HELP My Parked Car Was Hit - Insurance Not Making Sense - No Fault

Someone hit and ran my 2002 civic. I called the insurance company, worked
out the details, had them mail me a statement of no fault on my part (non
chargeable), and they took care of everything.

 

File suit immediately naming Car #1 and Car #2 - they will be shocked into
complaining to their Insurance carriers to make you go away so they don't
have to go to court and face it.

 

File suit immediately naming Car #1 and Car #2 - they will be shocked into
complaining to their Insurance carriers to make you go away so they don't
have to go to court and face it.

 

I'll be short and brief....my answer is based upon Calif interpretations,
but should be similar.
1) Since you did not purchase collision coverage, GEICO has no obligation
to particiapte in damages to your car. Yes, you bought insurance, but you
did not opt to purchase collision covergae, the coverage needed to pay this
claim, therefore GEICO has no duty to respond.
2) Underinsured Motorist refers to Bodily Injury caused buy someone who
carries lower liability limits than yourself...it does not cover property
damage.
3) In Calif, there is coverage for Uninsured Motorist Property Damage which
customarily provides a $3500 limit, however, since both parties have
insurance, this coverage does not come into play.
4) As another poster indicated, you will have to go to court. Maybe small
claims court, depending opon the level of damages and the maximum you can
file in Md. To protect yourself, you will need to name both parties...but
since small claims is more liberal than traditional court, it sounds like
your judgement may come from party #1 since the police report indicates he
rear ended the OP. You didn't say he accepted liability for causing the
accident, as party #2 could have been responsible by making an unsafe lane
change in front of party #1 His insurance carrier (State Farm) would
definitely want to investigate this possible scenario to minimaize or
eliminate their liability for damages and injuries, which is why its going
very slowly.
5) You can also complain to the state insurance commissioner for State
Farm's unwillingness to process your claim. State Farm does have te right
to protect their interests in investigating the claim to protect their
interests though.

Had you bought collision coverage, you could have transferred the assumption
of risk to GEICO, however you will have to bear this assumption as you self
insured the collision coverage.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune, but there is no easy way to solve your
dilemma very quickly, unfortunately. And it will take lots of your time to
deal with this. Its one thing not to buy collision coverage on a $3,000
vehicle, but its not a wise move on a $9,000 vehicle. Also, FWIW, insurance
carriers don't use blook book in valuation of cars. They use a process that
tracks actual sales prices of your vehicle within a radius using dealers,
private party info, and dmv sales records, much like a real estate appraisal
is done.

 

I'll be short and brief....my answer is based upon Calif interpretations,
but should be similar.
1) Since you did not purchase collision coverage, GEICO has no obligation
to particiapte in damages to your car. Yes, you bought insurance, but you
did not opt to purchase collision covergae, the coverage needed to pay this
claim, therefore GEICO has no duty to respond.
2) Underinsured Motorist refers to Bodily Injury caused buy someone who
carries lower liability limits than yourself...it does not cover property
damage.
3) In Calif, there is coverage for Uninsured Motorist Property Damage which
customarily provides a $3500 limit, however, since both parties have
insurance, this coverage does not come into play.
4) As another poster indicated, you will have to go to court. Maybe small
claims court, depending opon the level of damages and the maximum you can
file in Md. To protect yourself, you will need to name both parties...but
since small claims is more liberal than traditional court, it sounds like
your judgement may come from party #1 since the police report indicates he
rear ended the OP. You didn't say he accepted liability for causing the
accident, as party #2 could have been responsible by making an unsafe lane
change in front of party #1 His insurance carrier (State Farm) would
definitely want to investigate this possible scenario to minimaize or
eliminate their liability for damages and injuries, which is why its going
very slowly.
5) You can also complain to the state insurance commissioner for State
Farm's unwillingness to process your claim. State Farm does have te right
to protect their interests in investigating the claim to protect their
interests though.

Had you bought collision coverage, you could have transferred the assumption
of risk to GEICO, however you will have to bear this assumption as you self
insured the collision coverage.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune, but there is no easy way to solve your
dilemma very quickly, unfortunately. And it will take lots of your time to
deal with this. Its one thing not to buy collision coverage on a $3,000
vehicle, but its not a wise move on a $9,000 vehicle. Also, FWIW, insurance
carriers don't use blook book in valuation of cars. They use a process that
tracks actual sales prices of your vehicle within a radius using dealers,
private party info, and dmv sales records, much like a real estate appraisal
is done.

 

I would expect Geico (your insurance company) to be your middle man. It
doesn't seem right that you have to deal with StateFarm. If driver #1 was
charged (usually, if you rear end someone, no matter the reason, you're
guilty) and found guilty. Then the guilty party's insurance has to cover
the damages. If for some unknown reason driver #1 got off and none of the
drivers were found guilty, you don't have a case.

Next time, get collision benefit on your car, unless your car is worthless
and you have backup transportation (bike). On a positive note, at least
you don't have to spend $50/month for a gym membership.

Pars

 

I would expect Geico (your insurance company) to be your middle man. It
doesn't seem right that you have to deal with StateFarm. If driver #1 was
charged (usually, if you rear end someone, no matter the reason, you're
guilty) and found guilty. Then the guilty party's insurance has to cover
the damages. If for some unknown reason driver #1 got off and none of the
drivers were found guilty, you don't have a case.

Next time, get collision benefit on your car, unless your car is worthless
and you have backup transportation (bike). On a positive note, at least
you don't have to spend $50/month for a gym membership.

Pars

 

See above - he has no coverage for collision. Why would his insurance
company get involved?

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

It's not a question of "fault". It's to do with whether the insurance
classifies it as a collision or not. E.g. if a tree falls on your car it'd
normally falls under comprehensive coverage, if another car hits your car
it's collision. The fact that the other guy ran means that they have no
way to assign blame - IME that meant coughing up the collision deductible.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

See above - he has no coverage for collision. Why would his insurance
company get involved?

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

It's not a question of "fault". It's to do with whether the insurance
classifies it as a collision or not. E.g. if a tree falls on your car it'd
normally falls under comprehensive coverage, if another car hits your car
it's collision. The fact that the other guy ran means that they have no
way to assign blame - IME that meant coughing up the collision deductible.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

I would believe that his insurance company would get involved. First off,
his vehicle was not in motion, therefore, the damage done to it, should be
covered under his comprehensive coverage. Collision coverage is to cover
your vehicle if you are operating your vehicle and do damage to it.

--
Brian

www.accesswave.ca/~orion

A member of Cauce Canada

www.cauce.ca

 

I would believe that his insurance company would get involved. First off,
his vehicle was not in motion, therefore, the damage done to it, should be
covered under his comprehensive coverage. Collision coverage is to cover
your vehicle if you are operating your vehicle and do damage to it.

--
Brian

www.accesswave.ca/~orion

A member of Cauce Canada

www.cauce.ca

 

That is incorrect....collision coverage is used with contact from any motor
vehicle whether parked or moving. The only type of collision that is
covered under comprehensive is due to animal collision (striking a dog, cow,
horse, etc). And even then, the policyholder can choose which coverage to
use, should one be more advantageous over the other.

 

That is incorrect....collision coverage is used with contact from any motor
vehicle whether parked or moving. The only type of collision that is
covered under comprehensive is due to animal collision (striking a dog, cow,
horse, etc). And even then, the policyholder can choose which coverage to
use, should one be more advantageous over the other.

 

UPDATE :
The driver of car #2 - is not the owner of the car they were driving.
The car #2 owner is someone else in the same state. How does this
change my situation in getting my car fixed and repaired ? Does this
change the liability situation ? I'm not sure if the driver of car # 2
was insured or not. I have uninsured motorist protection, but if car #
2 itself (NOT THE DRIVER) is insured what does it do for me ?

I hope this info update will help.

(InsuranceHelp2004) wrote in message

 

UPDATE :
The driver of car #2 - is not the owner of the car they were driving.
The car #2 owner is someone else in the same state. How does this
change my situation in getting my car fixed and repaired ? Does this
change the liability situation ? I'm not sure if the driver of car # 2
was insured or not. I have uninsured motorist protection, but if car #
2 itself (NOT THE DRIVER) is insured what does it do for me ?

I hope this info update will help.

(InsuranceHelp2004) wrote in message

 

May depend on where you live. Where I live I don't have to "believe" -
"motion" has nothing to do with it. IME if someone collides with your
stationary car it's a umm, collision.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

May depend on where you live. Where I live I don't have to "believe" -
"motion" has nothing to do with it. IME if someone collides with your
stationary car it's a umm, collision.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

I don't think this update will be of any help to you. The previous
posting from Larry says it all--since you did not have collision
insurance, Geico(or any company you had) has no responsibility in your
case. Now you know why people pay extra for collision insurance--your
company will pay no matter whose fault it was--even your own. They then
sue the other insurance company or companies to recover what they paid
you--this is called subrogation. Your only recourse now if the other
insurance companies won't accept liability is to sue them. This of
course will cost you some money, but you may get them to settle with
you. Sorry I don't have better news.
Ken