No, it wasn’t like that at all. And I didn’t do a brake check or drive without lights, or anything else illegal or irresponsible.
I’m not going to be more specific now, but the long and short of it is that if the other driver hadn’t been doing twice the speed limit, the accident wouldn’t have happened.
The cost to repair the car (according to the other insurance’s adjuster) is in the ballpark of $4,000. My deductible is $1,000. Obviously, I want to pay as little as possible, since I don’t feel I bear any responsibility for the accident. What I don’t know is how hard my insurance company would fight to recover my all of my deductible if I just hand it over to them rather than take the other company’s offer.
Can you say more about this? I have been waiting to hear from the other company, since my local agent implied that if I filed a claim with my company, it might take a long time to get reimbursed for the deductible. If they accept full liability, is there any reason not to accept their offer and not put in a claim with my insurance?
So when there’s an accident you have two options: file with your company or file with the other party’s.
The only time I ever recommend filing with the other party’s is if liability has been accepted and they’re a good company. Otherwise, file with your own.
Benefits to other company:
-You may not have the appropriate coverage.
-You can’t pay your deductible (if that’s the case you should lower your deductible. You’re just setting yourself up for failure)
-Your company sucks (then you should really switch).
Benefits to using your own:
-You just pay your deductible then move on with your life. Liability, arbitration, etc, doesn’t matter to you. Your car is fixed and let them handle it.
-Your company works for you. Complaints are taken a lot more seriously because you’re paying their bills.
Sorry, I should have been more clear there. Do not discuss the particulars of the accident with them. You are not obliged to give them any information.
If they contact you after their adjuster has investigated, to settle the claim, accept full responsibility, etc… that’s fine but read the small print to make sure there’s no catch.
The job of all of the insurance companies is to keep their client from getting sued (the duty to defend is greater than the duty to indemnify). That means paying out on their behalf if they’re at-fault.
This is what would happen if the claimant (the person in the accident with my insurance) flat out refused to speak with me:
“Hi, this is Randmcnally calling about an accident that was reported to us. Oh, you won’t tell me what happened? That’s perfectly fine, just let me know your claims adjuster’s information and I’ll ahead and speak with them. Once our liability decision is determined I’ll go ahead and mail you a letter with our decision.”
Not speaking with the other insurance is perfectly fine, but then the other insurance company is only getting their insured’s side of the story and, if you’re wanting them to take care of things as fast as possible, you’re going to be disappointed.
As for your own insurance company, you need to talk to them. I’m assuming there’s something in your policy that says you have a duty to cooperate with reasonable requests. I had an insured who refused to give me a recorded statement about the loss (something sounded fishy about the way it was reported.
“You’re refusing to give me a recorded statement? Well, in your policy you have a duty to cooperate so I’ll go ahead and close this claim out and send you a letter confirming that you don’t want to pursue the claim. Oh, you’ve changed your mind? That’s great, I’ll go ahead and start the recording.”