Wife, last car in 3 car accident...

pace13 · #1 08-23-2007, 06:27 PM

What is the name of your state? CA

the vehicle behind my wife was hit and shoved into my wifes vehicle. The first vehicle was driven by the owners boyfriend who incidentaly had a suspended license and was uninsured. (He also tried to get her to lie about him driving, not to call the police and then lied to the police when they arrived about his suspended license

).

Insurance co of the offending vehicle says to my wife that they have $5000 to cover BOTH cars!

this happened this morning and she is already complaiing of back pain. I am making her see a dr ASAP, I'm sure she will stiffen up over the next day or two. I want to make sure she has no other injuries.

Is the owner of the vehicle financially responsible for fixing the car? or the driver? Both?

Anything I can do to speed things up? Feels like the other insurance co is going to drag this on forever.

Is the insurance co feeding me a line trying NOT to have to pay?What is the name of your state?

REB · #2 08-23-2007, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pace13

What is the name of your state? CA

the vehicle behind my wife was hit and shoved into my wifes vehicle. The first vehicle was driven by the owners boyfriend who incidentaly had a suspended license and was uninsured. (He also tried to get her to lie about him driving, not to call the police and then lied to the police when they arrived about his suspended license

).

Insurance co of the offending vehicle says to my wife that they have $5000 to cover BOTH cars!

this happened this morning and she is already complaiing of back pain. I am making her see a dr ASAP, I'm sure she will stiffen up over the next day or two. I want to make sure she has no other injuries.

Is the owner of the vehicle financially responsible for fixing the car? or the driver? Both?

Anything I can do to speed things up? Feels like the other insurance co is going to drag this on forever.

Is the insurance co feeding me a line trying NOT to have to pay?What is the name of your state?

Too many variables. Not enough facts.

Were the cars moving? Time of day?
What about car 2's insurance?
What about your wife's insurance? If car 3 had inadequate coverage, your wife's insurance should cover her for her car and doctor bills assuming she has more than liability.

Also "financially responsible" and collecting are different concepts.

pace13 · #3 08-23-2007, 08:39 PM

Thanks for the reply,
EDIT** editing my own answers after I saw Curts post...

morning commute on the freeway, stop and go traffic. She was stopped at the time of the incident.

My wife has adequate ins.(full coverage) car #2 has adequate ins. car #3 is insured but for only $5000 per incident when driven by someone not on the policy.

as it is right now, I believe we are having to pay the deductable ($1000) and our insurance is paying the rest. Our insurance will then go after what they paid and our deductable in the mean time.

Is car #3 responsible for more than the $5000 or will they say we have to go after mr uninsured driver? Per Curt our insurance will cover anything NOT covered by car #3's ins

Will car #2 be responsible in any way? NO
Will I need an attourny to see this through?

not sure on the injuries, my wife will be seeing a Dr in the morning.

Also the Insurance Co for car #3 tried to get a recorded statement from my wife, should I be concerned about this?

Thank you again for your time

REB · #4 08-23-2007, 08:53 PM

Looking at the worst case scenario.

Your wife's insurance should cover her. Depending on her policy, her rates shouldn't be affected since it was not her fault.

Your wife's insurance will most likely cover your wife and attempt to recover against 3.

You could possibly make an argument that 2 was driving too close to your wife. (if they were moving at the time of impact)

Your wife should give a statement to her insurance co, see her doc, and tell the other insurance companies to get her statement from her insurance.

Near as I can see it, this would probably be the most stress-free way to take care of the damage and her injury.

las365 · #5 08-23-2007, 09:04 PM

The driver of Car #2 had a duty to maintain a safe distance between his car and your wife's. Unless the car that struck him was going so fast that the impact propelled Car #2 an unusually long distance, Car #2 would seem to have some liability.

moburkes · #6 08-23-2007, 09:19 PM

The minimum amount of coverage in CA is $15,000 per person bodily injury/$30,000 per accident bodily injury/$5,000 per accident property damage.

Based on the information that you provided, the at fault party's girlfriend's insurance policy probably had the coverage I described above.

Generally, an uninsured driver becomes an insured driver when driving someone's vehicle, and that vehicle is insured. But, you've already been made aware of the problem. The insurance company may deny the claim because of the suspended license. However, the girlfriend was negligent in knowingly allowing her unlicensed BF to drive her vehicle. You may end up naming her in a lawsuit.

If the claim is NOT denied, then, yes, the $5000 will be split between your wife's vehicle and the other vehicle. Unfortunately for your wife, since the other vehicle was damaged more (front AND back), they will likely receive the bulk of the $5,000. If the claim is denied, then your wife will use her collision or uninsured motorist property damage coverage. She will be responsible only for the deductible. The UMPD deductible is less than the collision deductible.

If the claim is NOT denied, then there is $15,000 worth of coverage for your wife's medical bills and pain & suffering. If the claim is denied, then she MAY have coverage if she has medical payments coverage, which pays regardless of fault, and/or uninsured motorist/underinsured motorist coverage. UIM (underinsured motorist coverage) is available when the at fault party has insurance, but not enough for all of the medical bills. However, the catch is that her UIM coverage must be HIGHER than the at fault party's liabilty coverage. The difference between the 2 coverages is what's available.

Okay. You need to calm down. Claims, in GENERAL, can take 30 days to adjust. In GENERAL. That is why you want to be properly insured in case you are hit by someone without or without enough insurance. CA, like most other states, has a HIGH number of drivers with little or no insurance.

If traffic is stopped, there is no reason for vehicle 2 to hold anyresponsibility. However, a small amount of liability may be attributed to car 2.

ecmst12 · #7 08-23-2007, 10:23 PM

The at-fault insurance can not and will not pay ANYONE until they have ALL estimates/bills for all parties so they know if the limits are exceeded and if so, so they can pro-rate the payment to each party. No, you can't speed that up. Let your insurance company worry about it.

I'm pretty sure that the driver having a suspended license is NOT a valid reason to deny a claim. My company INSURES people without valid licenses (we have a lot with mexican licenses which are not recognized in the US), KNOWING they don't have valid licenses.

pace13 · #8 08-24-2007, 04:28 PM

thanks everyone for the insightful replies.

we are taking the advice given here, letting our insurance co handle it and remaining calm knowing it might be some time before its resolved.

thanks again!

Jeff

moburkes · #9 08-24-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pace13

thanks everyone for the insightful replies.

we are taking the advice given here, letting our insurance co handle it and remaining calm knowing it might be some time before its resolved.

thanks again!

Jeff

And, I would appreciate a personal thank you for all that I have written, in my attempt to calm you the hell down!

Just kidding.

I'm sure that it will turn out all right for you - as long as you have insurance of your own.