How does auto insurance work?

Question

I was in an accident that was my fault. I called my auto insurance company the same day to file a claim and report what happened. A few days later they call me asking for a statement, which they said was to determine liability. I told them I had already said everything that happened and asked if they could just get the police report. They said that getting the police report would take to long and they needed me to answer some questions.

Did I have to answer their questions at this point? Or should I just have told them to get the police report?

Also, the guy who I hit has a lawyer. Is that normal? Can he sue me or my insurance company for more damages?

Finally, this happened in a "fault state", do I have to tell anything to his insurance company who has been calling me also?

Answer 1

First of all if you have an accident you have a duty and obligation to cooperate with your insurance company.  So  yes, you need to secure a recorded statement.  This will preserve the facts of what happened.  A police report can take weeks to get in and it usually is from the perspective of the policeman who usually didn't witness the accident.  Not all accidents are considered 100% one's fault or the other.  Sometimes a driver may have contributed to the accident and therefore may only recover say 90% or 80% of their damages.

If the other driver has an attorney already it's more than likely due  to the fact that he is claiming an injury.  Most attorney's will not handle a claim where there is just property damages as there is no money in that.  Yes they can always sue you but most of the time they settle within your policy limits.

You do not specifically need to provide the other insurance company with a statement if your don't want to since you're at fault but they normally just want to verify everything that was told to them by their driver and make sure you are okay.  This is pretty customary.

Good luck