Question about auto insurance.

[Craig]

I'm pretty sure I remember BS having at least one member in the insurance business.

I was involved in an accident where the trooper stated that both parties were equally at fault.
The other driver has liability insurance only, and I have full coverage.
What should I expect?
Will he make a claim on my insurance to repair his car because he only has liability? Or does each insurance company take care of their own customer, and if so, is he out of luck?
I was planning on making my own repairs to my vehicle and not make a claim on my insurance.

 

[Barry J]

If you make a claim or not, your insurance will find out about it when they run your drivers license. I would call them. No matter what the trooper said, I'll bet you a dollar the other party sues you. Then your liability insurance would come into play. Only a court can determine percentage of liability.

 

[madwabbit]

more likely than not, you'll each file claims against your own policies for your own vehicles. Which means due to his coverage- hes screwed.

that being said: if there was moderate to severe damages to the vehicles, he may likely sue in hopes of collecting simply because of that fact that he lacks full coverage. if i was you, I'd call my insurance provider... its what you have/pay them for. I write a check every month so that if I hit someone, its not my problem. Why write the check and not call? and as stated above: citations were issued, your insurance provider will see this as sure as the sun came up this morning.

if its just minor paint n scrapes though, who knows.

 

[Barry J]

more likely than not, you'll each file claims against your own policies for your own vehicles. Which means due to his coverage- hes screwed.

He's only half screwed. If I was in a crash with you and you were found to be 50% at fault, I would be looking for your insurance to pay half my repair bill.

 

[madwabbit]

He's only half screwed. If I was in a crash with you and you were found to be 50% at fault, I would be looking for your insurance to pay half my repair bill.

doesn't work that way, sadly

and if its liability only, i'll bet the vehicle is worth less than a few thousand bucks.

 

[Rigolette]

Only a court can determine percentage of liability.

It's common practice between insurance companies now to use arbitration instead of the courts. I changed insurance companies because of this exact reason. I was involved in an accident a couple of years ago where I was crossing two lanes from a parking lot to get into a center lane and turn left. I was in the center lane and waiting for a car to get past me when an idiot decided to fly out of a parking lot on the opposite side of the road and ran right under my Jeep. I mean my Jeep was well up onto his hood. The arbitrator determined that I was 70% at fault. Totally surprised me since we were both crossing two lanes to get into the center lane but going in different directions. I'm already in the center lane and stopped when he flies out and runs under me. How can I be 70% at fault?

 

[Barry J]

My understanding is different. If his insurance refuses to pay, can't he file suit in small claims court for half his damages?

 

[Rigolette]

It's probably buried somewhere in the insurance contract but from what I understand, arbitration is binding and once an arbitrator has determined fault and both insurance companies pay their percentage, you have no leg to stand on. You've basically signed away your right to sue in court by accepting arbitration. During arbitration, representatives from both insurance companies and the arbitrator are there and they work out an agreement between them. The person insured really has no say so in the matter.

 

[Rigolette]

Now, if they don't use an arbitrator, then, yes, you can get an attorney and sue the other person's insurance company for what your insurance doesn't pay but it's probably not worth it for a 50% at fault case. I had to get an attorney involved in an accident many years ago but the person who hit me was 100% at fault. My son and I were sitting at a red light and an individual hit us from behind. Knocked us 180 feet down the road. The light had just turned green and I had just taken my foot off the brake. I was told that if I would have still had my foot on the brake, we probably wouldn't have made it. The reason I got the attorney involved was because the other insurance company called and told me that I had to get out of the rental car after only a couple of days and they wanted to give me much less than what the value was for my vehicle because they had the model listed incorrectly.

 

[Craig]

I've already contacted my insurance company to let them know. I called the call center and they assigned someone to my case.
The person handling it is out of the office for a day or two and I haven't talked to her yet.
Nobody was ticketed in the accident.
I wasn't trying to hide the fact of the accident, but I didn't plan on make a claim for my vehicle.
Thanks for the replies.

 

[hunter5567]

If he can make a claim against your liability insurance for 50% of his damages then you can make a claim against his liability insurance for 50% of your damages.