QuestionDear Richard,
My fiance's 2001 Hyundai Tiburon Coupe was recently hit by a driver. The accident took place in Miami, Florida. At the accident scene, we agreed in writing as to the other drivers fault and that he would immediately pay $600 cash with the balance for repairs payable upon estimates. We did not file for a police report, but had the officer complete a driver's exchange of information form and serve as signatory witness to our settlement agreement. Our mutual insurer has not been contacted by either party.
I have had several discussions with the at fault driver but could not get him to agree to any of the estimates I submitted. He felt they were excessive (although all shops came within a $500 range of each other).
The driver side door needs to be replaced; although the power windows and locks function. I have been told at numerous shops the entire door must be replaced because the concave bend the impact created would affect the driver door safety beam. The door cannot be opened. The repairs have been quoted at $1,100-$1,800 dollars).
The gentleman is now leaving town for 30 days and cannot be reached. We are both on the same insurer. This predicament brings up several questions:
1. Will filing claim against my own insurer (since we use the same company) be basis for raising my rates? (We don't have ANY at fault accidents, but 1 accident over 10 years ago, the other driver was at fault).
2. Is it prudent to file against my own insurer? Usually negotiating a claim is hard enough, but here I'd be fighting against the same company I'd like a renewal from in 6 months.
3. If I file a claim, can I refuse to dismiss (release) my claim against the individual for the cost of my time and diminished value? I think these would be harder to collect from the insurer, but a slam dunk case in small claims since we have a written agreement and failure to honor that agreement. I am a consultant with regular payments and so can easily establish my hourly loss. I'd file claim with the insurer for repair and then file ins mall claims against the driver for the other costs.
4. How long can I wait to file a claim with the insurance company? The at fault driver will be out of country and unreachable for a month. I'd like to repair the car without notifying the insurer and attempt collection of the $500 balance from the individual within the month. If I cannot collect I would then file claim as a backup to avoiding court.
5. Any idea if its true the 2001 Hyundai Tiburon driver side door does have safety beams that would necessitate replacing the whole door? I got the same answer at multiple shops, but all the online diagrams I could find did not indicate any safety beam. I think cheaper repairs may be possible, but have not been able to confirm the door beam fact.
Thanks for your help its greatly appreciated.
AnswerHi Jesus,
I will try to answer your questions in order.
1) Filing the claim will not affect your policy or rates because the claim will be paid from the other drivers policy.
2) Again, don't think about this as your insurer. Just because the other driver is insured with the same company it is still the other drivers policy that will pay.
3) Any claims that you can leagally make against the driver in court you can make to his insurance company including lost time from work, diminisihed value, etc.. However in this case I do not think there would be any diminished value.
4)Generally the longer you waite to file a claim the harder it is to prove you were not at fault. In your case though, since you have a written agreement, you should have no problem. Just be sure to get an absolute answer from this guy when he returns. Tell him to either pay with in 3 days or you will file the claim against his insurance policy. Be tough.
5) If you were told by several shops that the door has a safety beam, then it does. There is no reason to think that several shops would be lying to you all at once. You should have the door replaced.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
