Car insuranance overpaid me?, Now what?

[Lufeco]

Long story short....Got involved in a fender bender with a teenager who was going in reverse but looking forward. I did not call the police since the damages were minor and nobody was hurt.

His insurance company cut me a check for $600.00 after an evaluation done by his own insurance company's adjuster. They now claim that I was overpaid because I was supposed to get only 50% of the damages, since they could not determine who was at fault.

I already have his insurance's messages in my voice mail trying to collect half of the money and threatening me with "going to the next step" if I do not call them in 10 days.

What would be your best advice?

[ben parrish]

Why did they pay in the first place? How much damage was done to your car? Was it his fault totally?
If it were me AND......1. I was not at fault 2. The amount paid was fair for the damage,.
I would return the call and tell them to "take it to the next level" if they felt it necessary.

[Lufeco]

It was his fault, but being that I did not call the police nor have any witnesses the guy now claims that we are both at fault.

The damage is minor. The bumper can be fixed, trimmed and painted. And the amount paid was what his ins. company estimated to be enough for the repairs.

The msg. in my voice mail stated that the adjuster made a mistake because he was only authorized to pay me for half of the estimate since they could not determine without a doubt who was at fault.

By the way, FL is a no fault state.

[greglepore]

Tell them oh well...

[tevake]

Sounds like that is between them and their adjuster. Too bad they had to be threatening after they made a mistake.

[Zeke]

File a claim for post accident injury. That'll get their attention.

Call your ins co.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by milt

File a claim for post accident injury. That'll get their attention.

Call your ins co.

I like the way Milt thinks.

[porsche4life]

Delete the message, destroy the tape, delete this post... And play dumb.... Very dumb....

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Delete the message, destroy the tape, delete this post... And play dumb.... Very dumb....

Or .... man up and be someone you can see in the mirror and not be ashamed of.

I'd still fight it but be honest about it, don't lose your self-respect listening to a 19 year old.

[DanielDudley]

300.00. That' s going to screw up your retirement.

Sue them.

Seriously, what kind of steps would an insurance company take for 300.00 ? Call the guy up off hours, and ask him to have his supervisor call you. That will give him fits right there.

[HHI944]

Originally Posted by DanielDudley

300.00. That' s going to screw up your retirement.

Sue them.

Seriously, what kind of steps would an insurance company take for 300.00 ? Call the guy up off hours, and ask him to have his supervisor call you. That will give him fits right there.

I'm with Dudley, what are they gonna do, sue you over $300? I'd call back, ask to speak to a manager and ask just what, exactly, 'the next step', entails and determine whether they're truly willing to tarnish the corporate image by suing an individual to recoup $300 that they paid semi-erroneously.

[Geronimo '74]

Tell'em you've lost the money but for a small fee you'll gladly help them look for it....



(I'm wit h DanielDudley and HH)

[MBAtarga]

Do you have a quote to repair the damage? It might be >$600.

[widgeon13]

Their mistake, sorry for them but it's water under the bridge. Let the guy that made the mistake pay for it. He won't make that mistake again.

You did nothing wrong. Let them take it to Judge Judy.

[MattKellett]

Hold on, hold on.....

If they said you were BOTH to blame, then they wouldn't have paid you ANY money! But they did send a settlement to you, which in it's self is proof that they believe that their insured driver was to blame - not you.

Now if they want 50% returned, that's like saying, "well our driver did cause the accident, but I really think you are about 25% to blame by being behind him, so we think that you should return half of the $600 to us"

Bollocks to that.

I'd call your insurance company and tell them what happened, that's why we pay them every year.

Good luck.

[widgeon13]

If it's less than your deductible, I wouldn't have any discussion with your insurance company for fear it would go on your record. Insurance companies do strange things these days, no need to acknowledge you had an accident, especially when no witness is available to corroborate your story that it was not your fault.

[dad911]

I'd ignore it, cash the check asap, and if they call again maintain that the accident was not your fault. And to never call again, all future contact must be through your attorney.

They won't go the next step for $300.

[Zeke]

The way I understand no fault insurance is that your ins co pays for any and all damage to you and your car. So why is the other ins co sending you money?

Either way, it costs what it costs to fix, so you better get an estimate for the actual cost of repair.

Now, having gone through this recently when my Carrera got banged from behind, I got a preliminary check on the spot at the other driver's ins co adjuster's field office. The deal is that once the car gets to a repair facility, it's never enough. So the body shop and the supplemental adjuster hammer it out between themselves.

I see this as a process invented by ins cos to limit the amount paid out to people who take the money and don't fix their cars or fix them on their own.

[Superman]

I also like the way Milt thinks. And I just love those darling insurance companies, don't you?

If the money is not already in your account, go to the bank and ask them to verify the funds. Get the money into your accout. No way they're going to put any effort into coaxing you to send them a refund. Heck, this is their favorite trick. They offer you a settlement and the alternative is to spend a LOT of money and time trying to get justice. They can routinely offer people a couple thousand dollars less than what's fair, as it would take at least that much to fight them.

Have some fun. Call them up and ask them to send you some documents. Then ignore their calls for a while, then tell them you didn't receive the documents.

I HATE insurance companies.

[onlycafe]

cash the check and thank them......and forward this if they persist.