Denial of liability by insurance company

by Guest » Thu Nov 10, 2011 12:26 pm
Guest

A car pulled directly in front of me from a driveway, he was trying to make a right hand turn going the opposite direction. I did my best to avoid the accident by breaking and swerving , but was unable to completely avoid hitting the car. I think he was still moving at the time.

Policeman came to the scene and made an accident report. He was ticketed and deemed at fault. The next week his insurance company deemed he was not liable for the accident, because since the accident (after police report ) the other driver changed his story.

He says he was not in the road, but the roads were wet and I slid into Him. His insurance company is not holding me liable for the damages but says he is not liable for mine.

The adjuster said they have to "believe their client". Can someone just change their story after a police report and can the insurance company act depending on their clients falsified statement? What can I do about it? Please advice!

Total Comments: 1

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 01:51 pm Post Subject:

Can someone just change their story after a police report and can the insurance company act depending on their clients falsified statement?


I think you already know the answer to this. Though, does the police report not have an account of what happened? Does it match what is now being said? If it's different then the other insurance company should take that into consideration. Also, they should give weight to the other person 1) being issued a citation and 2) whether or not the other person accepts the ticket or disputes it. In some states accepting and paying the citation indicates that it was issued correctly.

What can I do about it?

If you have collision coverage, file under your own policy. You could also try to convince the other adjuster that it is in their best interest to change their minds and pay your claim. Lastly, you can always file suit against their driver and go through the court system. You could probably file in Small Claims court. I will say this, sometimes the insurance company will need to stand behind their insured (the law says the duty to defend is much greater than just paying a claim) but if the claim is pushed (suit filed) than it they tend to weight their options as they can show they "attempted" a defense but now perhaps its in everyone's best interest to look at the situation again. Of course, you need to understand that you need to _prove_ your case in court.

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