My insurance company is not fighting for me

[melissy123]

Took car to the Toyota approved body shop. Repair estimate is close to $5000. Maybe this will redetermine Allstate's decision for arbitration. In the meanwhile, we are not to wash the car. All of Allstate's Adjustors are back East, according to the body shop. So it might be some time before an Adjustor comes to look at the car. Did a catastrophe occur on the East Coast I'm not aware of?

Racial profiling: that's a whole can of worms that I'm not even going to touch. My daughters tan very brown even though we could check the "Caucasian" box. My daughter who attended college in SLO had a few different not so positive experiences living in a town and attending a college that's really not that racially diverse. (As opposed to Cal, where older daughter went, you're in the majority if you're a minority).

 

[isisdave]

That's not the case in California. The police department in San Luis Obispo told me they wouldn't have come even if called. See my response above.

Actually, you have to file a report (SR 1) with the DMV within ten days if anyone is injured or damages exceed $1000. Both drivers must do this, although your insurer may do it for you. But this isn't a police report (based on their investigation) and I don't think it will help with a claim.

Regarding the original post, I would think that if the insured is going to lose his deductible, the insurer ought to pursue the claim. But I can see how the economics of the situation would make this a waste of money for the insurer. Maybe they would waive the deductible in this case.

 

[taffy19]

Took car to the Toyota approved body shop. Repair estimate is close to $5000. Maybe this will redetermine Allstate's decision for arbitration. In the meanwhile, we are not to wash the car. All of Allstate's Adjustors are back East, according to the body shop. So it might be some time before an Adjustor comes to look at the car. Did a catastrophe occur on the East Coast I'm not aware of?

Racial profiling: that's a whole can of worms that I'm not even going to touch. My daughters tan very brown even though we could check the "Caucasian" box. My daughter who attended college in SLO had a few different not so positive experiences living in a town and attending a college that's really not that racially diverse. (As opposed to Cal, where older daughter went, you're in the majority if you're a minority).

You need to go and see an MD or a Chiropractor to check your neck, etc. You may have more damage done to your body than you realize. I never knew this but two different Chiropractors told us that so I will have it done if in another accident.

We had an accident last year in Maui which wasn't our fault but we were pretty shook up. The police asked us if we were injured and we felt so lucky that we weren't so we said no.

It was later that I remembered to not say that immediately but we both are OK and the local person too. The other driver had Triple A insurance and everything was taken care of between him and the rental car company (Alamo). They never contacted State Farm in CA or the Costco insurance policy on the rental car.

We already used Alamo rental car again this year in Maui and had no penalty or higher charges. This is why we stay with these companies and do not change every year to save a dollar. Alamo has been very good to us and picked up a car from Ka'anapali all the way to the airport parking lot because of a faulty battery. If it had been our fault, it would have caused us a fortune but they let us know that the battery was faulty so paid for the tow. They could have easily told us that we had left a door open or something like that but they didn't.

 

[Timeshare Von]

My insurance company is Allstate.

The insurance company would, you would assume, pursue the other insurance, not just for my deductible but for their own costs in covering my damage.

We did not file a police report. Although now the insurance company is saying that would have been really helpful. You know all those signs on the freeway in California say if no injury then don't call the police and just move on? Next time if something like this happens (but hopefully never will) the lesson to be learned is just ignore those signs and call the police anyway.

I didn't read all of the responses, so maybe this has already been stated . . .

Your insurance company has first and foremost, a responsibility to their shareholders for their profitability. Therefore, if chasing after small damages claims is going to cost them more than it will save them . . . they often will not do so.

 

["Roger"]

I confess that I am surprised by the fact that the police might not have come. I was in an accident about a month ago when someone ran a stop sign and we collided. No injuries on either side and the person was cooperative and admitted to being in the wrong. In any case, the next morning when I reported the accident to my insurance agent, after first asking if I was injured at all, the next question was did I have the number of the police report. I had yet to even say that the police had come and written up a report.

Different state, different policies I guess.

 

[VacationForever]

I confess that I am surprised by the fact that the police might not have come. I was in an accident about a month ago when someone ran a stop sign and we collided. No injuries on either side and the person was cooperative and admitted to being in the wrong. In any case, the next morning when I reported the accident to my insurance agent, after first asking if I was injured at all, the next question was did I have the number of the police report. I had yet to even say that the police had come and written up a report.

Different state, different policies I guess.

I believe if you called the police, regardless of the state/city, and told them that a car ran the light which resulted in the collision, the police would have shown up.

 

[geekette]

Without obvious injury, police don't come here. While I am in favor of them chasing criminals, we the people are going to get more and more screwed by this with auto ins cos. The last accident I witnessed, a cop happened to be coming thru and stopped to tell us to move the cars, and he kept right on going. I left after 45 minutes, not my accident, tho it nearly was (my trusty Buick handles great). I gave my name and number to both motorists but no one ever called me.

 

[Wonka]

Got hit/sideswiped by a 93 year old driver on our way home from daughter's graduation a week ago. The 93 year old driver then tried to flee the scene of the accident after hitting us. We then maneuvered the car in front of her and motioned her to pull over. (We took pictures of her rear license plate as she was trying to drive away and pictures of our car in front of her when the cars are stopped to back this up). While videotaping the damage to the cars on the side of the road, she admits she wasn't looking and apologizes for hitting us.

Of course, by the time I call her insurance company to file a claim, she claims now that we hit her and we are at fault. So now filing a claim with our insurance company to negotiate with her company.

What really bothers me is the attitude of MY insurance company. "Oh, it's a he said/she said story so we can't prove it's her fault." "Oh, you have videos. Well that doesn't really prove anything." "Oh I don't have the email for the other insurance company so I don't know how I can send them the video and pictures." "Oh we can go to arbitration if they still continue to deny but this sort of claim won't get accepted by arbitration usually."

My insurance will pay for my damage but I have a $500 deductible which will come out of my pocket. So that bothers me. But what really bothers me is that my insurance company doesn't seem at all interested in pursuing the other company for compensation so that I'm not out of pocket.

Thanks for letting me vent. Any adicice or thoughts?

 

[Wonka]

Wow! This sounds just like my experience. A 94 year old sideswipped us at while stopped at a 3-way stop, started to leave scene until we turned around then stopped. I called police they refused to ticket him (he indicated we hit him of course). Police didn't even talk to my wife as passenger. Looking at the nature of the damages (I took photos)' there's no way I could have hit his.

I spoke the responding officer's Lt with no luck, and told him I wanted to file a complaint. After filing, Interal Affairs visited with me, agreed but indicated it wasn't possible to amend the accident report. However, to my surprise a Traffic Specialist visited me a few days later, and issued a Negligent Drivings citation to the other driver, and his license was revoked after failing to show up for retesting.

My insurance company has mandatory arbitration scheduled for mid-August (5 mo post accident). I won't get my deductible back unless they are fully reimbursed. So, I'm planning on a small claims court suit for my $500 deductible + diminished value, if I can substantiate the diminished value caused by the reported accident in my vehicle records.

 

[emyshor75]

Just as a curiosity, why do you guys don't have a dash cam inside? They are pretty cheap right now, you can find one for $30-$50 on Amazon/Ebay. With a dash cam they cannot say that you hit them when have the proof on video. I have my dash cam for over 2 years now (paid $100 on Amazon), got 2 for each car.
You can fight tickets also, let say a red light camera (when you have on video that you enter intersection on Green/Yellow) or cop stopping you without any reason.
Best money spent on a small device that can save you from a lot of "he said/you said" arguments with a cop/judge/insurance.

 

[clifffaith]

What is it about elderly folks not stopping? Our 2001 PT Cruiser was about four months old when I got sideswiped by a woman making a left turn out of a business and crossing four lanes of the empty road successfully -- that is until she paused and crossed the fifth lane into me and slid along the side of my new car. I immediately pulled over and was shocked to see she had continued on her way, and at the posted 45 speed limit she was actually way down the road by then. I got back in the car and gave chase, following her into a residential neighborhood that was not her own. I start honking and she stopped and gave me the "I didn't hit you routine". Well why is my blue paint all over the side of your car?

Called the police, and in the few minutes it took him to arrive it was clear the woman was so addled she shouldn't have been driving. (This is an affluent neighborhood with their own small force, a force that unfortunately was in the national news 15-20 years ago when many of them were killed at a hotel during a seminar when a would-be robber came in and most of the policemen were unarmed.)

Insurance companies did all they were supposed to do, so that part of the incident was fine. Talking later to a group of mostly older folks at a weenie roast the next week, turns out one of them knew who she was because they'd taken a class from her husband -- he teaches the senior driving class given in our area!

That was the first of three times that darn PT got hit in the first six months I had it -- I still drive it and it hasn't been hit since (knock wood). The signage people loved me because they got to put my business logos on it a total of four times! I'll always remember picking the newly signed car up from this sideswipe incident -- it was about 11AM here on the west coast, Cliff had been told not to report to Boeing that morning, and the flags at every business we passed were at half mast because it was 9/11.

 

[VegasBella]

Haven't read the whole thread yet but wanted to chime in with the suggestion to watch Mike Birbiglia's stand up routine about an accident he was in where he was the victim but ended up having to pay thousands to the drunk driver because the police officer wrote the report incorrectly.


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[wackymother]

Haven't read the whole thread yet but wanted to chime in with the suggestion to watch Mike Birbiglia's stand up routine about an accident he was in where he was the victim but ended up having to pay thousands to the drunk driver because the police officer wrote the report incorrectly.


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I was thinking about that too!

 

[FLDVCFamily]

Just as a curiosity, why do you guys don't have a dash cam inside? They are pretty cheap right now, you can find one for $30-$50 on Amazon/Ebay. With a dash cam they cannot say that you hit them when have the proof on video. I have my dash cam for over 2 years now (paid $100 on Amazon), got 2 for each car.
You can fight tickets also, let say a red light camera (when you have on video that you enter intersection on Green/Yellow) or cop stopping you without any reason.
Best money spent on a small device that can save you from a lot of "he said/you said" arguments with a cop/judge/insurance.

I agree with this. I have a dash cam in my car. Why do you have 2 in each car though? Is one going out the back window too or something? Just curious, as I'll put another one in if it's a good idea.

 

[Wonka]

Just as a curiosity, why do you guys don't have a dash cam inside? They are pretty cheap right now, you can find one for $30-$50 on Amazon/Ebay. With a dash cam they cannot say that you hit them when have the proof on video. I have my dash cam for over 2 years now (paid $100 on Amazon), got 2 for each car.
You can fight tickets also, let say a red light camera (when you have on video that you enter intersection on Green/Yellow) or cop stopping you without any reason.
Best money spent on a small device that can save you from a lot of "he said/you said" arguments with a cop/judge/insurance.

I have one now.


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[emyshor75]

I agree with this. I have a dash cam in my car. Why do you have 2 in each car though? Is one going out the back window too or something? Just curious, as I'll put another one in if it's a good idea.

One in front and one for the back window. Before I've got the dash cam I've got hit 2 times from behind, nothing serious. I want to have video also from the back.
Never tried this, but a friend of mine said that those dash cam, even when the car is off, they have motion sensors and impact detection and if somebody hit you in a parking lot (you are not there), they start recording like you got hit when driving. Again, never test this yet, I have no idea if is working or not.
A friend of mine had 3 dash cams, one for front outside, one for back outside and another one in the back to see the car inside, but that's just too much for me.

 

[FLDVCFamily]

One in front and one for the back window. Before I've got the dash cam I've got hit 2 times from behind, nothing serious. I want to have video also from the back.
Never tried this, but a friend of mine said that those dash cam, even when the car is off, they have motion sensors and impact detection and if somebody hit you in a parking lot (you are not there), they start recording like you got hit when driving. Again, never test this yet, I have no idea if is working or not.
A friend of mine had 3 dash cams, one for front outside, one for back outside and another one in the back to see the car inside, but that's just too much for me.

I talked to DH about adding one to the back of our cars. I think it's a great idea. Honestly, I don't quite get the one your friend has for the inside of the car. Is that to prove she wasn't texting and driving in the event of an accident or something? I can't see why she'd have that camera otherwise.

Interesting about the cameras being sensitive to motion and recording if you are hit in a parking lot. I am not sure my camera does that...pretty sure I have to be moving for it to record.

 

[dioxide45]

---deleted---

 

[davidvel]

I talked to DH about adding one to the back of our cars. I think it's a great idea. Honestly, I don't quite get the one your friend has for the inside of the car. Is that to prove she wasn't texting and driving in the event of an accident or something? I can't see why she'd have that camera otherwise.

Teen driver?

 

[Wonka]

There are really no minor fender benders now. Cars are so complex and the smallest damage is expensive. The damage to my car in the drive through ended up being about $2800. Though there was damage to the front and back, to look at it from a distance and even fairly close, you really couldn't tell. Though when you got right up on it, you could see that things were out of alignment. Most people probably wouldn't have bothered to fix it and just taken a cash payment against the claim, I had it repaired.

Spot on! The wheel rim for my car was $1,900 alone. A front or rear taillight assembly is easily in the $1,500-$2000 for many newer cars.


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[Patri]

Dash cams are fascinating. How are they hooked up? And are they unobtrusive so they don't distract you? Do you erase the footage, or does that happen periodically? This could be Christmas ideas for my kids.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Haven't read the whole thread yet but wanted to chime in with the suggestion to watch Mike Birbiglia's stand up routine about an accident he was in where he was the victim but ended up having to pay thousands to the drunk driver because the police officer wrote the report incorrectly.


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Is this it?

Richard