by Guest » Sun Mar 08, 2009 08:38 pm
My daughter had an accident, her fault. It was minor and at the time, both parties said that there were no injuries. We filed a claim and our car is being repaired. A few days after the accident, the other driver filed a lawsuit with our insurance company rather than a claim, asking for medical, lost wages, pain and suffering (he was driving a delivery car rather than his own vehicle).
We would like to switch to another company before or when the policy expires, but we have been unable to get some answers from them about doing this. They say that the attorney for the other driver is dragging his feet in turning over requested documents and thus the claim might stay open for months.
1. If the lawsuit is still ongoing when the policy ends, can the insurance company hike our rates, effectively making us prisoners of them until it's over? -- We don't know if we can afford their new rates if they are too high and I have been warned by friends that our rates will double.
2. What if we sell the car, does that cancel the policy? -- the agent with the company it doesn't as our state requires even non-drivers to carry insurance, something I hadn't heard of.
3. How can we leave this company for another after they have finished with our portion of the claim. An independant agent said something about doing this, but our insurance company hedges when I ask.
Thank you.
We would like to switch to another company before or when the policy expires, but we have been unable to get some answers from them about doing this. They say that the attorney for the other driver is dragging his feet in turning over requested documents and thus the claim might stay open for months.
1. If the lawsuit is still ongoing when the policy ends, can the insurance company hike our rates, effectively making us prisoners of them until it's over? -- We don't know if we can afford their new rates if they are too high and I have been warned by friends that our rates will double.
2. What if we sell the car, does that cancel the policy? -- the agent with the company it doesn't as our state requires even non-drivers to carry insurance, something I hadn't heard of.
3. How can we leave this company for another after they have finished with our portion of the claim. An independant agent said something about doing this, but our insurance company hedges when I ask.
Thank you.
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 08:55 pm Post Subject:
Guest,
These are good questions.
1. Most likely your rates will go up when the policy comes up for renewal, regardless of whether the lawsuit is still ongoing. Companies use formulas for calculating rates, and there is no judgement or discretionary factor applied. Most companies' formulas raise the rates somewhere between 20%-50% when you have an accident. Doubling is unlikely, but I can't say that it is impossible.
2. I will leave this question to your local agent, since I do not know what state you are in or the laws of that state.
3. Legally, you can change to another company at any time. The old company has to pay the claim because your policy was in effect at the time of the accident. They cannot refuse to pay it because you canceled your policy after the date of the accident; nor can they demand that your new company take over. However, I am interested in hearing the viewpoint of the claims people on the board as to whether it would affect their thinking in some suble way if they knew a policy was already canceled. It shouldn't, but I am curious about how they would view it.
However, keep in mind that even if you switch companies, the new company will charge you for having an accident on your record.
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 09:22 pm Post Subject:
Last week, I went to an independant agent and got quotes for new policies as I suspect they will either cancel the current policy or raise the rates. 20% I can handle, 50% -- no way.
While at the agent's office, I overheard another agent on the phone explaining to another client that they couldn't write a new policy for him as there was an open claim on the current one, hence my questions. My agent suggested something...subbrogation?...where, when our part of the claim is over, we can move on while the company takes care of the claim for the other driver, but when I contacted Safeco about this, they said that this was an open claim until they closed it. Period. Their handling of claims is another reason to want to leave.
As for our state, Texas, requiring everyone to have insurance whether they own a car or not, this is not true. All vehicles must be insured and anyone who drives the vehicle must be on a policy, but there are plenty of people who don't own vehicles and have no insurance and it isn't a problem. If we sell the car, we are no longer responsible for it's insurance, the new owner is so I'm not sure where Safeco is going with this unless it's a threat of some sort.
If we can legally change any time, then...what was with the agent talking to the other client? The agent was standing in the aisle next to the cubicle where I was seated, talking on a bluetooth device; we all had no choice, but to overhear, but now I have to assume there was more to his case.
Our part of the claim will be taken care of by the end of next week when I get my car back. If the attorney for the other driver is dragging his feet, that isn't our problem, what you are saying is that it is Safeco's problem and their responsibility whether we are still around or not.
I know it will be a factor and have been upfront to the agent about the accident, as well as a prior no-fault accident for me in '04. So far, my dd's accident isn't in the state's records yet and won't be until late May (her turn-in-the-defensive-driving-paperwork court date), but the agent noted it when getting me quotes.
Thanks for the help.
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