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 Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 3:47 pm Post subject: I rear ended another car and did not report it to ins |
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| I honestly thought that the other driver would notify my insurance if they wanted to file a claim. There was no damage to her vehicle, but Geico says that she has hired a laywer and is suing for pain and suffering, and they will not cover me, because they were not notified until 250 days after the accident. They said that her insurance may cover her claim since they will not. We did call the pollice and get a police report at the time of the accident. What can I do? |
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chris11
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| Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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Call the adjuster and ask them where in the policy it states that you have less then 250 days to notify them of the claim. At _best_ they will tell you that it states you have the responsiblity to inform them of the claim promptly. If they do, ask them how notification changed anything 250 days later. If they cannot show that it changed anything (and it would not) then they should not be denying the claim for late reporting.
Have the issued you a written denial? If not, then they have not denied the claim. Perhaps they told you that they _may_ not cover the loss due to late reporting.
You can also tell them you saw no damage to the vehicle and no complaints if injuries at the time of the accident so you did not see where you needed to report anything.
None the less, they won't be able to deny you coverage for late reporting unless they can show that their rights were affected. Have they issued you a reservations of rights letter? They have 30 days to issue this from when they realize that there is problem with coverage. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, they have issued a written denial.
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chris111
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| Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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| What is the reason for the denial in the letter? Late reporting? If so, is the policy quote with a specific time or is a specific time frame mentioned? |
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tcope
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| Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 2:27 am Post subject: insurance |
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| I'm very curious, OP..why din't YOU report the accident to your OWN Insurance company? I understand it's now 'after the fact', but,..I'm just wondering if they ( the other Insurance company ) can 'get you' for some kind of fraud. I don't know if they actually can or not,..I'm just 'outting it out there'. Can someone 'enlighten' me of what CAN happen in a case like this? |
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sdchargersfan
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| Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 3:21 am Post subject: |
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| I'm not the OP but I can take a guess... the OP did not want to report it as there was no damage seen to either vehicle (I doubt that is true though). That is, why report an at fault accident if nothing will be paid. It's required in the policy to report all accidents but we live in the real world where that does not happen. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 6:08 am Post subject: |
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Hi Tcope, can the insurer impose a time limit for the insured to turn-in the claim?
Yeah, one is required to file the claim at his earliest to help the adjusters get the facts correctly and any delay in doing so would make their job hard. But I'm not aware of any time limit though.
Also, I wonder, why the other driver didn't contact the OP's insurer all this time? |
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kelvin
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| Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 12:11 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Chris111,
It might well be that the other driver didn't report it since there was no apparent damage caused to his vehicle. Later on if any of his pains and sufferings are being identified as the effects of the accident, then I see no reason why he shouldn't pursue it. Again, I don't think I've ever come across any time-limit regarding filing such claims. That's why it becomes interesting for me to know what all are being mentioned in your denial letter. Would you care to share a bit?
Steven |
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steven
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| Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Hi Tcope, can the insurer impose a time limit for the insured to turn-in the claim? |
Not that I know of. I've never seen a policy that gives such a time limit for "late reporting". They usually state that the insured needs to report the accident "as soon as possible" but 1) if there is no damage, is there a "accident"? and 2) what is "as soon as possible"?. What the carrier would need to show is that the late report caused them some harm. Without this the clause (request to report as soon as possible) makes no difference. If the carrier cannot show that they were harmed in any way by the late report then that stipulation in the policy does not apply. Also, it's not as simple as the carrier say if they knew about it the person would not have obtained an attorney or the claim would have been less. Their burden of showing they were harmed is _much_ greater then just an assumption. In about every case, a denial for late reporting is just not going to hold up in court. The insured also then takes on the _huge_ risk of a Bad Faith claim. In the OP's case what the injured person's attorney should do is either refer the OP to a Bad Faith attorney now (so that the injured parties attorney can collect from the OP's carrier and throw a few bucks to the Bad Faith attorney) or file suit against the OP, win, and then refer the OP to a Bad Faith attorney to pursue a Bad Faith claim against the OP's carrier (the Bad Faith attorney then takes a percentage of the Bad Faith settlement).
Really what I'm saying is if the carrier denied the claim for late reporting they are really making a bad decision.
If the OP wants to post _ exactly _ what the denial is for then I can post some more info. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Ask the reason of denial. |
The OP has stated that a written denial was already sent out. This contains the information as to why it was denied.
| Quote: | | r u waiting for some miracle to happen? |
The claim has already been reported... so the OP is not "waiting" for anything. The OP wanted to know what he/she could do as the claim has been denied. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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This is the letter they sent:
We acknowledge receipt of a claim concerning an automobile accident which occurred on July, 31 2008. The Geico General Insurance Company hereby disclaims any and all liability or obligation to you and to others under policy #.........
The disclaimer is made because according to the A-$ (10-96) Family Automobile Insurance Policy it states:
SECTION I-Liability Coverages
Conditions
The following conditions apply to Section I:
1. Notice
As soon as possible after an occurrence, written notice must be given us or our authorized agent stating:
(a) the identity of the insured;
(b) the time, place and details of the occurrence;
(c) the names and addresses of the injured, and of and witnesses; and
(d)the names of the owners and the description and location of any damaged property.
Geico's first notice of this loss was on April 7, 2009, when the attorney representing Ms. X reported this claim. This report was 250 days after the loss occurred. Due to your failure to promptly notify us of this loss, the Geico General Ins Co will take no further action with respect to any claim which you might have against us, or with respect to any claim or suit which has arisen, or may arise, out of said accident and hereby withdraws from the matter entirely.
Should you wish to take this matter up with the NYS Ins Dept, you may file with the Dept either on it's website at ins.state.ny.us/complhow or you may write to or visit the Consumer Services Bureau, NYS Ins Dept at: 25 Beaver St, NY 1004-2319; One Commerce plaza, Albany, NY 12257;........
They sent the same letter to the lawyer of the other party. But it says "when your office reported the claim", where mine says "when the attorney representing Ms. X reported this claim."
The other party said that her back hurt and called an ambulance. There was a small dent on the front of my car, but I did not plan on getting it fixed, and I didn’t. She was driving an SUV and there was no damage. She is not suing for any damage, bit for pain and suffering.
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Chris111
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| Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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Wait a second... | Quote: | | The other party said that her back hurt and called an ambulance. |
And you still found no need to notify your carrier?
Tcope, and others, I have seen claims denied for this, and rightfully so...she had a 'low impact' accident, and a big injury, she's compromised her companys ability to settle this claim (for her protection) before it got out of control...The damage (or lack there of) to her vehicle and the 'injured" parties vehicle is no longer 'fresh'...there has been all kinds of weather, and does the claimant even still have that car? or do you? other vehicles could've hit it at walmart in this amount of time...not to mention way to late to canvas the area for witnesses...that would back up the low impact..
We've went from no damage, to a little dent in the OP's bumper and an ambulance arriving at the scene to take the claimant away...
I'm with the carrier, sorry, but you most certainly compromised the claim...(IMO)
Your policy clearly states.. | Quote: | | As soon as possible after an occurrence |
clearly that wouldn't be 250 days in anyones book, especially (sorry got to say it again), an ambulance took her from the scene!
I'm afraid you'll be on your own...the injured party will now file a UM claim with their own carrier, once it's settled they (her carrier) will come to you for reimbursement.
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Lori
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| Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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I'm not with the carrier on this one. I can certainly see the reason why they issued a denial and I don't think I would blame them but I don't think they have a very good leg to stand on and are making a _huge_ mistake. Here is why... the reason that condition is on the policy is so the carrier is not penalized for the late report. That is, that the insurance companies liability is not compounded because of the late report. How has the OP's late report increased GEICO's exposure? Did the other person's injury become worse because of the late report? What would GEICO have done differently if they knew about the accident when it happened and would these actions have changed anything? Keep in mind that GEICO would need to show that the late report increased the damages in some way. They just can't propose the argument... they have to _show_ that it _did- increase. Otherwise they are just trying to use this as an excuse to get out of providing coverage and keeping the OP's payments.
Do I think GEICO can prove that they were harmed by the late report? I really doubt it... but its possible. But I say the OP should kick the ball back in GEICO's court and make them prove it! Unfortunately for the OP its probably going to take a Bad Faith claim against GEICO to do this. However, it could also amount to some money going to the OP as well as the other party.
Have I ever seen a claim being denied for this reason? Not that I can recall. I do have a commercial claim right now that is like this... but in that case its a 1st party claim and the policy states that the insured cannot being legal action against the insured 2 years after the date of loss. It's at an attorneys office right now to see if that condition will hold up in UT. Again, the OP's situation is different.
With the amount of damage to the other person's vehicle I can't see this claim costing GEICO much. They should just pay it and non-renew the OPs policy. A Bad Faith claim is going to cost them 4x as much to defend then this claim is going to cost.
| Quote: | | The other party said that her back hurt and called an ambulance. There was a small dent on the front of my car, but I did not plan on getting it fixed, and I didn’t. She was driving an SUV and there was no damage. She is not suing for any damage, bit for pain and suffering. |
Yeah... when someone is taken away from the accident location in an ambulance... it _might_ be a good idea to report the accident to your insurance company...  |
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tcope
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| Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 1:28 am Post subject: insurance |
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| Yeah...back pain isn't anything to 'play around' with. I know a few people who had gotten into accidents and hurt their backs, etc...and din't think it was THAT bad. Years later these people are STILL having trouble. I'm wondering ( if anyone can help me here) if the police can actually be DIRECTLY involved with this incident. I mean, someone WAS badly hurt but a claim wasn't made. Does the other driver have a right to have the OP arrested? I don't mean to sound 'negative', it just seems like the OP got a 'slap on the wrist' for this. |
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sdchargersfan
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| Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 3:28 am Post subject: |
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| There is no law that states a person has to report a claim to their carrier. |
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tcope
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