Auto Insurance Company Not Paying All It Owes to Claimant
Filed under: Insurance Companies, Ohio, State Specific Information, Third Party Claims
My husband was involved in a car wreck last week with our 2002 Dodge Ram Pickup. The accident wasn’t his fault. He was hit by a teenage driver carrying a carload of friends to school. The boy’s insurance company told us we could get the vehicle fixed for $2407.56. When we took it to an auto body repair shop we know for an estimate, we were told there was more like $4,000 in repairs that needed to be done to fix the truck the way it should be fixed. Do we have the right to dispute what the insurance company adjuster told us or do we have to take what they say it can be fixed for? We are not crooks trying to take advantage of anyone. We just want to be paid what they owe us.
Sarah
Dayton, Ohio
David Williams writes:
Hello Sarah and thank you for telling us about your husband’s auto accident and the trouble you are having collecting money from the auto insurance company of the at-fault driver. Your situation is not uncommon because most insurance companies look at the insurance settlement process as a negotiation. If they best you in the negotiation and cause you to take less than you are owed, the insurance company will have saved some money, and the adjuster may even get rewarded with a hefty bonus.
Because damage to your vehicle was caused by another’s negligence, you are known as a third-party claimant. As a third-party claimant you are entitled to collect for all of your losses. While the driver that hit you may have limits as to what he can collect under the insurance policy he purchased, you are not bound by that contract and therefore have no obligation to negotiate with the adjuster or settle the claim for less than it takes to make you whole.
How does one collect losses from a third-party insurance company that insists on being cheap with its claims?
The most effective tool claimants can use to assure being paid for all of their losses is to involve the at-fault party. In your particular case, if his insurer doesn’t want to pay on his behalf, the boy is not relieved of his obligation to pay you back for everything you’ve lost as a result of his negligence. Therefore, in order to keep from paying money from his own pocket, I’d be willing to bet he is accommodating in helping you collect everything you are owed from his insurance company.
I’d recommend keeping your communication with the at-fault party in writing to reduce the chances of a misunderstanding, and so you will have proof of your demand to be paid. It is important that your letter of demand (*see footnote) state exactly how much money you need to compensate you for all of your losses as a result of this accident. It is also good to give an itemized breakdown of the losses you’ve experienced, and a date when the money is due.
Remember, this boy’s insurance company has an obligation to protect HIM from HIS losses. His insurance company has no obligation to you and vice-versa. His company is only interested in making you go away and spending as a little as it must to make that happen.
Still, you have a right to be made whole and you should look to the at-fault party rather than his insurance company for this money. Because the insurance company is obligated to the at-fault driver as opposed to you, he will be in the best position to approach them and see to it that you are properly paid for all of your losses.
* NOTE - I’d recommend that you get some legal help to formalize your letter of demand. Not only will you be assured you have covered all of your legal bases, but coming from a lawyer your letter will pack more punch and be taken more seriously.