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Aubrie posted 6/13/2013 16:51 PM

Insurance companies. Just. Sayin'.

I understand their job is to cover their butts, not work with the other party, and pay as little as possible. But Jesus H. Chris.

We are the victims. The douche nozzle hit us. (Police report clearly states he was at fault in 2 places) We were standing still with working brake lights and turn signals. And the guy was NOT paying attention. Who went to the hospital? Me. Who is going to the doctor because their necks are whacked out? Me and DD7. Who is traumatized to get in the car? DD and DS. Who's still having nightmares? All of us. You'd think that's enough. But noooooooo.

We get to tramp across town to get the stupid police report to get insurance info, then get jerked around all freaking day long by their agents. (IF they pick up their phones)

So being the victim isn't enough. I get to get shafted by the other dude's insurance. Of course I could bypass all that and pay the dang deductible for my own insurance. But really, why should I have to? Hasn't my family been thru enough? Why should we pay out and have to file a claim? Will I be reimbursed? Yes. But that is besides the point.

I'm pissed. Yes I know that life is not fair. Just let me vent.

Oh. And Valium is not a good match for me. Ho-lee Crap. I have scarred QS for life.

Happy Friggin' Thursday.

*sigh*

Aubrie posted 6/13/2013 16:58 PM

Oh, forgot to mention...

DD7 is being treated now too. Her "bruise" on her neck is more than a "bruise". She just went for a full set of xrays this afternoon.

Let the fun begin.

64fleet posted 6/13/2013 17:07 PM

don't get me started, as the victim of 3 hit & runs(once as a pedestrian)next time I'm hit in the rear I'm just shooting them on the spot.

Aubrie posted 6/13/2013 17:12 PM

OMG three!? I'm am so sorry. That must be incredibly frustrating.

My options are:
1. Pay the deductible and do everything thru my insurance. Rental, medical, check for my truck. They will in turn sue (or whatever they do) the other company.

2. Go after the other company alone, cross all my t's, dot all my i's, and pray to God they don't rape me. (why my insurance isn't being an advocate for me I have no idea.)

3. Get an attorney. A personal injury attorney will automatically get 1/3 of the money collected. Works the same for personal property. Not cool because the property was mine to begin with, I'm not really wanting to give 1/3 of the value of my vehicle to them.

I think I can posted 6/13/2013 17:35 PM

I vote number one!! At the end I think it would be worth it.

SuperDuperWonderboy posted 6/13/2013 17:40 PM

3. Get an attorney. A personal injury attorney will automatically get 1/3 of the money collected. Works the same for personal property. Not cool because the property was mine to begin with, I'm not really wanting to give 1/3 of the value of my vehicle to them.

It's not always 1/3. Most of the time, if there is another insurer involved, the attorney goes after them for bad-faith..which opens up the pocketbooks for additional money. Just saying.

Hope the family is doing well.

Dreamboat posted 6/13/2013 17:58 PM

Have you talked to your insurance agent? Sometimes (not always) they will help you even though you are working with the other insurance company. Because if you decide to go with #1 then they get to deal with the hassle. It depends on the insurance company and the agent whether they are willing to help (by that I mean make a few phone calls to the other ins co)

Sad in AZ posted 6/13/2013 18:55 PM

1) Do you have an agent? If so, they will work with you to collect against the other person's insurance company. This is why I never purchase insurance directly from a company.

2) If no agent, you can go through your own insurance, pay the deductible. They will sue (subrogate) against the other guy's company and you will get back at least a portion of your deductible (they may settle for less than the full amount of the claim, and of course, the subrogation attorneys have to be paid

3) If you feel you are getting shafted by either company (or your agent), you can complain to your state's insurance department. You can find the information on line regarding how to make a complaint. They must respond within 15 days--use this as a last resort, but use it if you have to.

I wrote insurance for 25 years. PM me if you have questions; I may be able to point you in the right direction.

osxgirl posted 6/13/2013 18:59 PM

If you can afford to do so, paying the deductible and letting your insurance handle it is worth it.

A few years ago when I got rear ended, I handled it myself. And the other person's insurance was being pretty good about paying - I thought. Except... the person hit me right before Thanksgiving, so there were delays in getting things started because of that. And they took my truck to the dealer first. But it needed to go to the body shop first, evidently. So they had to get it there - but there was a big snow storm, and so it was delayed again. After it was fixed, back to the dealer for the mechanical work - and another snow storm with another delay. It still wasn't fixed by Christmas, so more delays because of the two holidays there.

All in all, I had the rental for over a month. At about the 2 week mark, the insurance company called to let me know they would not be paying for a rental any longer because the repairs should have been done. I told them that it wasn't my fault, it was a combination of their screw-ups, the weather, and when the holidays hit. And that I could not be without a vehicle. They insisted that would not be paying for the rental any longer.

I ended up calling my insurance company, and the person I talked to there suggested calling the insurance commissioner for the state. So I did. And I was told that yes, the other insurance company was obligated to pay if all was as I described it, but that to do anything about it, I had to send in a letter to the insurance commission, and then they would launch an investigation, and if they found in my favor I would eventually get the money from the insurance company.

Bottom line - going that route, I would have been out quite a bit of money for the rental for at least 6 months to a year, and I couldn't afford it.

The only saving grace? I decided to try and short circuit the process a little. I called the insurance company and let them know that I had called the insurance commission and would be sending them a letter the next day outlining everything that had happened and how their company was refusing to pay for a rental the entire time I was out a vehicle.

I received a call within an hour from the company saying they would pay for the rental until my truck was fixed.

But I realized that it would have been easier on me and my bank account if I had just paid the deductible upfront - especially since my insurance company would have gotten payment much more promptly than I could have if the other company had decided to wait and see if an investigation was started.

In the future, that's definitely what I would do.

dameia posted 6/13/2013 19:06 PM

I know nothing about dealing with insurance companies, but I hope your DD7 is okay! Good luck, I hope you all heal quickly.

tushnurse posted 6/13/2013 19:53 PM

Call your insurance company they should be doing some of this work for you. If not then call the other company ask to speak to a supervisor. Tell them what is going on and that you have had your chain yanked enough, of you have any further delays, inaction, or excuses you will be contacting x (whoever the big name personal injury attorney is in your area) and the state insurance commission. And whoever the "on your side" "go get the bad guys" news person in your area is.

I was rear ended on a highway, everyone was stopped due to a deer being hit. The lady's insurance company was fine the day of the accident however the following week after I had to go to urgent care and miss 2 days of work from whiplash I started to get the run around. I told them I work in the medical field and have experience dealing with insurance companies and I fully understood my rights. From that point forward I had complete cooperation from the supervisor.
BTW Geico will go to bat for you if the other company is yanking you around. I couldn't be happier with them and how they dealt with my H's claim

Good luck

jrc1963 posted 6/13/2013 20:28 PM

Go thru your own insurance company... what the heck do you pay them all that money every month/year for if not to have them work for you.

And I'd take SAD up on her offer to PM her... She's smart and she won't give you any bad info.

(((Aubrie and DD))) I feel for both of you. I was in the backseat of my mom's Dodge Dart back in the 80's when she was rear ended while stopped waiting to make a left turn.

No seat belts... I was small, like 8 years old I think, and I slid off the back seat and onto the floor. It took me a long time to want to ride in a car and I wasn't even really hurt.

Aubrie posted 6/14/2013 07:24 AM

Thanks everyone for the advice. I do have an agent but of course you say "wreck" and every one geeks out and ships you to 1-800-dude in a cubicle at the the claims office in God's country Iowa. (Sarcasm)

I'm making exactly one call to the other guy's insurance and if they don't wanna play nice, I'm done.

He already wanted to B.S. me about taking two weeks to get the police report, go over it, enter it in claims, and establish who was at fault. Do what!? Nice person I am EMAILED him a copy to push this thing along faster. Ha. Not a word from them since.

*sigh* Here we go.

nowiknow23 posted 6/14/2013 09:20 AM

the claims office in God's country Iowa. (Sarcasm)

Faithful w/Love posted 6/14/2013 10:08 AM

God's Country is Minnesota...
Iowa is Corn Country....

LOL. I know I live in Iowa and was raised in Minnesota...

I am just glad you guys are alright. Poor babies are scared. And insurance is a mind fuck in itself.

tushnurse posted 6/14/2013 12:48 PM

hey Aubrie, you do realize that NOTHING happens after 10 am on a Friday right?

They may as well forward their phones and go home, because you are not going to get anywhere today. Sorry it's just a hard truth.

When I managed an office, and had to deal with medical insurance this was a huge frustration of mine. I finally accepted that Fridays were an easy day, and no need to bother calling any of the major carriers because nothing was gonna happen.

I hope you and the little one are feeling better today.

Aubrie posted 6/14/2013 13:24 PM

@ NIK I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect.

I made my 1 phone call and the guy let me know in no uncertain terms was he going to do anything for at least another 72 hours and how about I put that in my pipe and smoke it a while.

Fine. Called my insurance, told them I was done, deal with it. Within ten minutes I had a rental, and they were giving me info to have the truck appraised and the adjuster sent out. Done.

DD is "ok". Still sore. She was happy today because a friend is having a girl's day. Painting t-shirts and stuff. So that's 5 hours for her to chill and relax with friends.

DS is....emotional. cries. over. everything. Absolutely driving me nuts but I'm trying to be patient. QS got home early so we're going to get DS involved in a "big man" project. Maybe he'll feel special and it will help calm him some.

bluelady posted 6/14/2013 14:42 PM

My friend was in a car accident 4 years ago. A guy ran a red and t-boned her. She broke her hand, has TMJ and messed up her back to the point where she had to resign her position at work because she couldn't sit for long periods.

Shes STILL fighting in court. Her car is fixed. That wasn't an issue. But, she went from a government worker to someone who was on disability and then when that ran out, to someone who could barely afford to feed her child.

The other guy's insurance company made her go to an "independent" doctor for a second opinion. This doctor said that her back issues were caused by...wait for it...twisting funny when she bent down to pick up a hair dryer

Sending positive thoughts for quick healing.

Undefinabl3 posted 6/14/2013 15:01 PM

You know, even if you have your insurance handle everything, you can still go after them. You have 2 years after an accident.

I made my 1 phone call and the guy let me know in no uncertain terms was he going to do anything for at least another 72 hours and how about I put that in my pipe and smoke it a while.

Also - just an FYI - insurance companies do this on purpose because they will use it later to say that you must have accepted some kind of fault if you used your own insurance.

DH was in a pretty bad car accident in January. They wanted to fart around the same and say that it wasn't the driver's fault.

We had a lawyer the day that the accident report came out, and the next day that lawyer sent them a letter stating whatever lawyer's state to get crap done.

Lets just say that was the best thing we did. The insurance companies dont like dealing with people who know law, know when they are the vicitims and know how to stand up for themselves. Those commercials really are not that far from the truth.

sisoon posted 6/14/2013 16:48 PM

Don't forget the state insurance commissioner.

In Illinois, we complained twice and received checks from the insurance company before we received responses from the commission, and once was an auto accident W caused.