Submitted by SereneFrost72 t3_10pfx99 in personalfinance
This past weekend, my car was backed into by someone, which cracked my bumper, which now needs to be replaced. They were very apologetic and accepted responsibility for it. I let my insurance company know and called their insurance company to get the claim process started
Today, their adjustor called to get more info. They said that normally, this would be an open-and-shut case, but in this circumstance, they need to do a "coverage investigation", which could take up to an entire month. What does this even mean? How could someone's insurance not cover a simple accident like this, especially when their insured individual admitted fault? My only suspicion is that maybe because he uses the vehicle for work (I think he is a contractor), it is not as straightforward as normal?
Any recommendations on how to proceed with this?
Edit: for reference, I'm in Pennsylvania and have a limited tort policy. I have a high deductible, so I'm likely to be out of the entire cost of the repair until the other person's insurance pays up
Update: I called my insurance company (Geico) with a variety of questions based on all of the advice in this thread and found the following:
- My insurance premiums would not increase if I go through Geico because the other individual was at and accepted fault
- If I file a claim through Geico instead of the other person's insurance, I will still have to pay my deductible. Geico would then go after the other insurance company for reimbursement for the full amount, including what I paid for the deductible. If the other person's insurance company finds that it is not covered, Geico will pursue reimbursement directly from the individual
- They recommended waiting for the other insurance company to complete their coverage investigation and to not get any estimate from a repair shop until I have instructions on how to go about doing that
Thankfully, I have the luxury of time here, as it is pretty minor damage, but hopefully my experience can help others who come across this thread. Thanks everyone for your input!
kylejack t1_j6k6ty3 wrote
If they weren't current on their insurance payments, if they weren't actually insured and are listed as an excluded individual on the policy, if they were driving drunk, if they were doing unapproved delivery or taxi work, etc.