A BIG MESS N I'M 100 % NOT-AT-FAULT N MY CAR'S BEEN TOTALED?

Question

Hi frends, please help me out on this, i'm in a big mess so confused.

I posted some days ago about my "parked" car which was hit by a mechanic when he was backing a VAN. I filed claim with his insurance company and they took more than expected time to investigate and all that. Two days ago, the claim adjuster told me that my car will be totaled but he told me that he wants to check if the mechanic was "AT WORK" when he was driving that "VAN -- A COMPANY VAN WHICH HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING ON I GUESS". Today I got the call from him telling that they were not the insurance company I have to deal with !!, ,, I have to deal with that repair shop's worker's insurance company..God I was so tensed !!! I went to the repair shop at once and the manager told me that there was no "work-order" or "ticket to work on" on that VAN,,,by the way he was called abt an hour ago by the adjuster (I gave the number 2 days ago !! n now he was calling??),,,, anyways, the manager left a voice mail on the adjuster's phone to tell that there was no work-order on that van........... so..... we had some talks and I have to wait till tuesday... i'm very very pissed off....

frends,,,wat shud i do??? my own insurance company is Progressive,,, shud i file a claim thru it ? or shud i notify them about the adjuster and give them the adjuster's contact numbers and the claim number..?? and also,,,the adjuster said my car was totaled ... so if i deal with the workers insurance,,,will my car be again investigated or the current claim records will be forwarded to them??.... and lastly,,, can you guys help me sort out which insurance shud i deal with??...( that mechanic's insurance : INFINITY AUTO INSURANCE ,,, or the repair shop's worker insurance,,, or file it again thru my insurance company "PROGRESSIVE")...????

please help me out frends,,, i'm in a big mess,,

Answer 1

Here's the easy way to handle this:  if you have collision coverage on your vehicle -- call Progressive and file the claim with them.

They will inspect your vehicle - write an estimate. If the car is a total loss they can settle that with you. If it's repairable - they can do that to.  it depends on the amount of the damage and the law in your state to determine if the car is a total. Your Progressive adjuster will be able to explain it.

Then Progressive will "Subrogate" back against the responsible insurance company.  If in doubt which one that is......they will just pursue subrogation against both. Once Progressive gets paid - they will forward your deductible onto you. (However, the subrogation process can take a while to work through. So, don't expect to get your deductible the next week.)

In the mean time - you have either gotten your car repaired and gotten on with your life or (if your car was a total) purchased a new car.

As far as which policy should pay-- we can't tell you. The language in each policy determines if that policy will apply.

In the end- one of those two should be responsible. it's just going to take a while to sort it out.

Hopefully you have collision coverage.

But if you don't - see what the man's personal insurance decides to do. If they step up and pay great!

If they don't -- instead the two companies are pointing the finger at the other--- call your States Insurance Department and file a complaint against both companies (the garage policy and the personal policy).  This may help as all insurance companies are licensed by each individual state through the insurance department (of that state).

The highest regulatory body for an insurance company is the state insurance department.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

If you have full coverage insurance thru progressive than file with your own insurance company and let them worry about getting the money back and dealing with the other carriers.

Answer 3

Assuming you have "comprehensive" coverage, your carrier can pay you for repairs or as a total loss as the circumstances fit. Then, Progressive can go after the correct party's insurance company in a process called "subrogation" to recover what it paid on your behalf.

As to IF the auto repair shop's carrier should respond, the fact that no repair order was written on the van is an issue but is not necessarily the last word. The determining factor will be whether the shop "accepted" or "received" the van for repairs, etc.. Once a shop accepts or receives a customer vehicle, than the shop's "Garagekeeper's" insurance carrier IS on the hook. If the shop's owner can establish that his employee was not operating the van for his shop's "financial benefit" then the actual employee/driver is personally liable to you. The critical piece of this legal puzzle is to determine under what "authority" the employee/driver was operating the van.

I urge you to report this matter to Progressive at once and give to them all your notes, phone numbers, and details of conversations you had with anyone about this case. Part of what you are paying for to Progressive is for them to bring professional and experienced folks in on your behalf. Let them work for you as they know the ropes, so to speak, and the technicalities involved.