a rental and then wait to see what the other carreir does.

Hope and trust that the above answers your questions and provides some direction.

Feel free to get back to me with any further issues/questions relative to this matter.

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