QuestionCan my insurance company withdraw their settlement offer?
I was involved in an auto accident on February 11, 2010 in Dallas, TX with an uninsured motorist. It was snowing, their was no electricity and stop lights were out. I was traveling on a busy 3-lane road when another vehicle pulled out of a private drive without stoping and collided with my vehicle. Their was a witness, she came over and explained to the officer that the accident was not my fault as the other vehicle failed to come to a stop and that she heard me brake and honk my horn before impact. The officer, for reasons unknown reported in his review that he felt I was primarily at fault in the accident for failing to stop at a disabled traffic light, also noting in his report that their was no electricity in the area and that street lights were also disabled. He also gave the other driver 2 citations for not having a driver’s license or motor vehicle insurance. I received no citations and thought everything would be ok.
Geico was initially reluctant to settle because of the officer’s police report, so I found an attorney to take on my case before Geico denied my claim. My attoney was successful at finding the other party at fault and actually got Geico to disregard to witness because they found her statements to be inconsistant. This whole process took 1 month and a half of investigation before Geico agreed to settle my claim on March 19th.
Since then, Geico gave me an offer on my vehicle for $800. It was way below private party value, so on April 8, 2010 I had them reappraise my vehicle at $2,400 which is closer to the real value but still off a few hundred. At this point, the auto adjuster tells me that his boss told him to hold the offer and that he was not sure why, but would send his boss an e-mail and find out why. I never heard from him again so I call my attorney to inform them something is wrong. They were surprised to hear of a delay and called Geico. I did not hear from my attorney for a few days, but when I did they informed that Geico was denying my claim because after further review they feel I am at 60% fault and will not pay for the damage to my vehicle and that I also should pay for the other vehicle’s damages.
Now, weeks later they have withdrawn their offer, claiming the adjuster handling my claim made a mistake and was not authorized to settle my claim. Also, after further review they feel I am at 60% fault for this accident and will not reimburse me for my vehicle loss.
I have since spoken to the claims adjuster who closed my claim and he apologized and said he made a mistake, and then referred me to his boss. Boss lady was not so apologetic and bluntly said, “people make mistakes” and that Geico will not honor their original settlement offer. I explained to her that a mistake like this is a significant mistake for an insurance company to make, considering their promise to pay was during my recorded accident statement while my attorney was on the line. Furthermore, I expressed my lack of confidence in Geico’s ability to adequatly investigate my claim and would like them to honor the original settlement offer as it has taken two months for them to “determine” who was at fault. I went on to say that the Texas Department of Insurance would not look favorably upon an insurance company that does not hold to their promises and neither would a jury if this were to go to trial. After all this, nothing was accomplished and she passed me onto her supervisor who I am still waiting to speak with.
What do I do next? I had an accident attorney who was working on contigincey and ultimately dropped my case because of this! I understand my attorneys frustration as they invested their own money in researching this case, but I don’t believe this battle is over and I feel quite diligent about seeing it to the end. Meanwhile, my car has been sitting at Park Place Motorcars in Dallas, racking up quite a storage fee.
What type of attorney do I seek from here? And can Geico legally do this to me?
I feel I have a bad faith claim, as my own insurer has acted in bad faith by not honoring their settlement offer. Additionally, the other driver has not made a claim against me, so I have been fighting this entire battle with my own insurance company. Also, my accident was on February 11, 2010 and I feel Geico has unreasonably dragged this claim out in a an effort to exhaust me financially, and has also acted unethically by offering me an initial settlement that was $1,400 less than their second offer, and then refusing my claim altogether.
Please help, I’m struggling with the weight of this case on my own shoulders and I can’t afford to financially loose this.
Thank you.
AnswerChristopher,
Okay, let me answer the main question first. Yes. Geico can withdraw their settlement offer due to a "mistake" or an "improper liability assessment".
Now for the fun. . . what to do? I am confused about your use of the term bad faith. Liability assessments do not even come into play in a bad faith scenario with your own carrier. I guess it would be prudent for me to make sure you understand first and third party claims. On first party claims, you can have a bad faith action. On third party claims, it is very unlikely to get any bad faith action because there is no contractual obligation.
Settlement negotiations are not allowed as evidence in court, so Geico knows that. I think your best option is Small Claims Court. You should look us up on the web and call me directly. I will give you your options for free. I am not an attorney, but I have litigated hundreds of cases in small claims court in Texas as the corporate representative for various insurance companies. I am an expert in small claims procedures and venues. Dallas isn't too hard to deal with.
There is a possibility of violations of the DTPA or Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act. If you were to file a suit against the "at fault" party, then you will get a response. I must say that you should look at liability carefully on this one, it is possible that you may have been partially at fault, and if so, Geico is right in denying the claim. When power is out, the law says you must stop at every intersection that is controlled by a signal light that is not functioning properly.
Anyway, I could go on forever . . .call us or e-mail us directly for better service. Information is always free at Petty Details, LLC!
