Cannot find owner of truck used by hit and run driver

by Carrie

My car was hit by a drunk driver while parked in front of my house. The driver fled the scene but was later arrested. The truck he was driving did not belong to him, it belonged to "a friend". The part of the police crash report where insurance info should be is left blank.

I had PLPD on my car. Our insurance company will not pay for my car unless we find out who owned the truck and if it was insured. No one will help us. I have the VIN number, I have the crash report. I've tried calling the drunk driver, I got his mother who has no idea where he is, but she did know it was his friend's truck.

She didn't know any names or how to get a hold of anyone. The police said they cannot (or will not) help us. I cannot afford to hire a lawyer. The insurance company is making it our responsibility to find this guy. What do I do?


Answer:


Hello,

I think your insurance company is not talking responsibility for the claim. The claim investigation is up to them, not you. You pay them to investigate accidents and coverage (even if there is none). It is up to the insurance company to show that there is no coverage.

The way insurance works is this. You have the burden of showing that you had a loss (the car accident, with a police report), then the burden shifts to the insurance company to show that coverage does not exit (that this guy does have insurance). Again, it is their burden of showing that the policy does not apply, not yours.

It is possible that your insurance company will give you the run around here. The first thing you should do is get a quote for coverage.

Why? Because you want to make sure when they cover the loss, you will not get ding. The best way to ensure that this not happen is by getting a quote now (while the claim is pending) so if they raise your premium, you can tell them that you have better rates somewhere else, they will put your rates back to where they should be. A good place to get a quote is at: http://www.auto-accident-blog.com/go/auto-insurance-quotes.php

The next thing to do is to contact the office of insurance of your state and file a normal complaint. You file a claim and they have not conducted an investigation. THEY have to conduct an investigation, not you.

They are the claim adjusters not you. They will have to explain why the claim is not being covered. For a list of all states department of insurance, visit: http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/car-insurance-agent.html (the table on that page gives you a link to all 50 states Department of Insurance.

Usually, when you file a complaint, the insurance commissioner requires the insurance company to answer within 24 hours. This gets them moving.

One more note, if your insurance company is treating you like this when you need them most (a car accident), it is probably time to look into a better carrier.

Good Luck,
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com