QuestionI was in a minor fender bender a year ago, April 2011. My car had little damage, a dented passenger side door that someone hit as I was making a left turn. The other drive's car was not in great shape..his hood was being held closed by zip ties, and the bumper was cracked. His car was a 2000 honda civic, so it had been around a while. It was a drivable car, but 11yrs old. Mine was a 2002 Saab, a 9 year old car, so I was in the same situation.
The front of his car hit my door. We pulled over, exchanged information, assessed the damage, and went on our respective ways. I assumed he wouldn't file a claim, I didn't bother because it wasn't worth it for a 9 yr old car, but when my insurance premium sky rocketed, I decided to look into my history. Apparently he claimed $3300 worth of damage to his car due to this accident.
I think this is a false claim. His 11 yr old car was already falling apart when he hit me. Is there anything I can do about this now? Can I file a false claim report or something like that to have my insurance company look into it further?
My motivation is to have my premium will be lowered. He shouldn't have even filed a claim. Is a 2000 honda civic even worth $3300? Is it possible he had some of the previous damage fixed at my (and my insurance company's) expense? What recourse do I have?
AnswerAre you sure your premium went up because of the accident, or are you speculating. If it did go up due to the accident, then you should be able to discuss the matter with the underwriting department and determine if you have any recourse.
One option I have seen in the past is to get a claims representative to write up a statement that indicates the accident was a "not at fault" claim. This may count less against you than a claim that was paid because of your negligence.
You have a common question, and unfortunately, I have no good fix all for you. The fact is, you were in an accident and that can count against you. How much it counts against you is up to your insurance company. There is nothing other than arguing with the company to re-rate you that can be done.
If you think the claim is false, what you are saying is that the other person committed insurance fraud. Be careful. Repairs are expensive, and if you can't prove the other person did something fraudulent, I would avoid accusing them, they may get wind and claim libel or slander. Anyway, sorry there is no magic answer on this one. Investigating the cause of your premium increase, then attacking that directly is the best advice I can give, and that requires you talking to your insurance company about how they rate you.
You could ask to see the damage report and photos regarding the claim that was paid, but even if you get that information, it may be very hard to prove fraud, and if they just increased your premium because of the occurence and not the amount of it, then you are out of luck anyway. Make sense?
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