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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Insurance |
My husband was on his way to work on Sunday morning and was broadsided by a newspaper truck.? |
It clearly is not his fault but our insurance agent wants us to file a claim against our own policy. He will not help us unless we do. So we are not sure how to proceed. He did go and get 2 repair estimates today. He also spoke with the person handling the insurance claims for the newspaper company. She was clueless because she had no paperwork on the accident yet. We will have the police report on Thursday. Any assistance will be appreciated. First and foremost I hope your husband is well and was not injured. Your insurance company is not able to act on your behalf unless you file the claim through them because they would not have any legal ground to demand any payments from the other insurer or the newspaper. As far as being in a "no fault state", that does not require you to file with your own company, that is a totally misunderstood statement, by no fault what it means is that no matter who is at fault the first party medical benefits are paid through your own policy first and this is only in case of injury by you or anyone in your vehicle that resides in your household, after the limit of medical on your policy is exhausted then the other parties bodily injury picks up the medical part until it is exhausted and finally any uninsured motorists bodily injury will be the last coverage available under your own policy for medical.If there is no injury you have the option of filing either through the other parties insurer or your own, and even in case of injury you can file for damages through the other carrier and first party medical through your own policy.If you file through your insurance company your claim will be handled quicker and you will have them representing you all the way while if you sit and wait for the other party to act you may be delayed while they conduct their investigation. Your insurance company will cover you even while investigating under the collision coverage of your policy because no matter whose fault it is that is the coverage that will pay under your policy less the deductible.After the claim is paid by your insurance company then they will demand repayment from the other parties insurance carrier in a process called subrogation or payment recovery in which they will include your deductible and any expenses you may have incurred because of the accident. In Subrogation there are no guarantees and it may take some time before your insurer recovers but once they do they will forward your deductible and expenses to you. Source(s): Licensed Adjuster and Agent file with your insurance ASAP. Because of the police report it will be in your record anyway. Many reasons for filing with your insurance. If you have comprehensive and uninsured motorist they can take the lead to get your car fixed. They will then pursue the newspaper insurance. If you don't have comprehensive and/or uninsured motorist they will keep the record of accident on file so you cannot file a claim later for the same damage. You have to file a claim with your insurance company, so that your insurance company can pursue their claim against the newpaper truck's insurance company. If your insurance company doesn't have a written claim, they cannot proceed, because they wouldn't have any information about the accident. If you go through your policy then you can get your car fixed immediately. If you wait for the other insurance company it could take several weeks. They will need to complete a liability investigation. The police report is irrelevant in a liability investigation as the police officers were not witnesses to the accident. It is also possible they will find some negligence on your husband, I can't say for sure but comparative negligence occurs in a lot of accidents even when people feel they have no liability. It is your responsibility to mitigate your damages. This means you can not sit in a rental car or leave car in tow yard waiting for the other insurance company. You need to do what you can to minimize your loss. If you go through your policy the other insurance company will reimburse your policy once they complete liability. If you file with your insurance company, you can get your car repaired right away, and then your insurance company will go after the newspaper's insurance company for reimbursement. Depending on the state (whether the state is a no fault state), you may be able to file against the newspaper's insurance company, but that process may take longer. In any case, if the accident was not your husband's fault, and the police report state's that he was not at fault, your insurance rates should not go up. |
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