Drunk who totalled our car still hasn't contacted his insurance

[unsinkable]

So his insurance says they still can't start anything.

 

We googled the drunk's name and found out he was found passed out in his car in an intersection in our town in Sept. 2008. Blood alcohol 0.25

 

What the heck?!?!?

 

UPDATE WED AM: Finally heard from insurance! We're trying to get a rental & the drunk's insurance guy can't look at the car until Friday.

Edited July 7, 2010 by unsinkable

[manylilblessings]

Do you have a police report?

[unsinkable]

Do you have a police report?

 

yes

[Rebecca VA]

Maybe he's in jail. Or he's still hung over.

[Jean in Newcastle]

What does your insurance say? They should be dealing with all of this - really!

[angela in ohio]

That shouldn't have anything to do with it. Call your insurance company. They wll handle it (that's what you pay them for. :001_smile:)

[Journey]

I work for a huge insurance company and this is how it works with us.

 

If you are involved in an accident and it's your fault, it's up to the other person to call and report it to YOUR insurance company.

 

If it isn't your fault then YOU are the one who has to call and report it. Think about it....if you caused and accident (let's just say you're not an upstanding person) are YOU really going to call your own insurance company and report it and take the chance that your rates are going to go up?

 

You need to call his insurance company and report it.

[ThatCyndiGirl]

You shouldn't have to call your insurance company. If they pay and then file subrogation against HIS insurance company they will likely still raise your rates. It stinks, but that is what they do.

 

His insurance company is yanking you around. HE doesn't have to file the claim-anyone can. You have a police report, that is enough. If it were me I would call them again and force them to file a claim, get a supervisor involved if necessary. If they refuse, (and tape them if you can, in most states it is legal, check first.) I would say, "so you are telling me, today, on July 6, 2010 that you are refusing to take the claim even though I have an accident report and blah blah, blah, (whatever you have, his Blood Alcohol level, whatever) and say, "okay, I will file it with the state Insurance Commissioner" and do so.

 

They are yanking you and they know it. It matters NOT what their "internal policies" are, they are not taking care of it.

[plansrme]

I assume you need a rental car immediately. I have a van that is an accident magnet, and what we have done every time is call the other guy's insurance company immediately and ask, "With what rental car companies do you have a direct bill arrangement?" Then I go rent a car from that company, give them my credit card info., and by the time I am billed for the rental, the insurance is sorted out, and the other guy's insurance pays. My cc has never been charged a dime.

 

I was hit 5 times in a 6 month period, and this is what I did every single time. Three different insurance companies (there was some overlap among the other drivers' carriers) paid up with no problem. Also, since it was a van that was hit, I rented a van, and they paid for it. I have 3 kids--their standard hamstermobile wasn't a fair replacement for my then-brand-spankin' new van. Again, I won on this point every single time, without even having to try very hard.

 

Terri

[StephanieZ]

:iagree:

That shouldn't have anything to do with it. Call your insurance company. They wll handle it (that's what you pay them for. :001_smile:)

[kalanamak]

 

You need to call his insurance company and report it.

 

If he has insurance.

[sbgrace]

If he's insured you're fortunate. That hasn't been typical with drunk drivers here.

 

If your insurance pays and seeks reimbursement you may get stuck with the deductible. I don't know why I just know our insurance told us it was a possibility (we're in the middle of a claim as well). Our insurance did make sure a claim with the resp. parties insurance was started for us though. If the guy isn't insured and you have full coverage your uninsured/underinsured portion of your own policy is in effect.

Edited July 6, 2010 by sbgrace

[gingersmom]

I would contact a lawyer and see about suing him.

[Matryoshka]

Many years ago, I was in an accident where I hit a car that ran a stop sign. I had right-of-way, he just blew in front of me. I needed a rental car - mine was totalled. His insurance company said they had to send an adjustor down to make sure I didn't have some partial fault, blah, blah, and they had to wait for the police report, which would take a long time to get to them in the mail, blah blah... Maybe in a week or two, blah blah...

 

I told them I would march down to the police dept. myself, get a copy of the report (which said I was blameless), and fax it to them right away. They backed down in a hurry and I was able to get a rental the next day.

 

Like another poster said, they know they're jerking you around. All you need is the police report. I mean, what if he'd run into a tree after your car? He'd never be able to report it because he was dead... so then they'd never have to pay?? HA.

[unsinkable]

UPDATE WED AM: Finally heard from insurance! We're trying to get a rental & the drunk's insurance guy can't look at the car until Friday.

[Ruby]

I've never had any issues when we have been involved with an accident. We notified our insurance agent that we had been in an accident and everything else was handled from there. Never once did I need to call anyone elses insurance company. My own insurance covered car rental fees no matter what the case. Your insurance company should be doing all of the leg work for you except setting up the car rental. They sent there own insurance claim representative to check it out and from there all i did was get the car towed to the local body repair shop. Once the insurance gave the okay the car was able to be repaired. My insurance took car of looking into all of the other details like police reports, the other guy and deciding who was at fault. Hope things work out for you. Ruby

[angela in ohio]

I've never had any issues when we have been involved with an accident. We notified our insurance agent that we had been in an accident and everything else was handled from there. Never once did I need to call anyone elses insurance company. My own insurance covered car rental fees no matter what the case. Your insurance company should be doing all of the leg work for you except setting up the car rental. They sent there own insurance claim representative to check it out and from there all i did was get the car towed to the local body repair shop. Once the insurance gave the okay the car was able to be repaired. My insurance took car of looking into all of the other details like police reports, the other guy and deciding who was at fault. Hope things work out for you. Ruby

 

:iagree:

 

The other insurance company doesn't give a flip about you, because you aren't their customer. Our insurance has always handled these things (me being hit and totalled from the side by a man turning across five lanes of traffic, and dh being hit by a dumb girl going 65 on a sheet of ice highway.) Our rates have never gone up, as we weren't at fault in any way. Your insurance company will find out about it anyway, so if they are going to raise your rates based on being in an accident, that will happen anyway. We shopped long and hard to find a good, decently priced insurance company with a local agent who will take care of us. We have been with them for 15 years now. They handle everything. We are their customer, and they treat us well to keep us. If it's someone else's fault, we don't pay a deductible.