[Porsche-O-Phile]

A couple of weeks ago I finally got my (pristine) Mercedes SLK out of winter storage where it had been hibernating for the last few months, cleaned it off, charged the battery and took out for a drive. All was good. I have a standing rule of thumb that I don't drive that car (or the 911) until there is no more snow on the ground and there have been at least three good solid rainfalls to wash away any residual salt/sand/grit/crud on the ground. It was good to finally get the car out and enjoy it a bit.

The next day I drove the car to work (train station parking garage) and parked it on the end of a row of cars (to avoid door dings from inconsiderate idiots who park right next to you and fling their doors open into your nice paint), hopped on the train and went about my day's business. At the end of the day I was looking forward to an enjoyable drive home but when I got to the car, I got an unpleasant surprise - some jackass had decided to evidently back into the car and smash in the driver's side door (facing the drive aisle) and mirror. Needless to say I was a bit irritated. It was pretty clear what had happened - bits of red taillight lens all over the ground (which I picked up and kept as evidence), no note, etc. Pretty clear-cut case of hit-and-run - someone on the opposite side of the drive aisle must've backed straight across and slammed right into it, then taken off. Took a bunch of pictures, asked the lot attendant guy (in a booth not more than 50 feet away) if he'd seen anything and he gave me the glassy-eyed stare and then a "no habla", so I paid my seven bucks and left. Called the office and talked to someone who actually spoke English - no cameras or other surveillance (naturally) except at the entry point/cash handling stations, "sorry we're not liable for damage to your vehicle - tough luck, etc..." Nobody saw anything and didn't really want to bother investigating it.

I called my insurance co (Progressive) and made a claim; Estimate is about $2k. $500 deductible. Here's where it gets good: I get a voice mail from the claims rep yesterday saying "we looked at the photos (their estimator took) and it looks like you hit a pole so we're finding you at fault - tough luck [and by the way, we're going to jack your rates up now for an at-fault accident]". WTF?!?! In fairness the damage does sort of look like it might have been caused from a pole (I'll post pics when I can) but unless I literally slid into it sideways I don't see how that could be - and the driver's side mirror is still attached (wouldn't a pole sideswipe have torn it off?) Besides, if I'd hit a pole I'd have simply said, "I'm an idiot and hit a pole" - or (more likely) would have fixed the damage myself rather than going through insurance for the price of being dumb.

I'm hopping mad about this. I've been called many things but NEVER a liar. They've now made this personal (direct attack on my credibility and integrity) and I want to make sure they don't get away with it. First off, do I have any recourse at all? I find it astonishing that the gov't allows an insurance company (who is most definitely NOT impartial) to make the determination of who is "at fault" (this happened in MA, which is unfortunately not a "no fault" state).

Secondly, can I request arbitration or a third-party assessment? Make a sworn affidavit or something?

I suspect what they're doing is simply saying "we'll make sure we offset the cost of this claim by simply finding him at fault and jacking his rates up - we'll get our money back over the next few months that way". Azzholes.

I suspect if there's no recourse I'll just end up canceling the claim and eating the $2k repair out of pocket but if this happens (at the very least) it will be the last time I EVER use Progressive for anything.

My office at work is a short walk from the State Insurance Commissioner's Office. Anything to be gained by going in and having a chat with them?