Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:05 pm Post subject: What is the deadline to file a claim for damage to my vehicl
What is the deadline to file a claim for damage to my vehicle when the responsible party requests to see the estimates first so he can decide whether to pay out of pocket then seems to be stalling? He is 88 and dying with cancer. I want to be sensitive to his situation but not miss a deadline either.
Filing a liability claim against the other person's insurance policy is limited by the statute of limitations in your state. This can be anywhere from a year to about 4 or 6 years.
I see no-harm if the responsible driver wants to pay for the damages out-of-pocket. You can wait for sometime before turning the claim to his insurer. Between take photographs of the damages sustained by the car and also get the repair cost evaluated by a body shop, so that if he decides to turn the case to his insurer later, you'll have the documents with you to estimate the cost of the impact. Good luck!! _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
Hey, you can atleast ask him to keep his insurer informed and take all the information needed from him, like- the name of his insurer, contact details etc. so that you don't face problems in proceeding with the claim in future. Many a time it may happen that the driver accepts the responsibility at the spot of accident, but denies the incident out-right later on. Hence, for your safety keep all the necessary information available with you.
however, IMO it may not harm you to have little patience and let him decide whether or not he wants to pay for the damages himself. _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
How soon you report it depends on your contract with the insurer and any legislation in your state. In Ontario an accident must be reported to the insurer within 7 days (I just read the Ontario Auto Insurance Policy Statutory conditions to check). I have seen cases where the insured called his insurer to document the situation but the insurer allowed the other party time to pay rather than having the insured submit a claim.
I hope that made sense? _________________ I am an insurance broker from Ontario licensed for all types of insurance.
