I was hit by another driver but do not want to file a claim

by Eric

I was hit by another driver. To me it seems pretty clear that fault lies with the other driver, I was hit in the back left side of my truck, behind the left rear wheel. We both have the same insurance company.

They have already issued me a check but it is a claim on my policy.

Why do I have to file a claim against my insurance for an accident that I did not cause? If she had a different insurance company, I never would have even bothered calling my insurance other than to inform them that an accident occurred.

I did make it clear several times that I did not expect this to be handled as a claim against my policy. Basically, I don't want a claim against my insurance.

The insurance adjuster states that she doesn't know what to do other than have a supervisor call me. I contacted my local agent, they state they don't know what to do either. So what do I do? Just roll over and take a claim on my policy?

Answer:


Nope. You need to argue this. You will be penalized on your rates one way or another. As you stated, you should not have this against your policy if you do not have any fault on this accident.

Couple of things you need to do. First get an insurance quote from a broker which will give you quotes from different carriers. This way you know where you stand and you know if you rates were already affected. You can do this by going on line or by going to

http://www.auto-accident-blog.com/go/auto-insurance-quotes.php.

They will give you several quotes from different carriers. If the rates are close to what you have, then the claim will probably quoted correctly (not affecting you), but if the rates are increasing, then you need to find out why.

Remember, even if your insurance company tells you that there is no effect on your rates, this only applies to “rates with them” and not other insurance companies. If you ever want to change or go elsewhere, the claim might have an impact on your rates then. It is better to find out now than to wait and have them jack up your prices.

The second thing you want to do is get to the bottom of why they file a claim on your own policy. There must be a reason. Usually, insurance companies deal with clear cut fault scenarios the way you wanted them to. Is any one accusing you of any fault on this? Have the conclusively say “you are 0% at fault or the other party is 100% at fault?

I do not like the fact that you have to talk to a supervisor, why is that? What is it that they cannot tell you? Is the other party not answering?

This happens all the time, when the other party does not answer the phone or is not on the ball, then the insurance company must file against their own policy (assuming this is a dual policy holder claim).

If they cannot give you an answer, contact the office of the insurance commissioner (or department of insurance) and file a formal complaint against them.

This will get them moving, but only do that after doing the other things above.

I hope this helps,
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com