Video Proof : Driver at Fault - Insure Claim

[rtist]

Info:
Driver at fault's vehicle was insured
My motorcycle was not insured.
Washington State
Caught on Cam - Local News aired it.
Unfortunately i can't embed utube videos here so heres a link
youtube.com
/watch?v=0F3VUlRiWLE

On 3/16/16 i was involved in a motorcycle / car accident. I was on the motorcycle and the car cut me off giving me no time to stop. I hit his left rear tire / bumper. I wen't over the handle bars. As i laid on the ground the vehicle left. Luckily i recorded it with my Gopro. Posted in in various local facebook pages and i ended up finding the vehicle. Cops wrote a report stating that he was indeed at fault. He is being charging with fleeing the scene of an accident , failing to yield at in intersection and hit and run.

I was given his insurance information. His insurance is Liberty mutual insurance. I contacted them on the 28th of march. They let me know it could take up to 30days.

Since then i have contacted liberty mutual insurance 3 times. Left a voicemail - Emailed the agent i was assigned by the driver insurance - and had one of the agent's co-worker email her as well.

I have not heard back from them. Thus, I contacted my insurance Geico. Let them know about the situation.

Surprisingly, even tho my motorcycle was not insured under Geico (No insurance whatsoever) but my other vehicle (car) was. They called me back and said they would look into.

My Questions are :

What can or what will my insurance do to help me against the other guys insurance? (Even tho my vehicle wasn't insured under them)

I purchased the motorcycle so that i wouldn't have to put a lot of miles on my car (long distance relationship) Since the accident i have put over 2000 miles on my car.

Will his insurance cover the devaluing of my car? (Car had 70,000 miles)
Are they liable for getting me a rental?
I don't want to keep using my car because his client decided to mess up my bike.

Is his insurance going to cover my apparels? ($40 gloves and $100 jacket that was scraped)

How does the adjuster / appraisal process work ?
If i don't agree with the value they are valuing my bike / writing me a check for; what would be the best way to let them know that i don't agree?
How long does this usually take? (it's spring and i would love to ride all summer) - is there anyway to speed it up? (They said 30 days :| )

Because of the amount of evidence that i have proving the driver of the car was at fault.

Shouldn't this be a quick case for liberty mutual insurance?
Wouldn't a lawyer like take a jump on this case seeing as the amount of evidence that i have?

[I know this is an insurance forum] -
How much would a lawyer for a case like this cost me?
would it be worth it?
Would i pay him or would he take a percentage?
am i more likely to get more $,$$$?

I appreciate every response i get.

Thank You!

 

[BlockO]

so you're riding without liability insurance and you're expecting to score big off of the other guy's liability insurance?

Geico is not going to do a thing for you since your bike wasn't insured with them. Geico doesn't use agents, so you probably talked to some silly CSR who didn't know what they were talking about. once a claims rep sees that your bike wasn't insured, they will close and ignore this claim. not to mention that it was a bad idea for you to call them in the first place, since they now know you were in an accident.

your only claim is with Liberty Mutual. they will either pay for the repairs on your bike, or pay the market value of your bike if it is totaled. if you get compensated for a rental and cost of apparel, consider it generous.... but getting paid for the devaluing of your car that wasn't even involved? c'mon man! that question made me go back and check that you didn't post this on April fools day....

you have to give Liberty Mutual some time.... no matter how much proof you have, the claims rep still needs time to try to get both sides of the story .... and since the guy fled the scene of the accident, he's probably dodging phone calls too.... so it can take a while.

I don't know the laws in Washington. but in most states, your license would be suspended for what you just described. so if I were you, I wouldn't make too much of a fuss over this.

and forget about lawyering up.... you never mentioned one word about being injured. so there's not enough meat on the bone for a lawyer to be interested. your case is only worth the value of your bike at most.

 

[Tiesto422]

You are so lucky. You didn't get hurt, guy at the intersection of the office I was working at 3 months ago died in a similar crash. (car on bike) You can prove a hit and run driver was at fault based off video, while you didn't have insurance on the bike. Anything you get out of this is gravy.

 

[djs]

Honestly, there is nothing you can really do to speed up the process. The hold up most of the time is they have to talk to the driver of the car. Not just the owner, but the driver. In these cases, they tend to evade the phone call.

They will return your phone call when they have something to say. It is unlikely the adjuster will call you back before that. They will not give you 'status' updates until they make their liability determination. Also, keep in mind, their goal is to protect their client, not you. Your insurance company is there to protect you.

At this point, an attorney is a waste of money unless you get a denial. They will take 30-40% of the settlement which means you will likely end up with less money. Also, once an attorney gets involved, claims slow down SIGNIFICANTLY, not speed up at all. Trust me on this point.

If they don't get hold of the insured for 30 days, they have a couple of options. They can deny the claim, they can pay the claim, or they can extend their investigation. Odds are, with the video, they will pay the claim, but no guarantee of that. They can dispute that you are pursuing the wrong person type of thing. Also, the policy could have lapsed. Who knows. Never count on it till the check is in hand.

Not sure how much damage was done to the bike, but if they pay the claim then they will pay a reasonable value of repairs or if they consider it totaled, they will pay fair market value of the bike. If you feel the valuation is low, right in the settlement offer, it will tell you what to do to dispute it, but generally it is shopping for a similar bike and not being able to find one at that price. This doesn't mean comparing to advertised price, but negotiated price.

Yes, they will likely cover your safety equipment / apparel. Much cheaper then paying medical bills. Keep in mind, these can be valued at cash value, not replacement cost, especially since you didn't have coverage yourself.

No, they will not pay you for mileage on your car. You would have driven those miles anyway.

Will they pay for a rental? Not sure. If they do, they will pay for a car rental, not a bike.

Once your bike gets fixed, get it insured.

Dan

 

[scagnt83]

How fast were you going? Not saying you were speeding or anything; just curious, Its hard to tell from the video. No matter how fast, that was a nasty fall, it could have been a lot worse.

 

[rtist]

Thanks for your info and i am by no means trying to score big with anything. I just want my bike paid for - I guess i give them a wait. Thanks!

so you're riding without liability insurance and you're expecting to score big off of the other guy's liability insurance?

Geico is not going to do a thing for you since your bike wasn't insured with them. Geico doesn't use agents, so you probably talked to some silly CSR who didn't know what they were talking about. once a claims rep sees that your bike wasn't insured, they will close and ignore this claim. not to mention that it was a bad idea for you to call them in the first place, since they now know you were in an accident.

your only claim is with Liberty Mutual. they will either pay for the repairs on your bike, or pay the market value of your bike if it is totaled. if you get compensated for a rental and cost of apparel, consider it generous.... but getting paid for the devaluing of your car that wasn't even involved? c'mon man! that question made me go back and check that you didn't post this on April fools day....

you have to give Liberty Mutual some time.... no matter how much proof you have, the claims rep still needs time to try to get both sides of the story .... and since the guy fled the scene of the accident, he's probably dodging phone calls too.... so it can take a while.

I don't know the laws in Washington. but in most states, your license would be suspended for what you just described. so if I were you, I wouldn't make too much of a fuss over this.

and forget about lawyering up.... you never mentioned one word about being injured. so there's not enough meat on the bone for a lawyer to be interested. your case is only worth the value of your bike at most.

----------

I was going like 5mph under the speed limit. I saw a comment on a website that my video was posted on and someone said it sounded like i was going fast. I have an aftermarket exhaust on it. (You know when it sounds like you're going fast but you're not)

How fast were you going? Not saying you were speeding or anything; just curious, Its hard to tell from the video. No matter how fast, that was a nasty fall, it could have been a lot worse.

----------

Once i get another "Used" bike i will definitely get it insured. Heard that it's usually less than $10 a month around here.

Honestly, there is nothing you can really do to speed up the process. The hold up most of the time is they have to talk to the driver of the car. Not just the owner, but the driver. In these cases, they tend to evade the phone call.

They will return your phone call when they have something to say. It is unlikely the adjuster will call you back before that. They will not give you 'status' updates until they make their liability determination. Also, keep in mind, their goal is to protect their client, not you. Your insurance company is there to protect you.

At this point, an attorney is a waste of money unless you get a denial. They will take 30-40% of the settlement which means you will likely end up with less money. Also, once an attorney gets involved, claims slow down SIGNIFICANTLY, not speed up at all. Trust me on this point.

If they don't get hold of the insured for 30 days, they have a couple of options. They can deny the claim, they can pay the claim, or they can extend their investigation. Odds are, with the video, they will pay the claim, but no guarantee of that. They can dispute that you are pursuing the wrong person type of thing. Also, the policy could have lapsed. Who knows. Never count on it till the check is in hand.

Not sure how much damage was done to the bike, but if they pay the claim then they will pay a reasonable value of repairs or if they consider it totaled, they will pay fair market value of the bike. If you feel the valuation is low, right in the settlement offer, it will tell you what to do to dispute it, but generally it is shopping for a similar bike and not being able to find one at that price. This doesn't mean comparing to advertised price, but negotiated price.

Yes, they will likely cover your safety equipment / apparel. Much cheaper then paying medical bills. Keep in mind, these can be valued at cash value, not replacement cost, especially since you didn't have coverage yourself.

No, they will not pay you for mileage on your car. You would have driven those miles anyway.

Will they pay for a rental? Not sure. If they do, they will pay for a car rental, not a bike.

Once your bike gets fixed, get it insured.

Dan