I've been with AAA for 20 years or more. I've always been pretty happy with them. My last car (I just gave it up) was a 1997 Toyota Tercel with minimum liability coverage (about $300/year).
2 weeks ago I was in a collision in a neighboring City (Burlingame). I've learned very quickly that adjustors tend to look at things in black & white, without adequate investigation or evaluating the scene of the accident or take pictures (I took pictures).
I hit the back of a vehicle on a street I take every day; a laid back street with little traffic at that time. Why did I hit the back of this vehicle? Because this woman suddenly stopped in the middle of a very long street (no lights, no intersections. no stop sign). I was a good distance behind her (I do NOT tailgate) and the moment I saw her brake light so on, I slammed on my own brakes in attempt to 'not' hit her. Unfortunately, I could not stop in time, but it could have been a lot worse. From my point of view, what she did was negligent. Who stops in the middle of the street in ongoing traffic (light at 3 PM).
I was fine and she certainly was fine when she was yelling at me - why did you hit me!!! except after the police came. In fact, I've never seen such a commotion over a minor collision!~ She had -0- damage to the rear of her "Mercedes" (I took pictures) while I had slight damage to my bumper which was pushed in a little. I also wanted to pull over to the side of the road (there was plenty of room so that ongoing traffic could continue). On the other hand, she remained in her car and did not move. I wondered why, until the next thing I saw was her being put in an ambulance with a brace around her neck on a gurney. I was talking to a policeman at the time; and just said - you've got to be kidding. She was just moving her neck while yelling at me and now she claimed she couldn't move it. He told me it was just standard procedure that if someone claims their neck hurt, they look into it. Oh? I never knew that until that day. What I did know was that she was faking it. I was going about 30 mph when i hit her and I slammed on my breaks 2-3 car lengths behind which I pointed out to the police (I took pictures of the skid markes as well).
Usually the adjuster calls me the next day or so. I did not hear from him until a week later and he said that the matter was resolved with a nominal fee; but of course it was deemed to be my fault since she was stopped, and I was moving, so I hit her. No investigation was done. I asked what were the results at the ER; he said he didn't know but it really doesn't matter. Why doesn't matter when she is obviously lying. Other than this collision, I have a perfect driving record for the last 10 years.
So now I bought another new "used" car through 'Beepi' and I'm at a loss of what insurance I need since I'm so used to just having minimum liability through AAA since it was an old car and not worth much (but it was in great mechanical condition w/ low mileage. Today, I did some research as what insurance I should get and I filled out a form and at the end it said, we can't give you a quote because you recently had an accident and was found to be at fault. So, how is this going to affect my getting adequate insurance for my current vehicle.
I'm so angry at the Insurance Adjustor for not doing their jobs thoroughly and investigating the scene more. When I asked him why he said because it would not have mattered anyway since she was stopped and you hit her so it's your fault. Things are Just not as it seems, especially in Auto accident such as this. Had it not been for my sharp reflexes and quick behavior it could have been a lot worse. All I was doing was being a good defensive driver. What can I say? What can I do.
Tomorrow I'm going to a AAA office to upgrade my insurance and am afraid of what I'm going to hear. So - how can one dispute a claim that I know is unjust???
2 weeks ago I was in a collision in a neighboring City (Burlingame). I've learned very quickly that adjustors tend to look at things in black & white, without adequate investigation or evaluating the scene of the accident or take pictures (I took pictures).
I hit the back of a vehicle on a street I take every day; a laid back street with little traffic at that time. Why did I hit the back of this vehicle? Because this woman suddenly stopped in the middle of a very long street (no lights, no intersections. no stop sign). I was a good distance behind her (I do NOT tailgate) and the moment I saw her brake light so on, I slammed on my own brakes in attempt to 'not' hit her. Unfortunately, I could not stop in time, but it could have been a lot worse. From my point of view, what she did was negligent. Who stops in the middle of the street in ongoing traffic (light at 3 PM).
I was fine and she certainly was fine when she was yelling at me - why did you hit me!!! except after the police came. In fact, I've never seen such a commotion over a minor collision!~ She had -0- damage to the rear of her "Mercedes" (I took pictures) while I had slight damage to my bumper which was pushed in a little. I also wanted to pull over to the side of the road (there was plenty of room so that ongoing traffic could continue). On the other hand, she remained in her car and did not move. I wondered why, until the next thing I saw was her being put in an ambulance with a brace around her neck on a gurney. I was talking to a policeman at the time; and just said - you've got to be kidding. She was just moving her neck while yelling at me and now she claimed she couldn't move it. He told me it was just standard procedure that if someone claims their neck hurt, they look into it. Oh? I never knew that until that day. What I did know was that she was faking it. I was going about 30 mph when i hit her and I slammed on my breaks 2-3 car lengths behind which I pointed out to the police (I took pictures of the skid markes as well).
Usually the adjuster calls me the next day or so. I did not hear from him until a week later and he said that the matter was resolved with a nominal fee; but of course it was deemed to be my fault since she was stopped, and I was moving, so I hit her. No investigation was done. I asked what were the results at the ER; he said he didn't know but it really doesn't matter. Why doesn't matter when she is obviously lying. Other than this collision, I have a perfect driving record for the last 10 years.
So now I bought another new "used" car through 'Beepi' and I'm at a loss of what insurance I need since I'm so used to just having minimum liability through AAA since it was an old car and not worth much (but it was in great mechanical condition w/ low mileage. Today, I did some research as what insurance I should get and I filled out a form and at the end it said, we can't give you a quote because you recently had an accident and was found to be at fault. So, how is this going to affect my getting adequate insurance for my current vehicle.
I'm so angry at the Insurance Adjustor for not doing their jobs thoroughly and investigating the scene more. When I asked him why he said because it would not have mattered anyway since she was stopped and you hit her so it's your fault. Things are Just not as it seems, especially in Auto accident such as this. Had it not been for my sharp reflexes and quick behavior it could have been a lot worse. All I was doing was being a good defensive driver. What can I say? What can I do.
Tomorrow I'm going to a AAA office to upgrade my insurance and am afraid of what I'm going to hear. So - how can one dispute a claim that I know is unjust???
