Sideswipped by a car, but driver claiming he didn't hit me

[holysm0ke78]

What is the name of your state? NJ

A couple of months ago, I got into an accident with a Dunbar Armored truck. I was driving in the farthest left hand lane because eventually I had to make a left hand turn. The truck pulled up beside me on the right hand side. He swerved into my lane and sideswipped my right hand side. He pulled over and so did I and asked me if I was okay, and then got into his car and proceeded to drive away. I called 911 and gave his lisence plate number. I followed him down the street where he eventually pulled over.

I called his insurance and he is saying he did not hit my car. I called my insurance and got a claim number and gave them all the information. However, this company is saying they are not liable. My insurance told me to pay the 600 dollars worth of damage by bringing it to a shop to get it fixed, and then they will go after the company. But if they haven't gotten the money now what makes it certain they will get it after I get the car fixed?

I am a full time college student and therefore don't have the 600 dollars anyway. I want this company to give me the money to get my car fixed. I cannot afford for my insurance to go up so I was going to write a letter to this company demanding my money.

My question is - What exactly are my options? What can I do?

 

[j6605]

The best thing to do is to find some way to pay for the deductible on your insurance and have them fix your car. Your insurance will take your statemenet and seek indemnification against the Dunbar truck insurance company if in fact they can prove they caused the damage or if they admit the damage to your vehicle. This is why we carry insurance; to get fast and effective relief from damage caused by another and to have them do all the work in persuing the other party. If they do get indemnified/reimbursed for the money they expended for the damage to your vehicle, you will get your deductible back.

On the other hand if you were to seek redress in a court of law, you would have the burden of proof showing that the defendant caused damage to your vehicle. Going this route, you would have to front all the court costs. For the sake of time and money, you might want to find some way to come up with the deductible from your insurance.

I hope this helps...JL

 

[RachelB82]

i agree that you should pay the deductible and wait to be reimbursed. i was in a similar situation and ended up paying for it myself and then i was paid back by my insurance company at like $20/month. it took forever, but i got it. if you can drive with the damage, you can always put it off...but make sure your insurance company has written proof of why you aren't paying it and that you intend to otherwise it might look like you admit it's not from his car...they will try to twist things