My car was parked and a drunk driver hit it (car was not under his name and he has no license), we made police report and I filed a claim with the car owner's insurance. It's been 2 months now and they keep telling me they are waiting on information from the car owner. How much longer does it take? if he doesn't provide this info they say they need....what else can I do?
Answer by countryboy
turn it into your insurance and let them handle it or get a lawyer.
Answer by LT
Sounds like it is past time to talk to a lawyer. The insurance company isn't going to do anything if they don't have to.
Answer by PDX
I would politely tell them to deal with the claim before you get an attorney....Contact your insurance as well, they have good attorneys and believe me, your insurance wont want to pay out so they will go after them if need be. It sounds like the other company is stalling... Good Luck!
Answer by oklatom
To begin with, you shouldn't have to be talking to the other insurance company, your agent should be representing you. Just get an estimate of the cost of repairing your car, and turn in that estimate with a demand to pay.
Whoever owns the car and carries insurance on it is responsible for making you whole, not the driver of the vehicle.
If your insurance is not being cooperative, just send the bill for repairs, as I said, to the owner of the car.
Answer by bundysmom
"What else an I do?" You have your insurance company handle you repairs and let your insurance company deal with the other. Sounds like there is a question of coverage and quite possibly permissive use. They're not going to pay anything out until they deem the claim and coverage valid by legal terms, not anyone else's.
Answer by mbrcatz17
They have no duty to act in good faith towards you. They don't HAVE to do anything. Clearly, he's not going to respond. If he's not covered, they can't tell you that.
Get a copy of the police report, and file in small claims court, against both the OWNER of the car, and the DRIVER of the car. Either the insurance company will respond, or they wont, then you go after the owner and the driver directly.
OR, just file a claim with YOUR insurance company, and let THEM chase it down.
Answer by Coastcowboy
If the driver wasn't given permission to drive the car the insurance most likely will not pay for your car -- this may be what is taking so long to figure out, though two months is PLENTY of time to investigate a loss or coverage. Call them up, ask to speak to a manager and respectfully demand an answer one way or another.
Answer by Star
As long as you got the insurance information from the other party, contact his insurance company. Don't forget to contact your insurance company too. An adjuster should be assigned to handle your case (either from your insurance company or his insurance company, depending on who you call). Keep your contact with this person, who should have already received a copy of the police report. If he/she doesn't have a copy of the traffic collision report, provide him/her with one (you can get one from whichever agency prepared the report, which is assuming that you notified the police).
The adjuster will want to get a statement from you (probably recorded) so give truthful answers to the adjuster (because this could be used at a later time in court). The adjuster should eventually send you a letter advising you whether the insurance company has accepted the claim.
The adjuster will probably also advise you to bring your car to a garage of their choice - a preferred vendor, but you don't have to do this - or if you have something in writing from the garage you went to - so that your car can be evaluated (if it's a total loss, based upon the damage to your car and its value).
If your claim is accepted, the adjuster will have a check sent to you to cover the loss. The adjuster will also send you a waiver / release, which should ONLY say that you are releasing the company and its insured (the person who hit you) from claims for any damages to your car (you'll need to sign this before you can get the check). Be sure it doesn't say anything about waiving any claims you may have for bodily injury (unless you'e negotiated a settlement for that too).
That's all the information I have. Hope it was helpful.
Answer by Robert H
Looks like you've got plenty of good advice here. Your insurance company should hopefully go to battle for you assuming you've got damages above your deductible. I'd pass on the lawyer for now, all you'll do is waste money as they won't be able to recover more than they charge. I also got hit and the guilty party is dragging their feet. Legal action, maybe in a few more months, and I'd do it myself with small claims. So far its been 3 months, and their deadline in 4 more weeks per my insurance agent..
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