Can I recover money not paid by insurance from the driver?

Question

I was in a car accident a few weeks ago... but that's a completely different story. The other person's insurance is refusing to pay for storage and rental fees until liability is established, with took a full week. I do not have rental coverage on my policy and I have a high deductable, so going through my insurance is not an option for us at this time, financially. Can I take the driver to small claims court for the money that her insurance company is refusing to pay (one week's worth of storage and car rental fees)? I am in Indiana. Liability has been established --- 95% thier insured. They are saying however, that from the time of the accident to the date that liability is established they are not responsible for anything. However, the adjustor that I spoke with on the day of the accident said that it would go retro, now she is saying that it will only go retro from the day that liability is established, which isn't really retro. I would ask for what they didn't pay, - less 5%

I didn't word the question very well. The accident was 10/6, liability was established 10/13. They are saying that from 10/6 to 10/13 they are not responsible for any of the charges.

Answer 1

Call the office of the insurance commissioner in your state, they should be abel to tell you precisely what the date of liability should be. They should also be able to expedite the insurance co. if they are dragging thier feet. Thier phone # is 317-232-2406

Answer 2

I'll preface my response by saying I'm not familiar with Indiana insurance regulations, but I can speak in generality about this.

If this were happening in the state I work in, we'd be paying for 95% of your rental expenses and the storage beginning the date of the accident. To say that they don't have responsiblity for any costs incurred before the date that they determined liability seems silly. What if it would have taken them a month to complete their investigation? Would you have been responsible for the storage and rental up to that point? I don't think so.

Did the insurance company ever ask you to remove the vehicle from to a storage free location? If so, they may be able to get away with not paying storage.

As to whether or not you can take their insured to court, the answer is no. In this situation, you have to deal with the insurance company as they're acting on their driver's behalf. The only real situation that you'd be taking their insured to court would be if his policy limits had been exhausted (in other words, the driver was under-insured).

I wouldn't consult with a lawyer unless you're ready to take take 2 hours a day 3 or 4 times a week to go to physical therapy. Lawyers aren't really interested in helping you resolve simple disputes like this, but want to inflate your claim by having you treat often for an injury you may or may not have.

You might consider calling the Indiana Department of Insurance to find out your rights in this situation, but first try calmly explaining to the adjuster that you were promised payment from the date of the accident if liability was determined in your favor. Explain that you're not responsible for the length of their liability investigation, and that you just need 95% of the storage and rental paid, nothing more.

Good luck, I think you have a very reasonable request which any reputable insurance company should be able to accommodate.

Answer 3

Absolutely you can go through small claims court - but you've got a conflict here, in once sentence you're saying they said liability isn't established, in the other, you're saying 95% liability has been established.

So . . . if it's been established, they should be paying. It DOES go retro. If they won't pay the full amount, you can go to small claims court, ask for the difference less 5% AND court costs.

One thing to check for, in Indiana, is it a comparative negligence state? Are you responsible for 5% of THEIR damages now? Check with your agent.

Answer 4

It is your responsibility to mitigate your damages(keep them from becoming more severe by any means necessary). If they give you notice on the storage fees and you choose to ignore it and not use your collision coverage while they are investigating, don't expect them to pick up the bill.

Anyone can sue for anything. If you sue the other person, the insurance company will defend him/her and you still have to prove your case. All litigation is a crap shoot and can be costly. My advice is move your car out of storage (unless we're talking about past costs) and/or use your collision. If you don't have the $ for the deductible, you should not have chosen an amt you could not afford to pay under any circumstance. You should look into the premium cost for lowering it soon.

Answer 5

It is my understanding that you need to take the insurance company to the small claims court for these issues. The court will see that the driver is covered for liability, so they will not find it to be that you have a problem with the driver, but rather with the driver's insurance company. The insurance racket is really horrible these days, and this kind of situation happens to all of us quite often.

Answer 6

Not sure about Indiana, But in any event I would check state laws and consider a consultation w/lawyer. Once again, Insurance companies have no problem in collection from us, but when they have to pay (they will delay as much as possible). The laws should make it MANDATORY for them to pay, since we are told we MUST have insurance.

Answer 7

That is what small claims court is for.

Answer 8

You would have to sue them to get it.