I was involved in a fender-bender early this month (I hit them), no one was injured, and both parties got our cars repaired through our respective insurance agencies (AAA: them, Allstate: me).
I just got a call from the person I hit, and he said his deductible was $1000 (mine was $100). I had far more damage to my vehicle. Anyway, he says he’d like me to pay his deductible, or he’d pursue this matter in court and sue me for it.
I asked for the number of his agent, but he declined, and just offered to fax me his repair bill.
Typically for us, when we’ve been involved in an accident that wasn’t our fault, our insurance would waive the deductible.
Is something fishy afoot here, and if not, what’s the best way to handle the matter? I’ll be calling my agent come Monday.
I don’t know about the technical legal ins and outs of this stuff, but I think you should call both your insurance company and HIS company as well. It seems to me that even though the accident may have been entirely your fault, him having a crazy high deductible is clearly not.
Besides, isn’t the point of “no-fault insurance” that it limits legal recourse? Sounds like an empty threat. OTOH I’m totally talking out of my ass right now so don’t take my word for it.
My reasoning exactly, but him stating his crazy-high deductible along with the threat to sue just baffled me. He wanted an answer from me, right then and there on whether or not I’d just write him a check for 1k. Several times. And when I probed for more information, the only thing he offered to do was fax me his repair bill, which isn’t the point of the matter at all.
I’m definitely going to get his agent information from him, and if he still declines, I know he’s trying to take me to the cleaners.
I don’t know about your state, but in California, the fact one or both parties to an auto accident has insurance is essentially irrelevant. The main questions are (1) who is at fault; and (2) what’s the damage? The negligent party is liable to the other party for the damage caused by the negligence regardless of whether insurance pays out a claim.
If the damages to Party A are $5,000, and the insurance company for Party A pays $4,000 in benefits and Party A pays a $1,000 deductible, and if Party B is 100% at fault, then Party B owes Party A the full $5,000.
The insurance company for Party A may assert a lien on the $5,000 recovered from Party B. If so, then the $5,000 recovered from Party B would be split up: Party A would get $1,000 of it while his insurance company would get $4,000.
If his insurance company does not assert a lien, then Party A gets to keep the $4,000 benefit paid out by his insurance carrier AND Party A gets to keep the full $5,000 recovered from Party B. FREE MONEY!
The fact that Party A has insurance has no bearing on how much is owed by Party B. The fact that Party A was wise enough to have insurance does not limit the liability of Party B. Party A and his insurance carrier are entitled to be made whole by Party B. The fact that Party A even has insurance is inadmissible in court.
If Party B also has insurance, then Party B might seek help from his own insurance carrier to sort it out.
I am not your attorney nor can I advise you about your particular case. Consult an attorney in your jurisdiction.
Good advice so far - and a quick side story.
My brother told me yesterday that a buddy of his (Mike) had a similar situation two weeks ago. Mike has a truck for business with lots of ladders and equipment in the back of the truck. He was backing out of a parking lot and heard a “crunch” and got out of the truck.
There was an Arab-looking gentleman, quite upset, speaking half English and half Arabic. It didn’t take long for Mike to realize why the guy was upset. Seems Mike had just backed into that guy’s brand new Bentley. One whole side of his car had a nice big dent and a few scratches.
Mike called his insurance agent and gave him the info - but didn’t mention what kind of car he had hit. My brother said Mike didn’t want to panic his insurance adjuster.
I jokingly said Mike should have offered to pay for the damage out of pocket…
Moral of my story - no matter what kind of car you hit, still better to let the insurance agents haggle it out.
In Michigan the at-fault driver is liable to the other party for up to $500. He could try to sue you for the rest, but the judge will toss it out if it makes it that far.
I’m not a lawyer, but I am from Michigan, and I’ve seen court reports tossing out cases over $400 (it’s been a while; that was the previous limit).
Because your policy also covers liability, your insurance company will probably pick this up. Talk to your agent. Then let the other guy know that you know the law, and that it’s up to the insurance companies at this point.
Yep, what B said. The max he can get is $500 and your insurance company pays that, if you were ticketed and not him. He chose to have a high deductible for reduced rates, then he pays a high deductible when shit happens.
Thanks all… I feel most prepared to deal with this guy now. I mean, I feel bad he’s got to pay so much for a mistake I made, but that’s why it’s important to get the right policy in MI.
Anyway, our agents will sort out the details. Big relief.
That makes me wonder, what insurance company does he have? I’ve never even heard of a $1000 deductible. My insurance company told me the maximum was either $500 or $550 (I don’t remember), but I didn’t ask if that was their policy (AAA) or a Michigan regulation.
I ran into the same situation about 8 years ago, and they had a $1000 deductible they wanted me to pay, too. No phone call, but I got a certified letter that read like a bill and my insurance company assured me it was a bogus money grab on their part.
They tried to sue, not real court we just had to appear before a magistrate, and he backed up everything my agent said. $500 max and sucks to be you if you’re carrying that kind of deductible. I don’t remember the name of their carrier, but apparently they are out there.
Since the accident was your fault. Your insurance should be paying to repair the damage to his vehicle. This is the same as “liability insurance” in most other states. The “no-fault insurance” did not cover the damage to your car. You must have collision coverage, that paid for the damage to your own car.
The other driver shouldn’t have to even worry about his $1,000 deductible. He should have gotten his vehicle repaired by going through your insurance company’s claim dept.
Years ago, driving in heavy snow, an oncoming driver drove his old beater truck into my lane (because it seemed better-plowed to him) and, when I swerved up onto the hilly shoulder to avoid him, I slid back down and clipped the tail of his truck with MY old beater car as I passed. Damage to each vehicle was cosmetic.
Although I technically struck him, it was 100% his fault. He wanted to exchange insurance info and leave WITHOUT waiting for the police to size up the accident, I utterly refused to give him insurance info without having someone verify the fact that the tire tracks indisputably showed he’d crossed into my lane and I’d tried to avoid him.
Eventually he insisted on leaving without waiting for the police, so I did at least give him my phone number. Later, his wife called me and openly proposed that we scam my insurance company and split the proceeds.
The other guy should not be out any money. The OP clearly said it was their fault. No fault insurance, doesn’t mean that “no one” is assessed blame in an accident. It has to do with tort limitations and suing for beyond normal claim amounts.
The guy the OP hit, should be able to recover his deductible from the OP’s insurance company (Allstate)…and the the guy’s insurance company (AAA) should be able to recover the remaining cost of the claim from Allstate as well.
Not sure about police reports in MI, but around here all the insurance info is part of the record. Get a copy of the report if you don’t already have one.
Something definately smells fishy, but that could just be the tuna sandwich I had for lunch.
So, my agent was totally cool about this. Basically said what Queen Tonya and others said: at most I might have to cover $500, but that probably won’t happen. He said to not take anymore calls from this guy, and let both party’s agencies handle it. He definitely agreed that this guy was pulling for some kind of money grab.
It was his choice to go with such a shitty policy from AAA. ::shrug::
So, for now, it looks like I’m in the clear. I’ll let you know if he does try to sue me for the other $500.
If this is really how no-fault insurance works, then I am really glad I don’t live in a no-fault state. It’s absolutely ridiculous that someone should have to pay a single penny out of pocket for an accident that the other party admits to being 100% responsible for. Because regular fault determination states would cover his deductible on a subrogration claim, no question.
I take insurance claims so I know a lot of the terminology and basics, but I don’t adjudicate them. So I’ve seen a lot of claim notes but I’m not perfectly familiar with any specific jurisdiction’s laws.
If he has to pay that deductible out of his pocket for damage you caused, and your insurance company is allowed to not cover it, that indicates a system that is flawed as hell. It doesn’t matter whether his deductible is high or not. You hit him!
Wow, so that answers my previous question. It was AAA that wouldn’t let me increase my $500 collision deductible, because that was supposedly the maximum deductible, even without a lien. It was a $1000 deductible I was after. In the end, I dropped my collision coverage, because my poor car was only worth about $6000 anyway (and less so now).
Of course I still maintain a full coverage on the SUV; maybe I’ll call about increasing the deductible, though. Except, I won’t try to be an idiot if I actually have to pay that.
