Carp--and so the hassle begins!!

How are you feeling?

Damn. Isn't that the way...

Maybe not. Here we have "small claims", which you can do yourself and not need a lawyer, as long as your loss is less than $5,000. Or maybe it's $10,000 now, they were going to increase the level. Laws vary by state, of course, so check with yours.

Anyway, check with your local court system about small claims, no lawyer needed. Of course there are still filing fees, service fees and all those other fees that the government is going to get one way or another...

If you can't figure out which court to call, call your state attorney general's office, they're good about helping out with basic advice like which court would have jurisdiction.

Annie

Thanks, Annie, but blue book on my car is $5700 and I have already spent over $500 out of pocket on towing, storage and rental car.

I just don't even know where to begin.

Can't YOUR insurance company pursue this for you. Doesn't your policy have an uninsured motorist clause? At any rate, if your insurance company is making you pursue this on your own, they should be able to direct you and get you started.

Your insurance co will pursue it. That's why you carry insurance. If they don't, you need a different insurance company.

I have uninsured motorist coverage. But what I didn't know until yesterday is that there are two types...one for medical expenses and one for personal property expenses. Apparently I have only the medical coverage, meaning my uninsured motorist coverage will cover my medical bills but nothing else.

So, in a nutshell, this woman walks away with a broken blinker while I am left holding the bag for $10,000-20,000 in personal property related expenses (new car, car rental, towing and storage, lost work time, etc.)

She may lose her license for a period of time, but I am guessing if she'll drive w/o insurance, she'll certainly drive w/o a license.

Linda

It looks like she is "judgement-proof" - that means, yes you can sue her in small claims court or other legal action, but you will probably never see any money from her. All that will happen to her is that she will have a judgement against her on her record. So bottom line is that you will spend money on a lawyer or for small claims filing and that will be money you will never get back.

It sucks but that's the likely outcome.

I am so sorry for you.

I'd fire your insurance agent. Definitely not looking out for you if you weren't sufficiently covered - especially in this day and age of uninsured drivers.

Well, Jessy, that was my first mistake....

Last year we switched our insurance and went through AARP because we could save $500 per year on home/auto insurance thru them. Well, I know where that $500 came from now. There is no "agent".

I will be canceling and getting insurance with an agent very soon.

Gina, I know you're right. But I do have an appointment to talk to an attorney on a contingency basis on Monday.

Spoke to the Trooper when I got home. She may face jail time and/or a fine of up to $3000. What a slap in the face.

Linda

Just makes me mad!!
Think I'll cancel my insurance....yeah...what do I care...I space out and hit some one...that's their problem! Right?
They take my license....well I'll just drive any how...yeah!!
They put me in jail? right!! I won't have to pay for food!! yeah! I lose my job? Too bad...I'll collect unemployment and when that runs out, I'll just get welfare or ADC or....there's something I can get...
Nope not going to pay for no IN-surance!

Oh, Linda, that's just terrible. I'm so frustrated for you, and sorry that it's happening this way.

I'm confused about who's denying the claim, your insurance company or her so called insurance company?

Someone was just the other day talking about AARP car insurance, and how much less expensive they are than the company he currently was using, and saying he was going to switch. I thought about looking into it, but procrastinated because I've been with the same insurance agent for years and years and years. Now, hearing your story, I'm glad I procrastinated.

Sally

Sally, it's her insurance company that is denying the claim. And rightly so, since she left the scene of the accident and went straight out and bought insurance. I am not angry with them, she was not covered at the time of the accident. I am just floored that she actually thought she could get away with it!

My insurance will only cover my medical expenses, because they claim I only had uninsured motorist coverage for those and not for personal property loss/damage. This is where I have an issue. I was not even aware there were two separate kinds of uninsured motorist coverage!

Yep, stick with your tried & true agent that will give you good advice. I will be writing a letter to AARP about his problem with Hartford, their affiliated agency.

I am just so sick of the bad guys, the bums and the criminals in this world getting a fairer shake than those of us that pay our way, and work for what we have.

Okay, I am done ranting. Time to pick myself up, dust myself off and...well...drain my savings account so I have something to drive.

Linda

Linda that is really awful! I don't quite understand how that can happen.

In Ontario we have what is called "no fault" insurance. Basically your insurance company pays all your costs regardless of who is at fault. Same for the other guy.

It was brought into effect to stop insurance companies from fighting with each other in court and holding back payments to the insured parties.

Each company pays their own clients costs regradless of who is to blame. If one party is uninsured , it doesn't matter. The insurance compamy of the insured party still covers all costs. The insurance company can then sue the unisured indivdual themselves, but the harmed party is not involved. It all works out in the wash for the insuramce companies and they save a bundle in court costs so everyone is happy.....except for the fact your premiums go up : (

There is a provision to sue for unusual personal injury but the lions share is covered under "no fault".

Linda, I have to say I'm sorry for your situation, but thank you for opening my eyes to a potential problem. I ran to our insurance files and was happy to see that our truck and SUV have both uninsured and underinsured bodily injury and property damage coverage (and the premiums are so minimal for the added coverage, it's a shame it was overlooked in your case). However, my '67 Mustang, fully restored from the lug bolts up and now a show car (that I've owned for 42 years) has only bodily injury insurance for uninsured or underinsured claims. I'm contacting our agent first thing Monday. I'm angry that this happened to you! When we obtain insurance, we rely on the agents or representatives to at least tell us what we should consider and offer options. Thanks for sharing your story -- you've probably sent a number of us rushing to our insurance policies. Good luck to you.
Annie'71

I am just so sick of the bad guys, the bums and the criminals in this world getting a fairer shake than those of us that pay our way, and work for what we have

Me too! I'm sick of it.

I'm going to check my policy right now to be sure I have medical and property damage coverage.

Your sad story may save others here. I thank you for that but I'm also so very sorry this happened to you.

That stinks! I'd be tempted to give AARP a jingle and ask to speak with a mgr. about their insurance representatives and the policy in general. Who the heck doesn't want the extra (inexpensive) coverage? Why would it be offered separately and not bundled? Give them a call, it couldn't hurt...

I need to call my agent and add the personal property loss/damage to my uninsured motorist coverage. I only have it for medical too.

See? This helped me.

At dinner with friends last night I mentioned your situation. Two people asked if you had comprehensive coverage with your previous company and wondered if you had shared that info with AARP when purchasing the new policy. It's a good point. When I was shopping around for new auto insurance for my mother recently, the AAA required that I fax them the existing policy from Allstate so they could duplicate her current coverage. (BTW AutoClub here in California has very reasonable rates) Did AARP agree to duplicate your coverage?

If AARP required you to do the same, then perhaps you have some recourse with them. Another thought that was brought up was can you sue her for her property, her vehicle? At least you'll recover some money.

Linda - What a mess, sorry to hear your saga. Hope you're able to recover at least something.

I'm reading with interest about the two different types of uninsured motorist coverages. I never would have expected to recover a cent from my insurance carrier if I wasn't carrying comprehensive. For those of you who are going to add it, I'd be interested in how much it's costing you. I'm not surprised to hear that it's cheap. After all, if you don't have comprehensive then your car probably isn't worth too much, so they'd only have to pay out a small amount in the relatively unlikely event that someone who hits you is uninsured.

foodonastump: Comprehensive coverage isn't relevant in a collision. On our policy, the value of the car doesn't seem to be a part of the equation either for the cost of uninsured and underinsured medical and property coverage. Both vehicles pay the same premium. Uninsured medical $16, property damage $2 (per six month period). The single limit is $300K/each accident (which is the max for our state). The underinsured coverage is $12 and $3 with $300K limit. I don't know what the premium will be for my Mustang, which is insured by a different company. However, the uninsured medical is $2.95. I'll know Monday what the property damage coverage will cost.
It seems to me that proof of insurance should be required to license any vehicle.

You're right, Annie, I meant collision not comprehensive.

foodonastump: Collision coverage is if you hit a lamp post or somehow damage your own car. Not relevant when an uninsured motorist causes a collision. (I think). I think we all could use a course in "Insurance Lingo 101". I'm really starting to question my ability to read and understand our coverage. Has anyone tried to understand their homeowners insurance lately. I have questioned changes to our policy (precipitated by recent disasters in other states) only to be confronted by perfectly innocent employees that know absolutely nothing and have no answers or explanations! Insurance = pay out, but hope you NEVER need help. Poor Linda's problem has made me really want to be more aggressive as long as I'm able to do so.
Any insurance experts out there willing to offer insight and info into getting good coverage without setting ourselves up for a a bad ending?

Annie - Yes, I agree we could probably stand some Insurance Lingo 101! However I'm quite sure that if I park my car and come back to find it got hit by another car, it's collision, not comprehensive or uninsured motorist, that covers the claim.

But technicalities aside, perhaps the spirit of my first post could be better stated, "I never would have expected to recover a cent from my insurance carrier if I wasn't carrying full coverage." I would have assumed that either I'm paying to cover my own vehicle, or I'm willing to take the risk that it's not covered. Regardless of the cause of my loss.

The only specific options of type of insurance I recall ever having been given beyond "full coverage" or "just liability" was when I'd have just liablity and they'd offer me glass coverage and towing.

I just did a quick search and apparently uninsured/property varies by state, including not being offered in all states. A specific reference was CA, where the payout limit is $3500 if you don't have collision, and it pays your deductible if you do have collision. If this is any indication of other states, it sounds like it has a fairly limited benefit. Which would explain the low cost.

This is a probably a good wake-up call to get a better understanding of exactly what kind of coverage we have and what it actually covers. It's just unfortunate that this wake-up call came at Linda's expense.

I'm going to review my coverages too.

I hate this kind of thing. I'm so sorry this has happened to you Linda!

I know this doesn't help you, but here in Texas you are required to have at least liability insurance. Without proof of insurance, you can't:
-- renew your driver's license (this is only required every 8 years)
-- renew your license plate/registration (this is required annually)
-- renew your inspection (also required annually)

Do other states not make this requirement?

I called my agent and I'm ok. I'm fully covered.

Thanks Linda.

Linda,

I am assuming you did not have collision coverage? I drop mine when my vehicle gets old and does not have significant value, but everyone is different in their tolerance of risk. If you did, I assume you would be covered minus your deductible.

If you have collision, I would work through your insurer. If not, despite the gap, I would go through small claims court and get a judgment, albeit less than your loss but minus attorney fees. It is better than nothing.

Best, Adele

What is the matter here? Don't you understand that LInda was hit by a motorist that had NO! insurance coverage. The fault was not Linda's! She is out of pocket completely to cover/recover damages. She's driving along one day - Slam Bam! She wasn't a parked car that got side swiped! She didn't get hit by a meteorite or a sand storm! She got hit by an UNINSURED MOTORIST that was let loose on the public highways today to drive a car without valid insurance. An outrageous situation in my mind!

Annie,

I don't know you. I don't have a judgment about Linda. I care about her and the situation. She has been very kind to me in the past. I thought facts were helpful information. Not sure why the emotion. . . I like to cook and thought I could help Linda.

We have governments with rules and company's with contracts. The laws and contracts are not alwys fair to all people in all individual situations.

- Adele

Linda, thanks to your post, I called my insurance agent yesterday and confirmed that we are covered on all our cars for all the forms of uninsured motorist. I also was able to tweak and correct some things about our coverage, so our rates are going down.

I sure wish this had not happened to you, and it makes me boiling mad that it did, but I appreciate you posting about it. You have done us all a great favor.

Sally

Adele, I don't think Annie1971 was referring to anyone in particular or their posts. I think she is just as outraged as I am that this situation. I think the penalties for driving uninsured should be much stricter.

Sally and others, thanks for your support. I'll make it thru this expensive oreal, and learn a lesson to boot! Happy that this opened up others eyes and kept you from facing something like this yourselves, too.

Linda

Thanks Linda.

Good luck to you. Remember that getting a small claims court judgment may not be useless.

-Adele

Linda, I'm so sorry for your ordeal! I've been derelict in my "conversations" reading so I totally missed this. Hope you get some resolution from your insurance company and don't have to go through the hassle of a small claim. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!
Bri

i feel ya on that. I don't know how your situation has turned out, but my friends and i were hit by a drunk driver, who was also on drugs, in January, and i just got a summons that i am being sued by his insurance company. I am already on disability because i have cerebral palsy and then the wreck happened, so yeah....Life is great :(

bulldog...let me get this straight. HE was drunk and HE hit you but YOU are being sued?

Anyone else think there is nuthin' right about that situation?????

Good luck to you...I think you need a lawyer, too!

Linda