Should I admit at-fault to my own insurance company

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 03:59 am Post Subject:

Yes, you are 100% at fault. Question... what would be a reason why the other person just decided to stop on the roadway? As there is none, it's doubtful that they just stopped for no reason. You either were not maintaining the proper distance given the weather/situation or were not paying close enough attention. Sorry, that is just the way it is.

If your carrier is giving you the choice of accept liability, they don't have a clue. It's not your choice to tell your carrier how to handle a claim. They would ask you what happen, obtain all the facts needed about the accident and make a liability determination (in this case, pay the claim). Perhaps they are not asking you if you would accept liability and there is some confusion. Again, any adjuster who had a clue would _never_ ask that question and wait on a response. I _have_ asked people if they felt they were responsible but that was only to make sure I understood everything. I still made the call at that time.

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 05:16 am Post Subject:

Why the other car stopped suddenly? without a clear indication at the reason, we can only make conjectures, which may not help in establishing your negligence. Does your state have the comparative negligence law? You are responsible for the accident, alright, but can try giving your version of the incident to your carrier. They may wish to delve little more into the matter before settling the claim.

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 05:50 am Post Subject:

Honesty is always the best policy. If you have caused the accident then you should come_to_the_fore and accept the responsibility. Obviously, it'll tint your claim record and may result in a premium hike at the next time.

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 09:43 am Post Subject:

Thank you for everyone's reply.

I will definitely accept it if it is my fault. I have Allstate auto insurance, their claim adjusters seems very aggressive, I called them and answered some of their questions, but I was really scared, because this never happened to me before, and they wanted to record my statement, should I let them record my statement or can I decline and just tell them what happened without been recorded?

If I am at fault, is there any other bad affects that I should be aware of other than a premium hike at the next time? and does anyone know how much the premium usually hikes?

My agent is not helpful and told me to ask the claim adjuster, but the claim adjuster is not helpful either, hope you guys can help me out here!

one other question, is there a time frame that the claim adjusters need to settle my case?

Thank you very much guys.

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 04:01 pm Post Subject:

many carriers have a policy to always try to obtain recorded statements (RS) but really don't serve much purpose (really on in inter-company arbitration which is when two carriers disagree about liability). If your carrier is going to accept 100% liability in this case the RS is not needed (but the adjuster may at least be require to ask for one). Your carrier could require that you give one (your policy states that you will cooperate in their investigation) but you can also ask if you can decline. It's up to you. I can't see the RS hurting you in anyway. As I mentioned, it's usually obtained in case they discover some liability against the other person (still _slightly_ possible) as they go along.

*** Sorry, I re-read your message and it sounds like the _other_ carriers adjuster wants to obtain an RS. It's up to you... but personally I would decline. Your not seeking any payment from the other carrier so I don't see how the RS would help you. You can tell them what happen (including that their driver appeared to stop for no reason _and_ very quickly). Don't expect them to make any offers of payment for the accident.

Your agent should refer you to your adjuster when it comes to claim information. That was the right move. They have two different jobs and it's not good when they both try to do the same one. Your adjuster should also not do your agents job (administration of the policy).

Usually claims should be settled within 30 days. But it usually does not take this long, especially for a 1st party claim (you are filing under your policy). Cailf. has _STRICT_ rules on how carriers and adjusters handle claims. If a claim cannot be settled within 30 days, they are required to send you a letter and explain why. I'm assuming of course that you have collision coverage on your vehicle? If so, your carrier should either have you submit an estimate or they should inspect your vehicle. An inspection should only take a few days. A few more days for the adjuster to issue a payment.

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:13 pm Post Subject:

Dear tcope, thank you very much for your kind reply and very useful information, you really helped me out here and I really feel more comfortable, I really appreciate your time and all others who helped, you guys are angels!!!

I have a few more questions, hope that is ok with all you busy guys.......

If I am at fault, is there any other bad affects that I should be aware of other than a premium hike at the next time? and does anyone know how much the premium usually hikes?

Do I have to respond to the _other_ carriers adjuster? or can I just talk to my own carriers adjuster and let my insurance company handle everything else without having me to contact the other carriers adjuster?

If a claim cannot be settled within 30 days, are there any legal actions needed to be involved or we could just wait for a longer time?

Thank you all very much, I really felt alone and scared after the accident, but I really appreciate all you guys helping me out here. Thanks again!!!

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 12:16 am Post Subject:

Not telling how the rates would be affected as there are many other variables (location, carrier, losses, etc). I can't think of anything else that could happen beside a _possible_ rate increase when the policy renews.

Speaking to the other carrier... that is up to you. As an adjuster I like when people call me back... even if to politely tell me that they really don't want to say anything. Hey, I'm just trying to do my job and part of it is seeing if the other driver wants to comment about what happen. If not, so be it. Again, it's up to you. Nothing says you have to speak to them. In this situation is even less important that you speak to the other adjuster. If they go by what their insured said and the info on the police report, they pretty much know what happened.

If the claim is not settled within 30 days, the adjuster just needs to send a letter to the party making a claim to inform them of the reason for the delay. It's more of a requirement of the Dept of Ins then anything else. But this notification only goes to a person who is expecting some type of payment.

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 01:43 am Post Subject:

Dear tcope, thanks again for the useful information, I will take your advice and continue to proceed with my insurance company.

so if after I accept full liability (full fault), and my carrier inspect both the other driver's and my vehicle and then issue a payment to the other driver, is that it, will my case be close after that, or is there anything else that I should be aware of after my carrier pays off the other driver for their bumper damage?

What happens if the other driver comes back at me afterwards with other issues regarding their car?

Will I get some kind of bad points or records with my insurance carrier and DMV, if so, do you know for how long will the points stay on my record at DMV? How can I clear the bad points on my DMV record?

Sorry that I have so many questions, hope you don't mind to reply when you have time. Thanks a lot in advance.

Sally

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 03:08 am Post Subject:

Nothing else will happen... your carrier should either obtain a property damage release (almost no carrier will bother with this) or handle anything else that comes up.

The DMV controls your license... points on your licenses is control by citations. The insurance company has nothing to do with your drivers licenses.

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:59 am Post Subject:

New Updates, please help..............

I called my own insurance carrier just to follow up how my case has been processed, but shocking news, the auto assess processing department that I called said that they will no longer process my case, because they only process cases with minor car damages without any personal injurys, so they have transferred my case to another adjuster who handles personal injury..............??? What??? I asked them what personal injury??? As I mentioned before, I only skid onto the rear of the other car's bumper, both of our cars only had minor damages, but the auto assess processing department staff told me that the other driver recently added into the claim that the other driver felt pain the neck and back??? There was only a minor damage to the other driver's rear bumper, how could this cause neck and back pain for the other driver???

I took photos of the minor bumper damages of the other driver's car at the accident scene, the police never came for a report.

I am admitting fault for rear-ending the other driver's bumper, but I will not admit that cause the other person's neck and back pain, what can I do??? I think the other driver is trying to get the money and insurance payment that they should not get, what can I do to protect myself?

Please help.