Michigan No-Fault and Rear-End Accident

[cplater]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

I was rear ended, and pushed into a motor home. The driver who hit me fled from the scene of the accident. The license plate number was given to the police officer who responded to the scene, and when the police confronted the man at his home, he confessed to the accident. My insurance company has told me that I am only entitled to a $500 mini-tort payment, and nothing more. The damages are much more extensive than that.

Aren't rear-end accidents exempt from the no-fault rule? I have been told by someone in another state (Minnesota) that when he was rear-ended the other person's insurance had to pick up the full tab, including a rental car.

Ami I stuck? Should I just settle for the $500 payment, bite the bullet, and eat the rest of the cost, or should I fight this, and try to get this person's insurance to pay for the repairs? Thanks in advance.

 

[Lifeisfarout]

It sounds like you have liability only on this vehicle - no collision coverage. If so, all you can collect from the guy who hit you or his insurance company is up to $500.
Michigan is the only state in the nation that has the "no fault" negligence law. The $500 is called a mini tort claim.
If you have collision coverage on this vehicle with a $500 deductible, your insurance company would pay for your vehicle to be repaired less the $500 deductible, which would be paid by you. Then your insurance company would ask for reimbursement of the deductible you paid from the negligent party or their insurance company. In the state of Michigan, your insurance company cannot be reimbursed for what they paid out. If your deductible is $1000, you only get $500 from the negligent party. If your deductible is $250, you only get $250. It does not pay to carry liability only in the state of Michigan.
The mini tort law only applies to accidents that occur in the state of Michigan because it is a state specific law.

 

[driftbuster]

He is right about the mini-tort, that is small claims court. just think, if it wasn't for no fault the motorhome could go after you. anyway if the motorhome had collision his insurance company will be collecting. you can only get a rental if you have rental insurance. If it helps the other driver is not making brownie points by leaving the scene which is going to cost him some points. if your dedctable is $250 it means all you pay is the $250 if you have collision and at fault, not at fault and the deductable is weivered. If you had collision, being rear ended, you were not at fault and would have no deductable. I took it off of my 93 van but keep it on my 92 jeep because of the cost of repair. a kid hit me(er... tapped) in the parking lot last winter and did 350 dollars damage, i was not at fault(parked) so I had no deductable. hope this helps a bit. no-fault is not perfect but it does work. and don't forget always get a accident report, because without one your insurance company will not even give you the time of day.

 

[cplater]

Thanks

Thanks for the info. I had recently dropped collision coverage on this car, as it had been paid off. I understand the need for a no-fault system, but I do think that MI's law should be revised so that rear end accidents are exempt, and the driver that causes the accident should be held fully responsible. I just wanted to get a 2nd opinion, to verify what I was told by the insurance company. Actually, according to them, if the driver is not insured, I can go after him (he was caught,) for the full amount of damage, but if he does have insurance, I'll have to settle for the mini tort. Thanks again.

 

[sivanppl]

i can help you

Hi
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[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Sivan is a quack and a scam artist. He cannot help you, and is only trying to get your money. BEWARE !

IAAL

 

[JETX]

Don't fall for this 'pre-paid legal' SCAM.

Yep, have already lodged complaint about him! And getting him kicked off the forum.... soon as California 'wakes up'.

His intent is to try to get you to sign up for a MLM (Mult-Level Marketing) SCAM. If you want to find out about them BEFORE you lose your money, take a look at:
http://www.prepaidlegalsucks.com/news.html
http://www.prepaidlegalsucks.com/
http://www.odwyerpr.com/archived_stories_2002/july/0723crudele_intimidation.htm

 

[sivanppl]

Thanks for your comment mr. negativity.
Prepaid Legal is a 30 year old NYSE company.
You would think that a 30 year old "SCAM" would have been discovered by now.
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[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

For Silvan:

Why would anyone want to use your company when your company, through you as their agent, blatantly violate rules, and stoop so low that you have to "ambulance chase" JUST to make a "buck"?

"FreeAdvice Forum Terms and Conditions of Use

"You agree that you will NOT use the FreeAdvice Forum to post any advertisement, chain letter, solicitation or other commercial message."

If you find it so easy to violate "our" rules, perhaps you'll find it easy to violate and cheat the writers on these forums.

Would you buy a used car from "Silvan"?

BEWARE!

IAAL

 

[JETX]

Sivan, your post offers NO legal advice (which is the purpose of this forum) and ask that people with legal needs contact you. So, what EXACTLY are you selling?

Since Pre-Paid Legal is clearly a MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) program (like Amway), your sole intent is obviously to try to get persons who need legal help to contact you so that you can try to sell them YOUR package.... of legal services. Then, like all MLM's, you get a percentage of their payments and want them to go out and resell the same pyramid scheme to others. Correct??

So, let me ask you a very clear question.... "Does your pre-paid legal services cover ALL legal cases and what are the prices?". If it isn't a scam, you should have no problem telling all of your potential customers about it... should you??

Let me give you ONE excerpt from the links I provided in my earlier post...
"In an issue of Connection, David A. Savula, one of Pre-Paid's top recruiters, wrote: "Does our product cover everything? Yes. So if somebody asks does it cover this or does it cover that, we're going to say, 'Yes.'" Stonecipher made similar assurances during an interview in April 2001 on Fox's The O'Reilly Factor, as well as in his folksy corporate memoir, The Pre-Paid Legal Story.

Not so fast. The plans sharply limit coverage for cases involving bankruptcy, alcohol, drugs, preexisting conditions, divorce, annulment, child custody, class actions, hit-and-run accidents, driving without a license and civil or criminal charges associated with a business and tax evasion. The policy covers 60 hours of trial time for the first year that customers join, but there is a big catch. Pretrial work--the bulk of what litigators do--is limited to just 2.5 hours per year in a basic policy.

Customers supposedly get a 25% discount on attorney fees for excluded items--but there's nothing to stop participating lawyers from hiking their rates. What is free under the policy? Will-writing and contract reviews, among other things."
Source: http://www.prepaidlegalsucks.com/news.html

Let me repeat the most important part of the above.... "The policy covers 60 hours of trial time for the first year that customers join, but there is a big catch. Pretrial work--the bulk of what litigators do--is LIMITED TO JUST 2.5 HOURS PER YEAR in a basic policy."
Simply, this means that the ONLY work that an attorney can do in that 2.5 hours PER YEAR is to maybe give you a standard form for you to complete. Everything else will be charged to YOU since it isn't in 'the plan'.