QuestionHello,
I've been trying to settle this claim for over a year without results. I was rear-ended by a teenager and the collision pushed my vehicle to touch the car in front of me, also a teenager driver. There were no damages to the vehicle in front of me, the vehicle that hit me had to be towed and then totaled. My vehicle was declared a total loss due to the repair cost, and the appraisal shows that 90% of the repair cost is in the back of the car.
I reported the accident to my insurance and they said that I should file the claim with the insurance of the teenager that hit me, which I did. The insurance sent me to a shop to get an appraisal of the damages and a month later they accepted only 75% of the claim because the teenager in front of me stated that I hit his vehicle before my vehicle was hit and then again after my vehicle was hit. This is not a true statement from this teenager and the insurance has taken his story and imposed a 25% comparative fault. I have requested an investigation of the damages to his vehicle, and to the front of my vehicle but they have refused, just taking his story to pay the least amount.
This has been a horrible experience, 30 years driving, first time in an accident and I'm learning how unethical adjusters and insurance companies operate. I was accused of being at fault, without facts, my vehicle was valued in comparison to a different engine size, the teenager that lied has not filed a claim, and the the teenager that hit me accepted fault.
A very effective tactic on the insurance part. Place fault, determine and pay amount, let party get tired of waiting and give up. Unethical, unjust and unfair.
What should I do next? Should I pursue a bad faith claim, file a lawsuit against the insurer and the lying teenager. Thank you.
Answer Hello Patricia,
A horrible experience indeed.
Liability decisions can rarely be overturned. The problem is, in my opinion most liability decisions are faulty, and are based on inadequate information. In fact, I just wrote an article on this on one of my blogs. You should read it for more details: http://expertinsuranceadvice.blogspot.com/
As for "bad faith", generally speaking, you would have to be able to prove that the insurance company acted recklessly with biased information. I don't see how you can do that, especially since this involves only property damages. Of course I'm not an attorney, but I don't see you getting any where with a bad faith action, or even with a lawsuit.
From my personal perspective, I too question the account of the driver in front of you. Was he really that observant? Sounds to me like some sound investigation would have properly and fairly resolved this.
But that doesn't help you.
I'm afraid there is not much you can do. You do not mention if you have collision coverage. If you do, you should consider filing with your own carrier who would have to pay for your damages in full minus your deductible. If you have that coverage, decide which option is the most cost effective, and then make your decision.
Sorry I could not help you more.
Jane Pytel
http://SolutionsForYourInsuranceClaim.com
http://FloridaAutoInsuranceCentral.com
