Dealing with Other Persons Insurence

[82jay]

This is kind of a long story but I'll try and keep it simple. So I had a woman pull out in front of me and they totaled my truck. It was her fault so I've been trying to work with her insurance agency. The first issue I had was that it took them 2 months to get me a decent estimate on my truck because I have a diesel truck and they kept using gas trucks to tell me how much it was worth (about a 3k difference). After they gave me a decent price they sent me a package to sign the title over and send it to them. This is when my second issue came. A week later on a Friday I called them asking why I hadn't gotten anything and they told me they where doing the paperwork now but it will be deposited in my account in a few day. Monday I get a call from a "dedicated associate" that is now handling my account because they made a mistake and the woman only had a 10k limit on her policy. Then they tell me that they have to take tow/salvage fees and the rental car fee out of that 10k limit so they are only going to pay around 8k now. At first one option they gave me was to retain the vehicle and the auction house it was at (they kept calling it a salvage yard but its not) would give me basically what I would of had to pay to keep it before. This still would of been less then what they told me they where going to pay the first time. I get a call yesterday at work from them but couldn't answer. When I get home I have an email saying that the option to retain the truck is no longer an option because it was sold. They never said anything about selling the truck to me.

Am I wrong for feeling that the verbal agreement we original had should be honored since it was the only reason I signed over the title? Is it normal for insurance agency to charge you for tow fees and rentals without saying anything about it? Are they really allowed to sell something they haven't paid for? I just feel like there trying to screw me over as much as they can. I've been fighting with them for almost 4 months now. I kind of feel like I should get a lawyer but I fear it would be over a year before it wold be settled in court so I've been trying to settle it myself.

Sorry for the long post. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[djs]

Unfortunately, the answer is shorter than the explanation.

Once you hit the policy limit, the insurance company is out of the picture. If they only had 10K in coverage, that is where the insurance company ends.

For storage and towing - the insurance company doesn't charge these, they pay them. The company that did the towing / storage is what charged the fees.

You are correct, they should not have sold the car until you had funds, but that happened.

Your best / easiest solution is to file the claim through your insurance company. There really isn't any reason not to and it will fill the gap of what the 10K policy limits provided and what the vehicle was worth. So, lets say the car was worth $14K (based on whatever value you eventually agreed on) and they have paid $8K, your insurance company, if you have collision coverage, will cover the additional $6K, plus the taxes, title, etc.

As long as you have collision coverage, file the claim, they will get the info from the other insurance company and pay you. Shouldn't take to long and much less frustrating than dealing with the other insurance company who won't budge anyway.

Alternatively, you can pursue the other driver directly, but, odds are, it will take a while and you may not collect much, if anything.

Dan

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Am I wrong for feeling that the verbal agreement we original had should be honored since it was the only reason I signed over the title?

With a verbal agreement, what you've got is...air. Always get it in writing for when the inevitable disagreement comes!

 

[82jay]

I spoke with my insurance agent yesterday and I didn't even finish my story. As soon as I told her they where taking out towing and rental fees she said no they have to pay the 10k. I gave her the contact info of the person handling the claim so shes supposed to find out whats going on. The only reason I didn't want to have my insurance to handle it is because I didn't want my rates to go up or anything since it was coming out of there pocket. The way it was explained to me by the other persons insurance was that they would have to appraise the vehicle again and I didn't want to spend another 2 months trying to get the correct appraisal.

 

[BlockO]

Once you hit the policy limit, the insurance company is out of the picture. If they only had 10K in coverage, that is where the insurance company ends.....................

Your best / easiest solution is to file the claim through your insurance company. There really isn't any reason not to and it will fill the gap of what the 10K policy limits provided and what the vehicle was worth.

82jay,
I know this is not what you want to hear, but DJS is absolutely right.... just file the claim with your own insurance company, and then let them handle it (that's what you pay your premium for).

once the other guy's company pays the 10K, they're completely done with it, regardless of whether or not part of it went towards rental/storage. their company isn't going to pay a dime more than a total of 10K for everything. if your agent told you otherwise, she was either unaware of the other guy's policy limits, or was completely wrong!

I understand your reluctance of not wanting to file it with your own company (thinking your premium will go up), but your logic is misguided.... it's going to show up on your CLUE report as a not-at-fault accident anyways, whether or not your company pays part of the claim.

so you have nothing to lose by filing the claim with your own company.... your only other option would be to go after the other guy in civil court for the difference. but if they have liability coverage with such crappy limits, there's probably nothing to go after. and for only a few grand, it wouldn't be worth it for you anyways.