Can this be right?

Question

A girl hit me in traffic- doing major damage to my car. I have put a claim into her insurance company and have left her numerous messages to do the same. (she has hung up on me and is avoiding my calls) Her insurance company (All State) says they will not do a d**n thing until they speak with her. Why won't they help me out? The police gave her citations for the accident. My insurance has already processed a claim- but if I go thru them I am out my deductible and it will go on my record. I won't get reimbursed till All State pays them back. BUT- until this girl calls them- they won't do anything. HELP!!?!?!? WHAT CAN I DO!??? Why is the law on the side of the person who caused the accident? How can she get away with not turning this into her insurance? It is frustrating b/c I am on the losing end of this and I did nothing wrong.

Answer 1

you HAVE done what you need to do and have done everything correctly.  let your company handle this for you, that's what you pay them for.  they already pay lawyers to go after her and her company so you don't have to.  yes, your deductible will apply to your claim and yes it will show on your record until they are done with subrogation.  when they DO settle it though, they will get your deductible paid back as well.  as long as you stay with the same company until this is settled, it should not affect your policy.  Be patient and stay in touch with your adjuster.  stop attempting to contact her and her company and let YOUR company deal with this.

Answer 2

Insurance companies do not like complaints filed through the state department of insurance, especially for stuff like this.  Every state has a department of insurance that regulates the industry.  Just do a search for "(Your state) Department of Insurance" and you should be able to find their website and how to file a complaint.  Before you file the complaint, you could let Allstate know you are in the process of doing so, which may get them off the fence.

Also see if you have any consumer advocates you can contact, like someone with a local TV or radio station, or one of the newspapers in your area.  Usually they love stories about how some big company is sticking it to an innocent person.

Answer 3

You are not their insured.  They have no duty of good faith towards you - only towards her.  The law applicable, is contract law.  The contract exists between her, and the company.  YOU are not party to HER contract with her insurance company.

Best bet is to go through YOUR insurance.  Eventually, most likely, your deductible WILL be reimbursed, IF the policy was in force at the time, AND she's an insured driver.

Ultimately, her insurance doesn't have to pay, until a judge says she's at fault.  So you DO have to sue her.

Answer 4

If your insurance company pays out then when you shop around for coverage in the future it will show up as an "at-fault" claim on your record.  I would keep calling Allstate everyday to check on the status of the claim.  Keep bugging the claims adjuster and they WILL track down their insured.  Make sure you tell the claims adjuster you want a rental car too!