Got into a car accident, need help with insurance questions (Video)

[Edidas]

Hello BG, long time lurker here, decided to post this and see if any one has experience with car insurance.

[story] Sunday afternoon was out with my wife near where we lives just driving by, made a stop sign and turning right, saw a car moving a little but though the guy was just parking into his spot so proceed to go, next thing i know the car is already right next to me as i couldn't react to it (try swerved to my right but not much room to dodge him). i heard a bang and i got a sideswiped.

Lucky i got myself a dash cam 2 months before (got into a car accident 2nd day after purchased this car). police screwed me over as they only heard the other guy story saying i ran a stop sign and hit his car with my rear side. true story was i got rear end but i was making a turn and the guy try to dodge me with turning as well result in getting hit on my side. Long story short so i got this dash cam and below is the video.



picture:




Dude know he's at fault but he insisted not to call the police and make a fuss about it and said he could handle my repair bill, but i explaind i still need to file a report in case he back out and pretend this never happened... So i got the police coming and filed for a report, dude still promised he want to settle without insurance involved, me and my wife said fine (since we afraid even clearly the guy's at fault but our insurance rate will still go up).

Fast forward, next day my wife got an estimate and told the guy it'd cost him $1100 to replace the door since doing a paint job might not come out perfect and i don't want a half ass job to save this guys any money because he's the one who should be responsible, anyway, the guy said the price is too steep and saying your car still drivable blah blah blah, i could get this fix for 400-500 and he wasn't really at fault with this accident. so we said fine, we'll go through the insurance...

Now the question is... from the video, what's the chance of getting 100% claim from his insurance? i know it'd be easier just to get my own insurance involved but the last accident i had with similar scratch and dent they quote us $2000+ and we have a $500 deductible for each accident, plus they are real slow on handling our case, so i would like to take the claim on our own and avoid being have to pay the deductible, has anyone done it before?

Any opinion or if anyone here who used to work for car insurance can share how to deal with this kind of post accident claim would be much appreciate!

[*Shinzon*]

I'm not entirely clear, did you in fact call the police when the accident occurred? With a police report showing he's at fault with the video I would think there is no problem. What you should do though is call your insurance company, tell them what you have and then go form there. Your insurance company will litigate on your behalf if his insurance company refuses to pay.

[Ksandra]

When I got rear ended by a motorcycle awhile back I called my insurance, they told me to call his insurance first since I was not at fault, and then call them back if they gave any issues. (I did eventually have to have my insurance argue with them 'cause the guy claimed it was my fault. Ultimately the police report came out siding with me so his insurance had to pay.)

So I would call his insurance first and tell them you have a video of the whole thing and see what happens from there.

[SephYuyX]

"Agaaain..?"

[Edidas]

Police did came and made the report, but we have not received it since it'll take 3-5 business day, hopefully it won't be like last time when the police report took the other guy's side and clearly said i hit him but in fact i didn't...

we would like to go directly to his insurance for the claim since our insurance did a lousy job on my last accident (been almost 2 month, no update and then after calling them earlier this week they just tell us the other party denial our claim and they have to transfer the claim to arbitration dept, if we haven't call who knows how long they just leave it there without any progress...Plus, $500 deductible for each claim )

[jmc]

Where did this take place?

[Edidas]

Where did this take place?

New York

[Ksandra]

Police did came and made the report, but we have not received it since it'll take 3-5 business day, hopefully it won't be like last time when the police report took the other guy's side and clearly said i hit him but in fact i didn't...

we would like to go directly to his insurance for the claim since our insurance did a lousy job on my last accident (been almost 2 month, no update and then after calling them earlier this week they just tell us the other party denial our claim and they have to transfer the claim to arbitration dept, if we haven't call who knows how long they just leave it there without any progress...Plus, $500 deductible for each claim )

I went to the guy's insurance before the report came in. You should do it asap otherwise they will start claiming the damage came from somewhere else. They have to appraise the car from one of their own dealerships.

[ringthree]

What insurance do you have? That is the major consideration here.

[Brill Weave]

You're fine. The cam footage clearly shows he pulled out into traffic. Contact his insurance once you have the police report in hand. Barring some sort of shenanigans his insurance will foot the whole thing.

[Senji]

The insurance adjuster should be coming to wherever your car is located during normal business hours with a rough appointment window ie not like cable company.

Even if 100% fault is assigned to other guy, since you were involved your hidden insurance rating will increase, however your rate may not. The othercompany may try to put 5% blame on you. Your agent should shoot this down automatically, but obviously say no if it comes to you. Yay NY.

Lol@ other guy squawking at 1k damages. He's lucky and should have just kissed your ass as he came up with that little of cash asap. It's a shame because it will go on you and your cars record for something so small.

[Quixon]

Let your insurance talk to their insurance. That is what you are paying for.

If you want the car fixed right away, then you can do that and pay the $500 deductible. Once your insurance fights it out and determines it was the other parties fault, which it is 100% no doubt, you will get reimbursed the $500.

If you don't want to front the $500 deductible, wait until the insurances fight it out and then get it fixed once the other parties insurance claims fault. It shouldn't take very long with the dash cam video.


YOU choose the repair shop. DO NOT go to a repair shop the insurance suggests. The insurance is suggesting them because the body shop is saving the insurance company money. You need to be especially careful in NYC, body shops and mechanics down there are complete scumbags in general, and will screw over the first unsuspecting person to walk in the door. Make sure the repairs and body work are covered by a warranty, and give the car a thorough inspection before you take it back from the shop.



Edit: Do not go around the insurance company. It hardly ever works out for the person who was not at fault, which you are seeing now. You were smart to have a police report filed though, b/c that is your only safety net if the person then decides to be a dick and not pay (like in your current case). If you know cars and can fix the damage yourself or have a trusted friend/mechanic, that is the only good time to go around the insurance company.

[Tyche]

Just curious, did you send the dashcam video to the police?

[Edidas]

Just curious, did you send the dashcam video to the police?

Our insurance is Geico, and no we didn't submit the video to police or insurance yet...

[Updated] went to the precinct that has my report, it's been 6 days, went in and asked for the report, none found... they said maybe the officer forgot to hand in the report in the record or worst... it's lost... NYPD never cease to amaze me... thing is I was gonna get the report So I can get the guys insurance info, but now I don't Know if I'll ever get the info, the only I have is the plate number and according to the driver it's registered to his mom...

[AidenCarby]

Go after his mom then.

[Mistress Stowastiq]

Unless you have something you don't want dug up in the legal process or if you think that you are at fault, it seems safer to go the insurance route, especially with the guy already complaining about prices. Very good you have video, that is rare to have. Also make sure you are not injured. Sometimes back injuries take time to surface and unless you file a claim at the time or see a doc, it can be difficult to back track later on. If the car is in some on else's name and it is not stolen, you should still be able to track down who was driving it.

At the precinct, see if you can talk to someone above the officer who issued the report or [lost it]. If that doesn't work, go over that person's head until you get someone who knows what you can do regarding a lost report. Mention that you have video of the accident.

[Tyche]

Go after his mom then.

This. Doesn't matter if its registered to him or not. My wife was involved in a hit and run and the driver wasn't the owner or insured. The owner still got nailed to the wall (her boyfriend was driving).

[AidenCarby]

When you insure someone or loan them your vehicle you are taking full responsibility for their actions in said vehicle, if he's gonna fuck around and try and do you dirty like that; fry both of 'em.

[Ratatapa]

Go after his mom then.

seems strange when read out of context

[Zigma]

File the police report and file a claim with HIS insurance company. The video clearly shows he is at fault.