Collision Claim For Auto Insurance

[VolAgent]

Re: Collision Claim

Dan, in NY you call the cops, you don't file it online. In VA it's the exact same way and probably the same in others. What we don't know is if the guy was parked illegally (which would make him potentially at fault).

Hate to tell you, but you don't know crap about P&C. Every state is different. I can't speak to NY, but in TN a parked car is never at fault. Although, I'm sure there are some limits. I can't see someone leaving a car in a road and not having some liability.

Also, as Dan mentioned, this company may self-insure for small claims, so he may be stuck dealing with the attorney. But I would get a little tougher on him too, I wouldn't buy this, "I'll reimburse you" routine. I'd get his two quotes, tell him which one I wanted to use, and tell him to make arrangements with the shop to pay for the repairs. Then I'd tell him to make arrangements to get me a rental car while my car is in the shop.

 

[djs]

Re: Collision Claim

This is a collision claim if he calls his carrier. It's a liability claim with the other carrier. I deal with this every day.

Basically, if he doesn't have collision coverage, his carrier will not pay to fix his car. It really is that simple.

If you view a clue report, it will show the claim is reimbursed from the 'B' party, and it will be coded 'Not At Fault'. Unless things are drastically different in New York (though I don't know where the OP is from), then this is pretty simple.

MPS - do you sell P&C insurance? I realize states are different, just curious.

Dan

 

[gimmickivek]

Re: Collision Claim

This is the first time I am dealing with this kind of issue( I got the car a month back only). I did not know how to proceed after the accident. I called the attorney and he said its gonna take a month for reimbursement if its < 2K and more if its more than that.

And I am not ready to spend ~2K out of my pocket.

Hence I called GEICO to sort this issue. But, looks like I need to confirm and make sure it does'nt reflect as fault on my part. If not, I will have to pester the Attorney guy to give the money right away, which I don't think is gonna happen.

Phew..I am confused!

 

[djs]

Re: Collision Claim

If your car was parked, it will not be rated as an accident on your part. As such, it will not impact your rates. Some carriers may non-renew the policy due to a series of these types of accidents, but if your car was parked (legally), it won't impact the rates.

The only caveat I would give you is I am licensed in California (and a few other states), and it would not be an issue here with rates. Tell me what state you are in, perhaps I know for you, perhaps not. Truthfully, I don't know of any state where a parked car accident would get rated, but I can't say with certainty for some states, since I don't have any experience there.

If in doubt, call a State Farm, Allstate, AAA, Farmers, Nationwide, whoever agent in your area and ask them how they would treat this. Probably the best answer you could get.

GEICO can do a fault determination prior to paying the claim. Afterwards, get an experience letter from them (basically says there was a claim paid, but you are not at fault).

This really isn't complicated.

Dan

 

[Josh]

Re: Collision Claim

MPS - do you sell P&C insurance? I realize states are different, just curious.

Fair question. I did a tour with Allstate and ran a guys agency for him. In NY you can get smacked with being parked in the wrong place and being liable for it. That is usually more of the case if there is a no parking zone (fire lane, etc), but claims have been settled that way. A friend of mine backed out of his driveway and into someone's car that was parked illegally and the other guy was found liable for it. Since we're getting REALLY technical, the problem is it's going to be a collision claim that would be classified as a hit-and-run and those are super tricky for carriers to get straight sometimes. I was stopped at a light (in the wrong part of town) when a suburban thought it was a great idea to hit me and keep driving. My Passat was almost totaled, but the other party was never found (most likely dealing drugs, no insurance, or all of the above) and as such it was a collision claim that isn't supposed to affect my rate. Well funny thing, it kept coming up for years and every time I'd have to go through the hassle of explaining what happened and it would have to go to an actual underwriter who would then still say "why does it show up as a collision claim?" and I'd get asked if they found the other party, etc. On paper, it shouldn't be an issue, in application, it can be. It will still show as a collision claim and carriers aren't always on top of things like that.

Another funny story. I called up Progressive (before I got my p&c license) because someone had backed into my Jeep (while I was sleeping and didn't notice it until the morning) and asked how I would claim on it. I never asked them to process a claim, they just jumped right in and started one. For years that was on my MVR as a $0 collision claim that was not listed correctly as a "parked car claim" or however it's described. It's always better to not even talk to your insurance carrier if you can avoid it.
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Hate to tell you, but you don't know crap about P&C. Every state is different. I can't speak to NY, but in TN a parked car is never at fault. Although, I'm sure there are some limits. I can't see someone leaving a car in a road and not having some liability.

What do they call your stink hole in TN? Whatever it's called, that's what you're talking about. Although you seem to think I'm a one trick pony with Medicare, I actually do know my way around p&c a bit, like I said, for about a year I managed an Allstate agency, but I digress. Although it's unlikely for a parked car to be found liable for damages, it does happen. What is even more common (especially in areas like DC and NYC) is for service trucks like garbage trucks, plows, etc to not have any liability for damage done to cars parked illegally. For example, I park my car on the side of the road where it's not supposed to be and a plow comes along and scratches my car, I can't claim jack because it wasn't supposed to be their in the first place. An adjuster would find your rush to conclusions troublesome because you're working off an extremely limited set of information and you may very well be wrong. Doesn't mean you are, but it's always wise to check facts before rambling on about how one feels the world works. Once again, I digress. In this situation it sounds like the other party has accepted their accountability for what happened and isn't going to try to defend it, so most likely they are financially liable for this and it's a dead issue, but that's not to say that in every instance a parked car is not at fault.
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This is the first time I am dealing with this kind of issue( I got the car a month back only). I did not know how to proceed after the accident. I called the attorney and he said its gonna take a month for reimbursement if its < 2K and more if its more than that.

And I am not ready to spend ~2K out of my pocket.

Hence I called GEICO to sort this issue. But, looks like I need to confirm and make sure it does'nt reflect as fault on my part. If not, I will have to pester the Attorney guy to give the money right away, which I don't think is gonna happen.

Phew..I am confused!

If they don't cave and they are self-insuring, tell then you are going to file a complaint with the insurance department within 24 hours and then do it. Information For Consumers

The New York DOI takes this stuff very seriously and it can cause them infinitely more trouble than hiring an attorney will. NY insurance claims law clearly states that you can go wherever you want and they have to pay for it. If you really wanted to get grumpy then you could tell him that you'll take it to a non-dealer affiliated collision shop that will be much less expensive, but if they want to drag their knuckles you'll demand it go to the dealer with all factory original parts or whatever. Between threatening to report to the DOI (and then seriously do it) and making a peace offering of going to a reasonable collision shop rather than a dealer you should be able to get them moving.

 

[VolAgent]

Re: Collision Claim

What do they call your stink hole in TN?

Sensitive, aren't we?

 

[Josh]

Re: Collision Claim

Sensitive, aren't we?

Maybe just a little too much NY in me

 

[gimmickivek]

I called GEICO and got it confirmed that if it is not my fault, they'l not increase my premium.

 

[djs]

For years that was on my MVR as a $0 collision claim that was not listed correctly as a "parked car claim" or however it's described. It's always better to not even talk to your insurance carrier if you can avoid it.

A $0 collision claim is how I would expect this to be coded. There is no coding for parked car claim, i.e., you don't have parked car insurance. The claim has to fit the coverage on the policy.

Underwriters / agents will frequently ask a question when they see this. It's only a question. Since it shows $0, it's not a paid claim, they just want to know why its there. At least in California, from the claim amount, even if you were at fault, it would be rated as a not at fault claim since it doesn't go above the rated claim threshold.

Not talking to your carrier? Simply bad advice. Talking to your agent first is the right thing to do, but in this case, as the OP presented it, there isn't much of an issue.

Dan

 

[insuranceagency]

I understand your problems, get in touch with your Insurance provider, definitely they will provide you the claim, no need to file a report against the accident, there will be a little harshment for you, Only the insurance company will provide you the solution, so be in touch with them
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