• Hello there guest and Welcome to The #1 Classic Mustang forum!
    To gain full access you must Register. Registration is free and it takes only a few moments to complete.
    Already a member? Login here then!

Wifie in fender bender, insurance companies suck!!!!!!!!

A

Anonymous

Guest
Saturday the wifie decided to go to Hobbie Lobbie. This is where living in a small town has it's disadvantages and it's over a 30 minute drive to any decent stores. She's OK and was not injured but she's now getting badgered by the dude's insurance company (Allstate). Here's was the situation, she was driving down the road minding her own business when the other vehicle involved drove through an intersection and plowed into her side of the car. Not sure if her totalled but since it's a Hybrid and all warning lights came on it may be. His insurance company has called and recorded her three times now and they keep asking her leading questions like "how fast were you going, were you speeding" and "why didn't you turn right onto another road and avoid hitting the other vehicle". The last call she got really upset and was all but crying and gave me the phone. "I told the lady she was simply driving down the road and was hit by a vehicle that didn't yield the right of way and struck her car in the side. It's that simple". That was the end of the call and the last we have heard from them. It's funny, the adjuster (or whatever she was) has the accident report which is very detailed and it seems that they are trying to change it to get out of paying for her car. The police report states "Mr. ****** tole me he looked both ways and did not see the vehicle (my wifie) however, afterwards he began to tell me the vehicle was speeding." Also on the report the officer reported that an 11 year old (his child) told him my wife was speeding. WTF, can nobody take responsibility these days? Sounds like the insurance company is trying to skip out on paying for her car and the dude by changing his story is trying to do the same. Not sure how this will end but I hate the fact that people lie and insurance companies will try anything to get out of meeting their responsibility. :wtf
 
So he didn't see her but he knows she was speeding. Interesting. Regardless if your wife was speeding or mot he should be ticketed for failure to yield and avoiding an accident. Did he get a ticket?
 
I have the the same story (Hell even the insurance company is/was the same). Years ago wifey leaves work in her '88 Mustang on the Fri. before Labor Day weekend and some teenager runs a stop sign and hits her in the drivers front fender. Not massive damage, but needed new fender,tire and rim and paint. Good ole Allstate (which I have paid premiums into and had no claims for some 30 years ) doesn't want to fix it just wants to total it for next to nothing. Went round and round and finally got them to fix it after 4 weeks of screaming and hollering. Dumped them the next day. :censored:er's
 
If she had the right of way, wouldn't that put him at fault? How do they intend to prove she was speeding?

We've had a couple very low speed fender benders in our house over the years... and never respond to the other party's insurance carrier. We've only spoken to our own insurance company and let them sort it out with the other carrier. No need to give the other insurance co any extra leverage in my opinion.
 
If you hadnt used that stealth paint on the wifes car you wouldnt have this issue. Let her drive the 1/2 track...
 
What a PIA. I assume your wife had the right of way.

I suspect that the other guy is denying liability and is telling his insurance company some BS story about the accident, so Allstate has a duty to investigate further. It is ridiculous that they have to take 3 statements to investigate a simple accident. Must be a new claims rep with an idiot manager, because a good company should have the courage to tell their policyholder they are SOL.

Don't worry about the speed allegation; without physical evidence, it is purely subjective and unreliable. Just make sure your wife's version of the accident does not change or waver.
 
It's pretty simple. If she had the legal right of way he is at fault. All the insurance company is looking to do is develop an argument to create a situation where the two insurance companies "settle" on some level of responsibility for each party. If the other driver was ticketed, he will carry the majority of fault. It also matters what insurance companies are involved. If both are "majors" I would bet some level of split is decided. Simply a matter of one hand washing the other as they share thousands of these incidents each year.

All she needs to do is tell the truth and be consistent in her story. They will do what they do. I doubt it will have an affect on your rates, anyway...unless you have had multiple claims recently.
 
Sorry to hear it. I hope your wife is ok. Your luck with cars lately has been going bad.

That crap pissed me off. The other driver needs to Just man up and accept responsibility.

You may need to file a claim with your ins and have them go after the other company.

A few years ago I got rear ended and the kid changed his story to try to make it my fault. His ins was refusing to pay so I filed the claim with mine and they went after the other company and got it covered 100%.
 
He received a ticket for "failure to yield". My wife was simply driving down the road when this liar hit her. The speeding crap Allstate is suggesting is just that, crap. It happened in an congested area with cars in front, beside and behind her.They even ask her why she was driving in the left lane. Her turn off was just about a mile down the road and it was to the left. Thank goodness the Police done a good job of documenting the statements and has him changing his story on file. I guess we'll now see how good the "Good Hands" people really are.
 
I think you'll be cleared, ask anyone, there is NO WAY a HYBRID is able to speed! I get stuck behind them constantly.

I'd also ask for the 11yo's visual speed certification, dad would need one too but the 11yo being asked to supply it would be funnier.
Jon
 
I completely missed this happened to the hybrid. With luck they will total it and you can get her a car built by an American company. I naturally suggest a Ford. Or, she could drive the half-track but that could be dangerous. With an available payload like that her shopping could bankrupt you.
 
I told her she could have this thing to drive. Shopping then would not be a problem, she's too short to put anything in the back...........
 
"67 evil eleanor" said:
I told her she could have this thing to drive. Shopping then would not be a problem, she's too short to put anything in the back...........
Click to expand...
Maybe you should drive that right up to the Allstate front door. Probably get some positive results.
 
I didn't read all the posts, and wanted to inform you all of the procedure that should be followed when involved in any traffic issue involving an insurance company.

In this instance it has obviously been turned into someone's insurance. You should only talk to your insurance company and them alone! They will be obligated to keep your conversations confidential. Any attempt by the other person's insurance company should be referred to your insurance company. You pay them to represent you in such situations!

If you are not comfortable using your insurance company this way, you should retain legal counsel and refer everyone to them!

Under no circumstance should you talk directly with the other person's insurance or them!!!!!!!!!

Having dealt with several accidents some the fault of our driver and some not, you only talk to people you retain, no others period! If they call you can firmly tell them who they should call. Keep a log of when and who called, more than a second call is considered harassment and If you inform them of such they will leave you alone!

It is a real issue if it goes to court that needs to be documented and can result in a larger settlement!

Once again you do not have to tolerate them calling you! Get an ambulance chaser attorney if you like, but don't stand for it!

If you inform your insurance company of it they will call and make it stop!

I find the best thing to do is turn it over to your company and let them handle it all!

Mel
 
+1 to Mel's comments. If the other company truly believes speed was an issue and they want to pursue it, they'll turn it over to a reconstructionist. Based on what you've described though it's highly unlikely. It would come down to strictly a right of way issue.

If the other guy was issued a citation make SURE your wife attends the hearing. In this state an auto accident involves criminal and civil law. The traffic infraction is the criminal side, damages and injuries are civil. While a guilty verdict on the citation may or may not help in any civil litigation, a dismissal or acquittal on the citation will certainly be pushed by his insurance company to deny their responsibility for compensation. I've investigated one accident where the guy I found at fault was found guilty at trial for the citation I issued. When it went to civil court and I had to testify, I wasn't allowed to even mention the word citation! His attorneys knew that any mention of it would have most certainly swayed the jury to find for the victim. You can bet your bottom dollar THEY would have brought it up MULTIPLE times if he'd been acquitted of the charge!!

My wife and I had to fight for two years and change lawyers for an accident where she was hit in the back, totaling her car out and injuring her and my daughter. Our first lawyer just wanted to threaten by mail and when that didn't work he dropped the case. The second lawyer wanted to settle for less than our loss just so he could get paid. We sad NO, and he then had to do his job! No one is truly out there for you, so you have to stand firm and look out for yourself! Good luck and don't give up.
 
Lawyers look out for one person only, themselves. I dread the fight coming up with the insurance company. After the accident the warning lights came on and that indicates the hybrid system or battery was damaged. I'm sure they will try to overlook that and only fix the comedic damage if they can. Course with the A post and fire will being moved, it may be beyond reasonable repair. I hate dealing with the insurance companies and dread going through the process of buying a new car.
 
I think you will be surprised. If you recall, I had the misfortune of dealing with an accident my son had and also one my wife was involved in. I shared your concerns but found the experiences, in the end, to be acceptable. In my son's case, I was actually very happy with the whole process. In both cases, I was more than satisfied with the insurance payments and my rates (to date anyway) have not changed.
 
Well here we are a week plus and nothing from his insurance company other than the adjuster saying that it's still under investigation. In fact we're getting the run around from the Allstate Insurance adjuster. I guess this is how the "good hands" feel when your dealing with them. Tomorrow if we don't hear from them I will have no other choice than to file the claim with our insurance company. Sucks to loose a grand but maybe they will get us in a rent-a-car, like we are paying for in our policy. It's like this, if your a week late paying your premium they cancel you, if there a week late meeting their promise, well though sh*^, you just have to take it. There needs to be a law allowing people to sue an insurance company for the mental anguish. Like I said, Insurance companies SUCK!
 
Assuming (I know) you mean losing a grand to mean your deductible. when we sicked State Farm on another ins. co on a claim that totaled our car, they got us our grand back. kip
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top