Accident, Have Questions.

[ferny777]

Hello,

Basically, I was involved in an accident a couple days ago where the driver that has bristol west sideswiped me and caused a lot of damage to my car, he also admitted to fault in front of the police officer. Turns out the vehicle driver was not listed as a driver on the policy, and the driver owns the vehicle, it is just insured by his father. I read online and it states that the insurance follows the car. The main issue is they been "investigating" for a week, and every time I call them they state they haven't spoken to the driver, and that they spoke to the policy holder and he had no idea that there was an accident, which is obviously complete bull crap. I went ahead and filed with my insurance company so they can surrogate against bristol west after all the repairs are done. Bristol West to this day still has not admitted fault, even though it's obvious the driver is at fault, I was at a red light,waiting, and this kid just sideswipes into my car and destroys it, and when asked what happened, he stated " I lost control of my vehicle because it was hard to handle in the rain which is why I sideswiped you. " Is there a faster way to get them to admit fault, since the driver driving the vehicle admitted to fault in front of the officer? Is there a time limit with this claim? What can I do to make this easy for them and for myself? I ca't sleep and all this is very very stressful. Also, since I filed with my insurance and I am not at fault, my policy won't go up correct?

 

[Josh]

You've got a number of things going on here.

First, if the individual admitted fault on the scene and the officer put that in the report, that's great. Doesn't always happen, but that would be ideal. Even by the "defense" argument of "car is hard to handle in the rain so I lost control", that's an admission of fault.

By filing a claim with your company to subrogate it the process likely moves along faster. In some states that can impact your rate, in others it doesn't. I don't know about your state unless it's NY or CA.

In most states insurance follows the car, which means that the driver isn't relevant as much as the vehicle. If the driver wasn't listed, that doesn't mean the owner of the vehicle escapes liability. It may result in them denying the claim, but I doubt it. At worst the carrier will usually pay out the claim and then cancel the insured that didn't list the additional drivers.

Considering what very little you provided, but does seems to tell a bunch of the story, filing it with your carrier to subrogate it was probably the best move, even if it does impact your rates.

Do you have an insurance agent to talk to about this? If not, you should definitely find one. Always nice to have a personal agent in situations like this.

 

[djs]

Insurance companies always want to talk to the driver before accepting liability. This is very normal and if the situation was reversed, you would want your insurance company to talk to you prior to accepting liability on an accident on your policy. Face it, I've had situations where people filed against the wrong policy.

The other driver admitted fault - this isn't as relevant as you might think. People get emotional at an accident and make a lot of assumptions. Insurance companies get both sides of the story and determine who was at fault based on their investigation, not statements right after the accident. Now, if you were stopped at a light, then yes, they will find the other driver at fault.

In most states, insurance companies have 30 days to do the investigation. It usually doesn't take that long if parties are cooperative, but that doesn't always happen. 30 days also isn't a hard number, then can extend it if needed, but usually don't unless its a complex case. I know its a drag, but that is the process.

Insurance follows the car: Yes, it does. This does not mean liability follows the car and the cars insurance. This could be a hitch for you. If Bristol West insures the car, but the driver was excluded on the policy, then Bristol West will not pay the claim because while the car was insured, it is the driver who is at fault and the exclusion will prevent the claim from being paid. The son may have been a permissive use driver, which will provide coverage or he may have been an excluded driver, which won't. This is part of what Bristol West is looking at, why was he driving a car he wasn't listed as a driver on.

Filing through your own insurance is the fastest way to getting your car fixed. You will pay your deductible up front but if the other carrier pays your insurance company back, they will send you your deductible back.

Dan

 

[xrac]

Some drivers don't want to report to the insurance company and the insurance company has a hard time of confirming the facts. It is that the insurance company is trying to avoid the claim they just don't want to do anything without the facts from their policyholder and driver. I would relax. The claim is with your company and should be handled without a problem.

 

[pfg1]

At fault drivers often do crazy stuff after the fact. I had a guy pull out dead in front of me (out of a blind entrance on a one way street - going the wrong way) and I t-boned him. It was his fault, he admitted fault to the police and insurance company. Then he shows up at the court hearing to say it wasn't really his fault, that I must not have been paying attn. when he pulled out in front of me. Amazing. The DA had fun with him on that one.

Every accident I've ever been in (only a few) all have not been my fault, and I made it a point to ask the cop if they would back me if the "at fault" party went MIA...they all said yes and gave me a business card. Never had to call them, and not sure how much it would have helped...but it made me feel better. LOL

 

[xrac]

I once had a guy pull out and would have hit me broadside except I pulled completely off the road onto the shoulder. He still managed to graze the right rear quarter panel. He told the police he was at fault but later to the insurance company changed the story to that I had ran off the road and came back on and hit him. Some people will sell their soul to save a buck.

 

[ferny777]

An update:

Seems like Bristol West got the statement, and the police report. So the liability portion is done, now they are speaking to the agent to ask why the driver wasn't added on the policy when he got it. the vehicle was added but not the driver, he wasn't excluded either. What to expect and what does this mean?

 

[xrac]

Has anyone saw this site?

Stopdrp.com - Car Repair insurance, Auto Insurance Direct Repair Program, Body Shop Repair

 

[FalseState]

I checked this website out, and it's 100% accurate. I think anyone who has an auto claim should look at this site before making any decisions with the claims department. We are all puppets on a string for corporate...the body shops, wrecker services, adjusters, appraisers, and even us agents.

Has anyone saw this site?

Stopdrp.com - Car Repair insurance, Auto Insurance Direct Repair Program, Body Shop Repair[/url]

 

[mehdihasan693]

I agree this website. Accident may be cause for unethical driver.