Posted on 01/18/2017 1:35:44 PM PST by LouAvul
I was involved in an accident this past Sunday where a lady pulled out of a side street onto my lane and panicked and stopped. I was able to swerve and avoid t-boning her driver's side door. I clipped her rear fender and damaged my vehicle.
She admitted her fault, the police reported such, etc.
I got an email from USAA, my insurance company, and they said the total repair bill is ~$5,500. The email also said they paid the auto repair company $4,500 as my deductible is $1,000.
Is this SOP? The accident was the other party's fault. Should the other party's insurance company not pay the entire bill?
thanks
Fail to yeild right of way is not at play here for the poster. The other driver apparently positioned the vehicle to be struck—and admitted guilt.
If someone runs a red light, stop sign, races to beat you at an intersection, etc, and you hit that person, that is not automatically failure to yeild right of way.
“Hearsay and casual banter at the accident site does not matter.”
Not entirely true.
Res gestae statements, spontaneous utterance, are generally accepted in court as truthful admissions.
For minor accidents police generally avoid issuing tickets. They issue tickets based on what they can prove. . .
Lou.......had a similar experience several years ago. Other driver was not insured. My insurance paid for my repairs minus $250.00 deductible. My insurance sued other driver and won. Sent me my $250.00 which I never expected to receive.
Yes. They will try and get the deductible back through sunrise. Don’t count on it though. I was toned by a lady who blew through a red light. Her insurance company just absolutely refused to pay. I could have gone to small claims but I didn’t want the hassle
All I have to go by, as well as YOU is the following statement:
She admitted her fault, the police reported such, etc.
Maybe I'm reading more into this statement than you but it appears to me that NO TICKET was issued to the poster............
Sorry, no Sleuth of the Week Award issue for you............LOL!
You have the other company pay for your damages. Not USAA. That is almost the same as admitting fault. Call the other insurance company and file a claim. That was what you should have done before you called yours.
I have been an insurance agent for over 25 years.
Has happened more than a few times.
And in front of witnesses and such.
USAA made the call for me.
If your car has had extensive repairs then it has been devalued by having been in an accident. Think of it as accelerated depreciation for which you are entitled compensation above and beyond the price of repairs. This obviously depends on the age and condition of the vehicle but can be substantial if it is a newer model.
Most people do not claim this depreciation which can help offset the deductible.
As others have stated, USAA is paying your claim but will file against the other driver’s company if they have insurance. If they recover your deductible should be refunded but they won’t offer the additional depreciation value unless you make a written claim for it. Everything should be in writing and copies should be retained until you have settled which may drag on a long time.
I don’t know, I had a head on low speed collision because some 80 year old grandma was driving on the wrong side of the road. A road separated by a landscaping strips and concrete curbs.
I saw her and pulled over to the side of the road and she still managed to zero in on me and destroy my front end.
No ticket because no injury, my insurance paid me. The granny was in a rental.
And what did your insurance company say? In most states whoever hit the other car from behind is automatically at fault.
“As others have stated, “. . .
Like me. . .
;-)
“In most states whoever hit the other car from behind is automatically at fault.”
Not necessarily. . .
Stopped at a stop-light, a car in front puts their vehicle in reverse and backs into you. . .frontal damage for you and rear damage for the other car. . .who’s at fault?
Not automatically, as a cursory investigation would identify the other car as starting the chain of events that resulted in the mishap.
Oh, my last mishap was this: I was in one lane and the other car was in the adjacent lane and drifted into my lane, causing me to strike the other car’s left-rear quarter panel with my right-front quarter panel. I clearly hit the other car but the police could reconstruct sequence of events and there was no way I could avoid being struck.
(side note: the other driver had a bag of candy in the front seat next to him. . .he was reaching for the candy and didn’t catch himself as he drifted into me (and I couldn’t move over. . .curb, tree-lined medium).
Nice guy, working for a good company that paid all my expenses with no quibbling.
My post (#51) was directed to Lou. Oops...
I always advise my clients if they are truly not at fault to call the other insurance company first. It will accomplish two things first. Put the ball on the other insurance claim adjuster and speeds up the process. You don’t want two adjusters at the same time to begin with. It’s something most agents or insurance companies will tell you.
Have you ever been involved with a claim where video from dash cam was used, either for or against? I drive some interstate to work and the crazies that exists is leading me to think about setting one up in my vehicle. Thoughts?
Generally speaking, at least in my state, the first person listed at the top of a police accident report, is the person the officer believes is at fault.
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