Auto Insurance rant

[GothingNC]

Usually I am not one to complain much but this issue has got on my nerves.

Co-worker of mine was slowing down to make a right turn into my office parking lot when some idiot decides to pass her on the right and sideswipes the passenger side of her car totaling it out.

She calls the police, files the report and meanwhile the excuse from the guy that hit her says "It was only an accident"

She only has comprehensive insurance and the guy that hit her is covered by one of those "high risk" insurance companies.

His insurance company is giving her a very hard time paying for the damage since her car is 10 years old with high mileage with the excuse that it's old and needed replacement anyway, not worth much etc...

Today they called her and said they will not pay a penny since they only pay on claims on vehicles with under 150,000 miles.

This is nuts !! I would love to have a company that would not pay a dime if I decide to knock cars off the road with high mileage off the road

She also has some minor injuries.

Would it be wise for her to consult an attorney?

[widebody911]

Yup, time to lawyer up.

[Mike C]

Yes & ASAP.

[masraum]

Holy Crap, WAY PAST time to lawyer up.

That's insane.

[GothingNC]

I suggested she should consult with a lawyer ASAP.

She is very concerned about being able to afford the legal fees.

[Talewinds]

Her insurance company should still be working in her behalf...

[Zeke]

A lawyer should take this one on a contingency, but unless the injuries are significant enough, it might be hard to find a GOOD lawyer that will take the case.

In the meantime, she can toughen her stance and start to play some hardball. Read up on this forum what others have done. Get in touch with the state insurance commissioner's office, raise a stink over each and every aspect.

In CA, we have at least a year to file for any claim and I think it might be 2 years. However, our lawyer from the 911 rear end deal told us we didn't seek out enough medical care on an urgent basis (we did got to a clinic the following day, but no follow up).

He is now setting up the dance where we go to a bunch of doctors who play the game so that some kind of settlement can be reached.

In conclusion, I say there are two ways to handle an accident: lay down for the insurance companies and be screwed, or screw them from the outset. There is no middle ground in America today.

[VincentVega]

Right, let her ins. co. take car of this. If that doesnt work, then bring in the lawyer.

[The Gaijin]

Always get uninsured and underinsured. Always - to full limits.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

Right, let her ins. co. take car of this. If that doesnt work, then bring in the lawyer.

Like your ins co is really on your side. Not. I fought tooth and nails with my own company on a total loss when the party that totaled my truck somehow got a ticket for the at fault accident but weaseled out of paying. And I have a A+ company, not some ***** like Mercury.

I think the insurance business is the worst thing this country faces now and in the future. There are millions of saps that will be screwed, don't be one of them.

[RWebb]

Exactly.

Also, admissions may come out that hurt you if you don't have an atty. -- your atty. is a hired gunslinger that fights for you. The ins. co. atty. is a hired gunslinger that fights for them. The other ins. co.s atty. is ...

- got the picture?

[GothingNC]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

Right, let her ins. co. take car of this. If that doesnt work, then bring in the lawyer.

She only had liability insurance, no collision.

I forwarded her information to complain the the state insurance board, don;t know if she contacted them yet.

The problem is she is so emotional over the matter and just wants to give up. move on. I am working on toughing her stance on the issue, her husband doesn't think it's a big deal

Frustrating...

[Radioactive]

Here is my story. 2007

New truck (45 Days old) struck by an insured driver. Truck totaled. I contacted driver's insurance company. They question fault. Supplied police report, they change there tune.
They make offer. Its a joke. They send check. I argue with adjuster they send another small check and tell me that is it. Contact state insurance dept, what a joke they are totally worthless. Sued the driver and registered owner (daughter & mother) in small claims court (7,500), I did a lot of research and documentation of why the truck was worth more than they paid. I plead my case, judge asked the mother & daughter what they thought, they say I should get what every I want. Done. Their insurance co sent me a check for 7500 + costs. It ended up being a little more than I originally would have settled for. I wanted to call up the adjuster and her supervisor and say NAANAANAANAA.
But I didn't

[HHI944]

She needs to call the agent handling her claim and ask him if he's familiar with NC's bad faith laws and exactly what those words entail should she be FORCED to enter litigation to recoup her damages.

Insurance companies are idiots sometimes and dicks the rest of the time, they count on screwing people 99% of the time when they're dicks to pay for the ridiculous settlements that occur when they're idiots and get sued by a competent attorney.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by GothingNC

Today they called her and said they will not pay a penny since they only pay on claims on vehicles with under 150,000 miles.

She should ask them to put that in writing!

As far as an atty, how much was she injured and how much was the car worth?

The person who hit her, does she have any assets? (If we're just playing the odds, likely she has none).

It's not likely she'd find anyone to take the case on contingency, and without that, she needs to come out of pocket. Hate to throw good money after bad.

As far as her own car, she is insured, she's just self-insured. And, given the miles and likely value of the car, that's probably smart. So if she has to just walk away, she shouldn't feel overly horrible. By having only liability on the car, she's been taking that risk and saving on insurance premiums in return. All insurance/self insurance is a gamble. Usually it pays off on a low value car. Sometimes it doesn't.

[ramonesfreak]

your ranting even though your friend chose not to purchase collision coverage? she took the risk, this is what happens

if she is not injured seriously, she will have a hard time finding legal help to fight the property damage claim. there is simply no way for an attorney to make any money doing it. i have assisted people in such claims as a friend or as a favor and never once made a dime. most firms decline these cases

her best bet is to get an estimate and if within the jurisdictional $ limit, sue the guy in small claims court...though dont expect to collect

if your not willing to live with the consequences, always get collision

also, uninsured/underinsured has nothing to do with property damage, its medical coverage if your hit by an uninsured/underinsured motorist

[mikester]

If the car's value is low enough not to warrant Comprehensive coverage and she is not at fault - the other driver is liable - just because his insurance coverage is flaking out does not mean the at fault driver is off the hook. She needs to contact him and tell him that HE is responsible and the she will be taking HIM to small claims court. Assuming we're talking less than $5000 here (that appears to be the limit in NC) then she can do that - take him to small claims court where it will be his word against hers with her police report showing him at fault.

I'm not a lawyer or anything but she should at least be able to recover the value of her car and what she pays out for medical expenses. If she has medical insurance and is using that to tend to her injuries she can tell them (though I'm not sure it is wise to do so) that it was the result of a car accident where the other party was at fault and they will subrogate the heck out of the at fault driver's insurance.


I will say this; I have state farm and they have ALWAYS treated me with respect and mostly fairness. My most recent example is with my wife's prius - it was in an accident in june of 2006. Front end tore up bad but they insisted on repairing it (at the time it was valued with the HOV stickers at nearly 30k - ridonkulous). The repairs are supposed to have a life time warranty. Fast forward 2 years almost and the AC has just never been the same. I've had it into the shop that did the repairs a number of times and it simply doesn't blow cold and pretty much hasn't since the accident. A little back and forth on the phone but not much and they agree to repair the system (the compressor and other components have failed completely by now) to the tune of about $2500 - 2 years later and for all intents and purposes my wife was at fault mostly in the accident.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by srandallf

your ranting even though your friend chose not to purchase collision coverage? she took the risk, this is what happens

if she is not injured seriously, she will have a hard time finding legal help to fight the property damage claim. there is simply no way for an attorney to make any money doing it. i have assisted people in such claims as a friend or as a favor and never once made a dime. most firms decline these cases

her best bet is to get an estimate and if within the jurisdictional $ limit, sue the guy in small claims court...though dont expect to collect

if your not willing to live with the consequences, always get collision

also, uninsured/underinsured has nothing to do with property damage, its medical coverage if your hit by an uninsured/underinsured motorist

I thought you were a lawyer. If you are, I can see why you're out of work.

[cgarr]

Be warned! They will try to win by default! Your default when you run out of money!

[Brian 162]

Same thing happened to me 25 years ago. Someone turned left from oncoming traffic and I hit him. I only had liability insurance (collision insurance would be double my rate).
Other driver was charged with improper turn.
My insurance company sat on their arse and did d@%k.
The other insurance company wouldn't do anything pending the traffic charge.
I paid for everything to repair my car. Total cost was $3000. That was 1984 money.
I lawyered up. 9 months later the other driver was convicted on the traffic charge.
The other company paid out 2 weeks later.
I told my insurance company where to go when my policy expired.

Was the other driver charged with anything?
If so nothing will happen until the case goes to traffic court.
You're co-worker should get a lawyer. Most likely she will be out of pocket until a decision is made.

Good Luck