by sdchargersfan » Wed Jun 03, 2009 10:03 pm
Ok.....here's the 'deal'. Yesterday I was in a car accident. Someone had rear-ended me. Her hood and front of the car were smashed in. My back bumper was bent down. She had to have her car towed. I drove away. I called her Insurance Co and told them what happened. Her Insurance Co. told me if "their insured doesnot file a claim, there is nothing they can do." Is this true? Since SHE rear-ended ME, isn't the accident automatically HER fault? I thought it was in the state of PA.
Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:38 pm Post Subject:
( I don't get it,..why do they need to do that when I told Progressive I have a police report?)
your paying your carrier a lot of money each year for insurance. If you were in the accident would you want them to not call you for your side of the story and just go by what was on the police report? That would also not be acting in good faith toward the insured.Police reports are not liability reports. They are the _officers_ account of what he/she understood about the accident. Also, they are many times incomplete and sometimes incorrect. Would it be wise for an adjuster to use a short paragraph that the police officer wrote that the officer obtained when speaking to the drivers when the adjuster could speak directly to the drivers themselves?
Lastly, the officer is not really investigating liability as it applies to state laws. They are investigaging to determine to determine if any laws were broken, what actions need to be taken based on those actions and because it's part of their jobs to make a public record of certain traffic accidents.
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 01:07 am Post Subject: insurance
Well.........Progressive DID call me back today. She ( the Rep on the phone..) said she had talked to the "insured" and the OTHER driver told her the same story that I told to Progressive, when I called in the claim. However....the Rep, on the phone said they needed to talk to the insured because..there was no cliam filed before I called. Anyway...........the Rep said they had "their own 'garages'", etc. i told them I have my own mechanic, and so forth. They ALSO said an Adjuster would come out to my home if I needed him to. I would like to get an estimate from MY mechanic, too. I told the Rep this, as well. Should I have the Adjuster meet me at the garage of MY choosing and look over my damages with my mechanic there as well?
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 09:00 am Post Subject:
Hi Lori and Tcope, I've come to know from reading your posts that the adjuster's would have the last word in the claim process and they might at times chose to ignore the police report entirely, which makes me wonder what importance the police report would have in a claim?
The police are the people to reach at the scene first; they have the first hand information from the parties involved. Can it be ignored completely?
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:12 am Post Subject:
what importance the police report would have in a claim?
The names and addresses are usually correct.. :wink:
The police are the people to reach at the scene first; they have the first hand information from the parties involved. Can it be ignored completely
NO of course not, and we are in no means discounting the police report, BUT what the police report typcially says is a one sentence quote from the people involved re: their perception of the accident...'if' and that's a big big 'if' the officer drew a detailed diagram with the vehicles STILL in place. That diagram is extremely helpful in a claim investigation. But here's the thing...let's say it's a ''green'' light question (both drivers claim the green light)...One car had two people in it the other car had the driver only...the police report, and many times the officer, will take those 'witnesses' that were in one of the cars word for the color of the light. Are they independent witnesses? (witnesses with nothing to gain or lose?) of course not...Police reports (as Todd said) look to determine if a law has been broken in their opinion. NOT necessarily where negligence/liability lie in an accient...they don't have time for one thing...I would say that 85% of the time you can determine negligence, or the degree of, by scene investigations, statements, and physical damage. The cop asks the people 'what happen' and writes something like, ''I was driving, and all of a sudden I got hit"...you see what I mean? There are alot of questions that need to be asked.Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:45 am Post Subject:
However....the Rep, on the phone said they needed to talk to the insured because..there was no cliam filed before I called
EXACTLY, they have to talk to their insured prior to extending coverage to you..They ALSO said an Adjuster would come out to my home if I needed him to. I would like to get an estimate from MY mechanic, too. I told the Rep this, as well. .
You can do whatever you want, but they are going to write their own estimate, and pay you based on that estimate. After it's under repair if the shop finds additional damage they will call the adjuster, they will come back out and handle it with the shop. If you want to set up the appt to see if they can meet you at the shop to write the estimate that's fine, but they probably won't be able to meet you there at a set time and date, maybe they can...but you need to call them asap, as it sounds like they've already got it set up to come to your house (or work) to write their estimate. You said it's just that your bumper is down, depending on the vehicle (car or truck) they may or may not be able to see all the damage...without tear down...again, if they can't your shop should know to call them PRIOR to beginning repair if they find additional damage, once tear down has been completed (usually when you have left vehicle at shop for repair)Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 01:11 pm Post Subject: insurance
MMmmm.......well, if the Adjuster DOES look at the damages, and my mechanic finds MORE damages than the Adjuster, would the Adjuster 'adjust' whatever he/she found? I hope I'm explaining my question clearly.
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 02:31 pm Post Subject:
well, if the Adjuster DOES look at the damages, and my mechanic finds MORE damages than the Adjuster, would the Adjuster 'adjust' whatever he/she found
Correct. Sometimes when I write up the damages on a vehicle the person wants to be there. If they want, that is fine... but I always tell them that they'd just be watching me look at the damage. I explain the them that it's up to the shop to address all of the damage. If I don't have something written down, the shop will let me know. Also, I may not write down everything as I'm not going to guess at some of the possible damage.Carriers and people who inspect vehicles are different. When I look at a vehicle I'm trying to write up as much as I can in order to "monitor" some of the repair times and parts being used (if appropriate and available, I will write up LKQ/salvage parts or perhaps even OE surplus parts). This can save a lot of money. Supplements that the shop turns in are usually going to be pretty small.
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 03:33 pm Post Subject:
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Part of sdchargersfan's:
...........the Rep said they had "their own 'garages'", etc. i told them I have my own mechanic, and so forth. They ALSO said an Adjuster would come out to my home if I needed him to. I would like to get an estimate from MY mechanic, too. I told the Rep this, as well. Should I have the Adjuster meet me at the garage of MY choosing and look over my damages with my mechanic there as well?
Yes.......! That's an excellent idea.
I would also suggest that you talk to your mechanic about disassembling the damaged area of your car before the adjuster arrives so that ""ALL"" the damage can be inspected & included in the First Estimate. This could save you & your mechanic the frustration of dealing with waiting for an Adjuster to return for a second estimate, then waiting even longer for the final Check to be approved, written, & Received by you.
Oh. I almost forgot, it would be nice of you or your mechanic to take a few "Courtesy" pictures for the adjuster before he disassembles the damaged area.
One more point... its my understanding that you being a third party clement, are not Legally bound by the terms of anyone's Insurance Policy. Unless... you are talked into filing the claim with your insurer first and letting them handle the claim for you. (which would be limited by the terms of your insurance contract.)
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:08 am Post Subject:
No FD I think she's using the other guys policy...SD don't forget they owe you a rental while your vehicle is in the shop under repair.
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:32 am Post Subject:
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Hi Lori,
Two things....
One, its FK not FD. :)
Two,
One more point... its my understanding that you being a third party clement, are not Legally bound by the terms of anyone's Insurance Policy. Unless... you are talked into filing the claim with your insurer first and letting them handle the claim for you. (which would be limited by the terms of your insurance contract.)
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