Insurance claim

muninn

I got into an accident recently where I was not at fault. Police report was filed where it was stated so. My insurance contacted party's at fault insurance and to make a long story short, the other person is disputing the police report, claiming that it was not what happened.
Should I be worried about this? I havent been in many accidents so I dont know if its a routine thing, or if I might be denied my claim.

Nitsuj82

When you give your insurance company the facts of the accident, just be honest. Do not over-dramatize anything. One of the things that we appreciated when I was in claims was when people would draw us a diagram (birds eye view), and fax it in to us. There is only so much that words can convey in that sense. Another thing that NEVER lies is the damage. The angles of impact and the locations of the damage are a big indicator as to who was at fault.

Police reports are just another man's opinion, not the final word.

muninn

Oh, I certainly didnt over-dramatize. What worries me is that the other person supposedly claims that the accident didnt happen the way it did at all. And I know that what I described was what happened.

Sigh

Nitsuj82

It's par for the course that people don't want to be considered "guilty" when it comes to an accident. More than anything, people freak out when they think their rates will go up. Fraud is a vicious cycle.

Your insurance company's job is to defend you. You should be fine.

muninn

So should I call ym insurance company to let them know what transpired? Or are they powerless untill thing has been resolved by the other company?

Nitsuj82

So you didn't call your company? Yeah, give them a ring. When liability is disputed, both companies are almost always involved.

ViolentChemistry

You shouldn't need to be much more involved than calling them and telling them what happened. Your insurance company may have to sue the other person's insurance company, but they shouldn't need to involve you in that unless things get really fucked up.

Perhaps if we knew what happened we could give you a better idea of what's coming.

Edit: Oh and if either of you have SafeAuto, you may as well start getting quotes for the repair and budgeting to take care of it yourself.

muninn

The Accident: I was making a left turn, from a stationary position on a two way road. Once the oncoming traffic stopped I started turning while the other person tried to pass me from behind on my left side. Cops were called, report filed, and the cop told me she was at fault and she was getting a citation.
My insurance company got the report, called other insurance company. Talked with other insurance company, they said the person at fault is disputing my story and the police report. I just left my claims rep a messege telling him that the other person is disputing it.

My insurance is Progressive (no collision) and the other one is state farm.

Nitsuj82

That's actually who I used to work for. You're in good hands.

From what you're telling me, the other party was turning left as well and went into your lane? Is that right?

Just relax. Since you have Progressive, they'll want to get your claim finished as quickly as you want them to.

MichaelLC

Oh man, I feel for you.

I don't what the problem is, but I've had nothing but issues with people (customers of and employees) from State Farm.

I got into an accident too, 0% my fault; they decided to ram full speed into my stopped car, and State Farm was a pain to deal with. They gave me a "claim number" to use, and every single time the SF person "couldn't find it" even though it was their number.

Yes, call Progressive; like right now. Hopefully you won't need to again, but you should call your company immediatly if you get into an accident.

Nitsuj82

I used to hate dealing with State Farm reps. The only claim numbers more confusing were Geico's (like 17 or 18 characters).

ViolentChemistry

State Farm was kind enough to give me $1500 for my $5600 KBB car that their client totalled.

muninn

Nitsuj82 wrote:

That's actually who I used to work for. You're in good hands.

From what you're telling me, the other party was turning left as well and went into your lane? Is that right?

Just relax. Since you have Progressive, they'll want to get your claim finished as quickly as you want them to.

Well I was turning left and the person I hit was driving behind me in my direction, and turned into the oncoming traffic lane in order to pass me. I was crossing the oncoming traffic lane in order to do my turn.

Thanks for calming me down a bit and all the info. I dont have much expirience in this area so didnt know what to expect. Now my rep is very elusive, and it takes him days to return my calls, but since you guys think they are good, I trust ya

ViolentChemistry

Did you signal the turn? And does your rear signal work?

muninn

ViolentChemistry wrote:

Did you signal the turn? And does your rear signal work?

Yes and yes.

Raneados

from what I understand:

if you are telling the truth, and I assume you are

you are at a 4-way 2 lane light stop

you were in the left turn lane, she was in the same lane behind you

you had your indicator on, and pulled and and began the turn

she sped up from behind you and tried to cut across the intersection and cut in front of you, so she could get in front of you on the same road



if all this is true, she's going to loooooooooooose

lose big time

enjoy your win

Feral

Just out of curiosity, what is the other person claiming?

I've gotten away with disputing a police report in an accident before (in my case, the police report really was wrong) and the insurance companies determined that my version of events was correct by inspecting the damage on both vehicles.

muninn

Raneados wrote:

from what I understand:

if you are telling the truth, and I assume you are

you are at a 4-way 2 lane light stop

you were in the left turn lane, she was in the same lane behind you

you had your indicator on, and pulled and and began the turn

she sped up from behind you and tried to cut across the intersection and cut in front of you, so she could get in front of you on the same road



if all this is true, she's going to loooooooooooose

lose big time

enjoy your win

Well it was two lane, two way street, no lights (so two lanes, one for each direction). I was stopped with turn signal on. She was driving on a one way street I am on, and tries to pass me on the left by getting on the opposite traffic lane, as I make a left turn.
As for what the other person is claiming, I have no clue. I was just told that it is "significantly different", so I assume she is lying.

Raneados

muninn wrote:

Raneados wrote:

from what I understand:

if you are telling the truth, and I assume you are

you are at a 4-way 2 lane light stop

you were in the left turn lane, she was in the same lane behind you

you had your indicator on, and pulled and and began the turn

she sped up from behind you and tried to cut across the intersection and cut in front of you, so she could get in front of you on the same road



if all this is true, she's going to loooooooooooose

lose big time

enjoy your win

Well it was two lane, two way street, no lights (so two lanes, one for each direction). I was stopped with turn signal on. She was driving on a one way street I am on, and tries to pass me on the left by getting on the opposite traffic lane, as I make a left turn.
As for what the other person is claiming, I have no clue. I was just told that it is "significantly different", so I assume she is lying.

okay, it's slightly different

but yeah, you're going to win this baby so hard

ps give us a drawing

Glaeal

She pretty much has nothing to stand on. If the police gave her a citation, it's her fault, and that's what her insurance company is going to think.

Were there witnesses?

muninn

No witnesses. There were people in a very general vicnity, but no "witnesses" as such.
And I will draw a picture as soon as I get home.

DasHanselHM

Most importantly, is this road marked as a passing zone where you turned? Like in PA you can't pass on a two lane road unless the lines are dotted yellow lines in the middle (instead of solid) and the area is marked as a passing zone. I'm assuming that most states use this method but you never can be sure enough. If she was passing you illegally then she's a retard for claiming otherwise.

FyreWulff

That kind of accident is what gets motorcycle riders a lot of trouble. People like to pass them while they try to turn.

Nitsuj82

Sounds like they were trying to pass you in the intersection. Another no no.

Progressive reps are hard to get a hold of because they are overworked. If you hit either 0 or # when you get their voicemail, it'll put you into the phone queue. Any rep can give you a status, but chances are that they're on it.

muninn

thanks for the tip!
Any yeah it wasnt an intersection but it was a no passing zone (two solid lines).

Elessar Elfstone

I've had nothing but positive experiences with State Farm but I can understand how some others have had bad ones. Every insurance company can be a major pita, hell the whole industry is a pita

But like others have said, you are 100% in the clear, I wouldnt worry at all about paying anything or being charged.