After a car accident, do the insurers actually make much effort to determine who is to blame?

Question

We spend hours filling forms detailing the minute details of accidents. However, insurance companies seem to routinely settle knock-for-knock in most cases. Does it cost too much to get into legal wrangles, or do they just not care enough to argue over blame?

Answer 1

Yes we do.

We speak to the drivers -- sometimes take recorded interviews. Review the police report. Inspect and photo the cars involved. Interview witness. Secure scene photos when needed. Talk to the investigating officer when needed.

The amount of investigation done depends on the severity of the accident.

As far as legal wrangles go.....money is a consideration.  We are not going to spend $20,000 in court to recover $5,000.  We also consider the venue and jurisdiction where the case would be heard. And sometimes, we consider the attorney we are up against. If he's the big fish in the small pond...and the local judge used to be his law partner.....we are going to make sure to have a very strong case before going to trial on that one.

Many insurance companies are members of an arbitration forum. This is a much cheaper - faster way to resolve liability disputes between two insurers. It's not perfect and I don't always agree with the decision of the panel, but it's a great way to resolve some of the smaller claims.

Answer 2

It is usually in everyone's best interest to settle. But the more expensive the claim and damages are, the more in-depth research is done.

Answer 3

Yes, they do. So those people that try to make fraudulent claims can be brought to justice (Criminal offence)

Answer 4

insurance companies won't sweat the small stuff, cause it goes back & forth.

[note to stuart:  where I live and in lots of big cities, the police don't respond to every fender bender, in fact most wrecks never get a police report.]

[note to k.f. yup you're right, it's always assumed that if you hit the car ahead of you, it's your fault.  Seems like people think that you should allow enough distance to react and stop when cars ahead of you stop.  Just doesn't seem fair.]

Answer 5

Try to have as much information as you could perhaps is one of the options,however it is labor consuming,here is the place i have ever had good experience with.http://car-insurance.easyideas4u.info/ca...

Answer 6

No they do not make much effort, they read the quite often conflicting reports and go for the middle ground. I deal with accidents at our company, blatant disregard for the Highway code is cited in Court proceedings but seems as if it does not have any bearing with the Insurance company.

Answer 7

When my boyfriend got into an accident, in which this lady just stops short right in front of him, it seemed nobody gave him any information and they just automatically assumed it was his fault because he hit her!

Answer 8

Who is at fault is way, way over rated.  If one insurance company or the other will pay, who is at fault doesn't make as much difference to the insurance companies as most people think.  They may pay on "this one" and not have to pay on the next one.  It all averages out

Answer 9

Paul has it spot on - it seems they couldn't give a t0ss about reading all the forms and description and drawings you send to them - they just send you a higher insurance premium at the end of the year!

Answer 10

Honestly, half the answers in this question are related to America and have no bearing to the UK legal system. Please stop posting if you are in the US.

Unless it's a clear "fault" accident, i.e you hit someone in the rear, or you hit a parked car, then yes, your insurance company will do all they can to find out who is at fault.

The main reason for this is MONEY. Your insurance company, if it can, will do all possible to get out of paying the third party if there is the slightest bit of evidence that you might not be 100% at fault.

They will get your version of events, then the third party's. If you have witnesses, they will contact them and ask for a statement.

However, if it's simply one driver's word against the other then it is a stalemate and both parties will agree to deal on a 50/50 basis whereby they pay 50% of each other's costs. So if it costs £1000 to fix your car, the other guys insurers will reimburse your insurers  ÃƒÂ‚£500.

It is VERY rare that an insurer will get a police report, for 2 reasons.

1: They take anything up to 18 months to be made available depending on how serious the crash is.

2: The police NEVER hold anyone at fault in their reports. They merely state what happened, where and when.

The reason for this is that an insurance claim is a civil matter and any possible police action would be a criminal matter and the two NEVER get involved with each other.

Insurers sometimes send out loss adjusters to the scene to get photos of the road layout, lane markings etc. Again, whether they do this or not would depend on the seriousness of the accident or the cost of the damage involved.

Answer 11

You wrote: "...do the insurers actually make much effort to determine who is to blame?..."

The insurance company's adjusters have access to the police reports. They read the block marked "person at fault", and the determination is made.

-Stuart

Answer 12

After any vehicle accidents, the Insurers never bother about who is to blame. Theis assessors determine the quantum of damages only.

Answer 13

They would only try to settle on their (your) behalf if they thought it was worth it, cost is the major factor. These days I think the only thing they are bothered about is taking our money from us