yesterday really sucked...

[slipknotpsycho]

i'd been clocked in for about 26 minutes yesterday morning, when a manager called me up to the front and said "go outside, you're not gonna be happy, someone hit your car and coworkers"

other chick and i go outside...some dude had allegedly blacked out along the main road in our town, veered across 3-4 lanes, up a small embankment and over the curb, and hit my coworkers car, which smashed into MY car, which smashed into that same coworkers husbands suburban. he'd just barely gotten there a few minutes before to pick up something from her car that they needed for their son.

cops run the insurance, cuz the card said it expired in march, cops find out insurance is current and what not, we all exchange info. coworker and i go to get our claims started.

both of us got a call back saying theres a problem with the insurance, and "at this time we cannot discuss rental options or repair options with you, until our investigation is complete"

i'm thinking its because he's not on the insured persons insurance. so the vehicle would be covered, but not him.

however, when i got pinned against a building in 2006, the girl who hit me had no insurance/license, but the vehicle did (was her moms) and it still paid...and its the same company as the one i'm dealing with now.

so basically i'm screwed. and saturday is my birthday. happy birthday to me

[eltf177]

That sucks. I'd get hold of the police immediately and tell them there's some sort of problem with the insurance. If this clown isn't insured they need to get off the road immediately!

[Yurimaru]

I feel for you! Here's what my insurance agent did - if the agency does not end up paying after their investigation... Your agent can put a lien on the driver's license of the person who hit you. Basically, he can't drive until he forks over the money to pay the damages. Check with your agent about it in your area. The uninsured guy who wrecked my car a few years back finally ponied up when he found out he could not legally drive. He had showed the cops an un-dated proof of insurance card, which had expired. I remember my agent had to send a few registered letters first, to give him a chance to be honest, then he could do the lien when he did not pay.

I hope the driver in your case ends up being insured, tho. It's a long wait on the lien...

[Raveni]

Can't give legal advise here, so go get some in real life. But you need to get the ball rolling today, and not wait for the other person's insurance company. Your own insurance company may be a good place to start asking questions, as they really wouldn't want you to file a claim on your own policy.

[Pixilated]

Wow, what an awful day! Definitely call your ins. company and let them know what's going on; they will be able to light a fire wherever it's necessary.

[slipknotpsycho]

my insurance said i have to go thru the other person's insurance. its all a whole pile of BS, and i'm not tryin to get advice lol, just wanted to kinda bitch and rant. it sounds pathetic, but i keep crying at random. this is just the straw that broke the camels back. too much bad stuff has happened this year.

[BlaqueKatt]

my insurance said i have to go thru the other person's insurance.

Generally the way it's supposed to work, is you claim on your insurance, and your insurance, with their nice lawyers, gets the other company to reimburse them. Check your policy, it's sounds like someone doesn't want to do their job.

[bainsidhe]

Generally the way it's supposed to work, is you claim on your insurance, and your insurance, with their nice lawyers, gets the other company to reimburse them. Check your policy, it's sounds like someone doesn't want to do their job.

Be forewarned, claiming on your own insurance may affect your premiums, not to mention you'd be responsible for the deductible. It also depends on what kind of coverage you have. If you have the bare minimum because it's an older vehicle, meaning it covers other people if you hit them and that's about it, then you're going to have a tough time getting your insurer to advocate for you.

Definitely keep contacting the police for updates and get a copy of the police report if possible. Keep calling the other insurance company too. It's not uncommon for the company to drag their heels, with them hoping you'll forget about it. Make it clear you haven't forgotten about it and that you want action.

All this makes me wonder what story the driver is telling their insurer. For example, my sis's car was hit at the state fair. Sis had just parked when a drunk woman veered right into the driver's door. Woman quick gave her info to sis before high-tailing it before police showed up. Lady later claimed that sis ran into her, and the insurance company dragged things on and on to "investigate". Even though there's no way sis's car could move sideways into the front end of drunk woman's car. Even though there were witnesses. And a police report. And woman essentially did a hit-and-run since she left before police arrived. Oh and let's not forget she was pulled over an hour later and ticketedd for DUI. Yeah. Still took two months before the other insurance paid out.

[AccountingDrone]

my insurance said i have to go thru the other person's insurance. its all a whole pile of BS, and i'm not tryin to get advice lol, just wanted to kinda bitch and rant. it sounds pathetic, but i keep crying at random. this is just the straw that broke the camels back. too much bad stuff has happened this year.

BWA
2 4 6 8 tell those jerks to SUBROGATE! If you happen to have a specific coverage on your insurance such as rental car, your insurance company pays for it and subrogates the other guys company. If you have medical [thankfully you don't] your insurance company picks up the cost for the first care and subrogates until the court case or out of court settlement for the balance of your care comes through.

Do you have anything other than basic coverage on your car? If you do, you tell the slacker agent you have to do their job.

[also assuming you are in the US, ignore me if you are in the Commonwealth]

[slipknotpsycho]

at the time that we got the car, we only got basic insurance coverage, because it was all we could afford, and we needed transportation. i've spoken to my insurance, who started a claim on mine for me, even though mine wont cover anything, it still 'looks good' to the other company that i'm tryin to get something done. i wasn't able to sign on to the progressive website to check the claim against the other person (they had progressive), so i called the toll free number.

found out an interesting bit of info. dude that hit all of our cars is in the hospital, which is why he isnt returning calls to his insurance.

all i know is this needs to get taken care of before my son starts school again, cuz i can't afford to be drivin my hubbys grandmas car everywhere for long. it guzzles way too much gas. i am really thankful i have something to drive at the moment, but yeesh...

just thought i'd update everyone. and yea my birthday yesterday sucked LOL

[Luna Baby]

Check your policy (it'll vary depending on 1-where you live and 2-if you actually chose the coverage), but you could have 1 of 2 additional coverages on your policy even with the "basic coverage". Uninsured motorist coverage and Underinsured motorist coverage. Check to see if either of those are available to you and if so, whether you opted for that coverage.

[slipknotpsycho]

Check your policy (it'll vary depending on 1-where you live and 2-if you actually chose the coverage), but you could have 1 of 2 additional coverages on your policy even with the "basic coverage". Uninsured motorist coverage and Underinsured motorist coverage. Check to see if either of those are available to you and if so, whether you opted for that coverage.

just checked my policy online, and i have the most bare bones policy. the only "extra" i have is like a 40 dollar limit of towing. gonna definitely shop around when my car is fixed/i get another...

[Skeen]

Holy crap, the same thing happened at my husband's job a few months ago. I am so sorry about your car, and ::hugs:: for sucky birthday.

[slipknotpsycho]

well i've got an update. i just checked the insurance website. they'd picked up my car a few days ago to inspect it to see how much it'd cost to fix. they say its a total loss, because the cost to fix it is more than the value of the car. i got that car in february of 2011, and paid a little over 5k for it. they say the damage is 2.3k, so they're really gonna screw us over on this. we won't get enough to get another car. hafta wait until next income tax time, and hope that hubbys grandmas car that we're using at the moment lasts until then.

[Geek King]

they say the damage is 2.3k, so they're really gonna screw us over on this.

Never blindly accept the insurance company's first offer.

Do some research. Just because the company says something doesn't make it so. Most states also have rules in place so you can contest rulings like that if they seem off.

You may also want to look up your state's laws on insurance companies negotiating in "Good Faith." Make sure the company you're working with are following the law.