Special Investigations and Rental Car Being Denied

I got insurance with Geico in orange county California. My car is a 2003 Nissan Altima. I've had their insurance for 3 months. I parked my car on the street, when I got back the whole front bumper was gone and a small part of the hood was sheared off, like if someone grabbed the hood and ripped it with their hands.

My guess is that it was a big truck that backed into my car, got stuck in the hood and just drove off. maybe a drunk driver. Nobody saw anything , so I have to use my insurance. I took my car the same day I found out about the damage, the engine had some weird sound that I think happened due to the damage. they sent me to special investigations when I filed the claim because there are inconsistencies like rust, part of the hood being ripped off and only having insurance with them 3 months, they didn't even mentioned the mechanical problems. I live extremely close to beach so as far as know that would cause the rust.

The accident happened between Wednesday night and Thursday day and the car was not inspected until sometime Monday. is that enough time to get rust?

Would they fix the mechanical problems? also 3 years ago someone hit me on the drivers side, it wasnt my fault and the car was repaired, but they are saying that the hood damage happened during that accident 3 years ago and that I didn't get it fixed. Should I tried to contact the repair shop and ask for pictures and a report that the car was completely fixed?

also I got a rental car the insurance company gave me, but because I was sent to special investigations they told me they weren't gonna pay for the rental and asked me to return it or pay it myself, and if the claim is accepted they will reimburse me. Can they do that? or what can I do to get them to pay for the rental car?

I need a car to go to work and move around. Today they told me they need to send a forensic investigator to asses the damage, which sounds excessive. i need help, is there anything i can do to make them pay for the damages? if the forensic investigator says they shouldn't pay for the damage, can i do anything about it?

After all he is getting paid by the insurance company so he is biased and might get more work if he sides with them. Is there a non-profit organization that i could call that could help me fight the claim? is there any paperwork i should have handy? thank you very much for the help


Answer to Special Investigations and Rental Car Being Denied


Hello there, we are sorry for the delay, we have been updated our site and just now had the opportunity to resume answering questions. Your question was left in the queue and just now we can look at it. By now, you probably sorted it out with the carrier, but here are our thoughts.

First... now. that is not enough time to rust. Rust takes time and even a week is probably too little. You do have an argument regarding how close you live to the beach.

Regarding the rental, if there is a claim, and you have the coverage, they have to pay for it. The best case scenario is for you to contact the old bodyshop and show that the damages were in fact repaired.

Also, even with rust, you did not rip off the bumper. Rust does not do that. That is a covered claim so they have to pay for it and the time the claim is being investigated is part of your rental coverage so they must pay for that too.

Can the examiner / expert say the claim is not related and then the insurance company deny the claim? Yes. However, look at what the expert says. Just because your damage was cause, in part, by rust, it does not mean that the damage (someone hitting you) did not happen.

We are not sure about non profits but the department of insurance should help you with this. Contact them and file a formal complaint.

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