Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Insurance question -- need opinions

Moonduck · 09-13-2004, 09:25 PM

It depends on your locale. The advice I'm about to give is based off the insurance regs for my area (and many of the surrounding states). Take what I say with a grain of salt.

Your insurance company is not trying to screw you over, obviously. If they were, you could sue them for Bad Faith and rake in stupid money. they are trying to settle the claim in line with your policy. The other insurance company is not trying to screw you for similar reasons. They are try to settle the claim based on your locale's law and statutes. Faulty Equipment is thin though, and not normally done unless the cop ont he scene declares it Faulty Equipment.

Equipment failure happens. If it truly is equipment failure, it is not the fault of the other driver, unless it can be empirically shown that he did something to cause said failure (ie messed with his vehicle in a blatantly stupid fashion). In most states, you cannot prove equipment failure unless the court agrees. The only way the court will agree is if it is obviously equipment failure, and, more importantly, if proper evidence handling procedures are followed. In other words, that the other guy has no contact with the vehicle, and no one works on it until the investigation can take place to determine failure or not. If the other guy drove his vehicle home, or had it towed to his house, he's screwed. I say this because I did have a brake failure a few years ago, blatant one what spewed brake fluid all over the bottom of my truck. But because I had it towed to my home to fix myself, chain of evidence was broken and they could not accept any evidence I provided.

Now, going off the regs that we use in Virginia, if someone else hits your car, and the accident is demonstrably not your fault at all but either they have no insurance or their insurance denies coverage, you will go under your own policy with some modifications. In Virginia (and many other states), Uninsured Motorist Insurance kicks in. It is a seperate coverage just for situations like this. Your carrier will pay for the damages, rental, injuries, etc just as they would in a normal hit as if you were a third party claimant. They will then try to go against the other carrier in subrogation to obtain the monies paid out. Your insurance company is on your side by contract law.

Now I am usually the first person to tell people NOT to get an attorney. The car repairs/total-loss are almost never negotiable by an attorney, and, in most cases, a person's injuries are not severe enough to warrant an attorney. Also the fees the attorney will charge will usually eat up whatever extra they manage to get in settlement over what a competent individual can get if they handle things intelligently. In this case, you may wish to retain an attorney though. While your carrier is going to fight out the liability side in arbitration, an attorney can beat up the 3rd party carrier civilly. The problem with this is that the attonrey will take their 30% even if all they do is negotiate liability.

Basically your best bet is to figure out what happened to the other guy's vehicle, and to get a police report. If it shows the ticket as Faulty/Improper Equipment, you're in trouble. If it shows Improper Driving, Failure to Yield Right of Way, etc, you're in better shape. You also want to talk to your insurance rep and have them explain in detail what the process is from here, and what the chances of arbitration succeding would be (or however your state handles it).

Too many people have a knee-jerk assumption that the insurance company is trying to screw them, when, in reality, they've not read thier own policy and have no idea whatsoever what their state laws are regarding liability, etc. The knee-jerk advice is "get an attorney!', when the actual advice should be to examine your situation and see if the 30% the attorney is going to shave will be worth spending.

I wish you luck in getting your claim resolved.

09-13-2004, 09:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
Moonduck Junkie Location: SE USA	It depends on your locale. The advice I'm about to give is based off the insurance regs for my area (and many of the surrounding states). Take what I say with a grain of salt. Your insurance company is not trying to screw you over, obviously. If they were, you could sue them for Bad Faith and rake in stupid money. they are trying to settle the claim in line with your policy. The other insurance company is not trying to screw you for similar reasons. They are try to settle the claim based on your locale's law and statutes. Faulty Equipment is thin though, and not normally done unless the cop ont he scene declares it Faulty Equipment. Equipment failure happens. If it truly is equipment failure, it is not the fault of the other driver, unless it can be empirically shown that he did something to cause said failure (ie messed with his vehicle in a blatantly stupid fashion). In most states, you cannot prove equipment failure unless the court agrees. The only way the court will agree is if it is obviously equipment failure, and, more importantly, if proper evidence handling procedures are followed. In other words, that the other guy has no contact with the vehicle, and no one works on it until the investigation can take place to determine failure or not. If the other guy drove his vehicle home, or had it towed to his house, he's screwed. I say this because I did have a brake failure a few years ago, blatant one what spewed brake fluid all over the bottom of my truck. But because I had it towed to my home to fix myself, chain of evidence was broken and they could not accept any evidence I provided. Now, going off the regs that we use in Virginia, if someone else hits your car, and the accident is demonstrably not your fault at all but either they have no insurance or their insurance denies coverage, you will go under your own policy with some modifications. In Virginia (and many other states), Uninsured Motorist Insurance kicks in. It is a seperate coverage just for situations like this. Your carrier will pay for the damages, rental, injuries, etc just as they would in a normal hit as if you were a third party claimant. They will then try to go against the other carrier in subrogation to obtain the monies paid out. Your insurance company is on your side by contract law. Now I am usually the first person to tell people NOT to get an attorney. The car repairs/total-loss are almost never negotiable by an attorney, and, in most cases, a person's injuries are not severe enough to warrant an attorney. Also the fees the attorney will charge will usually eat up whatever extra they manage to get in settlement over what a competent individual can get if they handle things intelligently. In this case, you may wish to retain an attorney though. While your carrier is going to fight out the liability side in arbitration, an attorney can beat up the 3rd party carrier civilly. The problem with this is that the attonrey will take their 30% even if all they do is negotiate liability. Basically your best bet is to figure out what happened to the other guy's vehicle, and to get a police report. If it shows the ticket as Faulty/Improper Equipment, you're in trouble. If it shows Improper Driving, Failure to Yield Right of Way, etc, you're in better shape. You also want to talk to your insurance rep and have them explain in detail what the process is from here, and what the chances of arbitration succeding would be (or however your state handles it). Too many people have a knee-jerk assumption that the insurance company is trying to screw them, when, in reality, they've not read thier own policy and have no idea whatsoever what their state laws are regarding liability, etc. The knee-jerk advice is "get an attorney!', when the actual advice should be to examine your situation and see if the 30% the attorney is going to shave will be worth spending. I wish you luck in getting your claim resolved.