What do you make of this....?

Question

TIny accident involving one younger driver, one older. Older takes insurance from younger saying she may call if she ahs any problems....Older later calls my insurance company and says, :what do I do with the bill: (she is talking of going to see about a sore neck) My insurance company (basically laughs) and says nothing because there is no claim. Then asks her about the damage. They ask the woman if I hit her hard, "no" they ask her what the damage to the cars was, "none"
My insurance company thinks the situation is odd.

What I don't understand is that a close family member was in a real wreck on the highway recently, received extensive damage to the back of her car and had no medical problems. But the car was messed up and the person who hit her was going fast.
Do you think she's just trying to make a quick buck and take advantage of a young driver?

Thank you all for your anwers. They have all been extremely helpful! I really appreciate it.

Answer 1

I assume you are the younger person and that you were in the accident. If not then this question makes no sense.

An accident happens when two things are done. 1. A police report is filed. 2. A claim is filed and the insurance company investigates. If neither one is done then as far as the insurance company is concerned there never was an accident.

The older woman has to file a claim against you, with your insurance company. She must contact them, or have her insurance company contact them. Usually, it is best to let the insurance companies handle the problem.

Once a claim is filed then a decision to pay is made. An investigator will come out to look at the car and estimate the damage. If there is medical damage then the injured person must see a doctor and submit their report. The injured person must pay for the doctor since she has a choice.

Based on the investigator's report and the doctor's report a claim will be paid out to the parties that are covered.

If the woman didn't call a police officer to file a police report at the time of the accident then the police will not be involved. There is no proof that the accident happened. If the woman said, after the accident, that there was no damage and that she was not hurt then there was no accident. As far as the insurance companies are concerned your cars just collided there was no accident, not even a paint scrape. It is the duty of the woman to contact her insurance company and file a claim. If she failed to do that then you have no responsibility.

Neck injuries are difficult to diagnose and sometimes they appear days later. Because of that a medical exam must be made as soon after the accident as possible. If the person refuses to see a doctor then legally she was not injured. As far as anyone knows she got the injury playing rugby. There is no way to prove anything. Even if she has an x-ray with a clear crack in her neck bones, she can’t prove that your collision was the cause for it. She said she wasn’t injured, and she refused to see a doctor.

The woman is screwed! I don’t think she is trying to cheat you, most people are honest. But, she feels that she was injured after all and that she needs help. You are going to have to call her and say something like this; “I am sorry, but my insurance company doesn’t have a claim from you, since you didn’t file a claim any injuries or damages could have occurred at anytime after the accident. I truly believe that it is possible your neck was hurt in the accident, but without a claim the insurance company is not going to accept responsibility. I think you need to contact your insurance company, but like I said because of the passage of time no one can be sure what happened. I don’t think that you are trying to pull a scam on me, but the insurance companies have to act and think like you are.”

It is her problem not yours.

Answer 2

You dont' indicate who you are related to the matter; however, it sounds like you are the younger driver and at fault of the accident from the jist of your question.

First of all, think it is is odd that your insurance company would tell you that they think it is odd...I would think about changing agents and or carriers of my insurance for starters; it shows a total lack of professionalism as there mission is merely a fact finding and processing of claims, or they either don't have much experience with claims period, especially to say that the "laughed" and basically said she has not claim, which is not true.

If the woman were truly out to make a buck from you or your insurance company, she would never talk directly with your insurance company, she would either contact her own insurance company and/or an attorney and they would file a claim with your insurance company, let alone stating to your insurance company that she was not hit that hard and there was no damage to her car (even a slight tap to a bumper can result in nearly $1,000 in damages, depending on the vehicle). Sounds like all she wants is her out-of-pocket medical bills paid.

In most states you are not required by law to file a police report (although it is always a good idea) and if the indicent occurs on private property, like a parking lot of a supercenter or mall, the police WON'T come out as it is not within their jurisdiction..only public property.

There are too many factors in any situation when an accident occurs as to why one person may suffer damages more than another in the same or different situations. As you indicate the person is older, they may have other medical issues that the accident aggravated, such as arthritis, prior back injury or surgery. (I had this happen to me personally where I was bumped and did not seem that hard at the time, but ended up in ER the next day as where the seatbelt caught me re-injured where I had my gall bladder removed a few months earlier with severe internal bleeding).

ANY time you are involved in an accident, to protect yourself, always call your insurance company and make out a report in case the other person files a claim. If they don't ever file, in most cases your rates won't go up but you have established on record your version of what happened, what damages might or might not have occurred and what was stated and or agreed to.

If you didn't file a claim with your insurance company at the time it occurred, they are likely going to want to try to wash their hands of the matter, which leaves you open to be sued personally for any and all of the woman's medical bills if it is established that you are at fault for the accident, even it it was just a "bump". Her willingness to communicate to your insurance that the there was "no damage" to her vehicle and that "not really hit that hard" is going to work against you in Court. If you are young, plead ignorance of process to your insurance company, make your statement now and see if they can now begin their investigation and process her claim.

Answer 3

There are all kinds of scam artists out there; but first things first.
Fill out an accident report right away. Do it while you have the details clear in your head. Double check your state's law about filing accident reports. Most require a minimum dollar amount of damage done or personal injury (as it appears to be in your case). Hopefully, you got her license number, license plate, vin number and insurance info. If not, call her to get the particulars. Any stalling by the other drivers involved is a good sign something fishy is going on. Next, talk to your insurance company and see how they want to handle this.

Never give a person money directly because of an accident. That is your insurance company's responsibility. They are the pros here and can root out scam artists faster than you can.

If she wants money, she must file a claim and deal with your insurance company. Stick to that point whenever you are involved in an accident.

Answer 4

It doesnt matter really what she is trying to do because there was no accident claim filed with the police. Therefore she has no case against you. And can't do anything at all. Especially since she was the one calling the insurance, usually her insurance would do that if there was a valid case.

I was taken advantage of once I hit someone from behind, paint from my car bumper got left on her car, i could have scrubbed it off with a sponge. She took my info, and ended up sending me bills to get her WHOLE bumper replaced! She wanted me to pay it to HER directly. I told her I would pay the company that fixes it, as she had sent me three different bills. She responded saying she would notify my insurance if i didnt pay her. I ended up sending her $700 that she probably pocketed and bought a new recliner with or some crap, all because I didnt know that if we didn't make a police report and there was no proof, that there was no valid case against me.

Answer 5

Of course she is, next time you see her she may be in a "Skokie Collar" and using a cane for support. She will be faking, of course, but no one can prove it.

Answer 6

TELL THEM THAT YOU BROKE TO HARD AND CAUSED YOU TO BACKLASH