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Rear ended, other party won't pay, worth to sue?

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blahit

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I was rear ended by David. David is with GEICO. I'm insured with Progressive.

I call GEICO to report that their insured rear ended me, they have me bring it to their shop to get it looked at. Estimate is $700. I call Progressive to report i was hit. They get in on this to expedite the process. A week later Progressive tells me GEICO is doing a "coverage investigation and it would be best to go through your insurance." Progressive sends out an appraiser who says damage is only $400. I dispute that i went to three different shops and they all estimated it at $700-750. I somehow feel Progressive underappraised the damage since they have a feeling they won't be able to get the money back from GEICO due to the "coverage investigation". My deductible is unsurprisingly $400 (although I have uninsured motorist coverage which will reimburse me $400).

At this point, I want to just handle this with GEICO but they're saying they'll update me every 30 days (LOL) of this coverage investigation. I don't see what they have ot investigate because i have a picture of David, the guy who me, and his insurance card that says he was covered till hte next month. He admitted he was 100% at fault to both insurance parties. It doesn't seem like this will go anywhere with GEICO. I don't want to really have my insurance Progressive involved for worries that my rate will increase.

Is it worth it to sue this David guy? I know the amount isn't large, but i don't want this guy to walk away scott free with a slap on the wrist. He should pay, either through his insurance or to me.
 


Zigner

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
blahit said:
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I was rear ended by David. David is with GEICO. I'm insured with Progressive.

I call GEICO to report that their insured rear ended me, they have me bring it to their shop to get it looked at. Estimate is $700. I call Progressive to report i was hit. They get in on this to expedite the process. A week later Progressive tells me GEICO is doing a "coverage investigation and it would be best to go through your insurance." Progressive sends out an appraiser who says damage is only $400. I dispute that i went to three different shops and they all estimated it at $700-750. I somehow feel Progressive underappraised the damage since they have a feeling they won't be able to get the money back from GEICO due to the "coverage investigation". My deductible is unsurprisingly $400 (although I have uninsured motorist coverage which will reimburse me $400).

At this point, I want to just handle this with GEICO but they're saying they'll update me every 30 days (LOL) of this coverage investigation. I don't see what they have ot investigate because i have a picture of David, the guy who me, and his insurance card that says he was covered till hte next month. He admitted he was 100% at fault to both insurance parties. It doesn't seem like this will go anywhere with GEICO. I don't want to really have my insurance Progressive involved for worries that my rate will increase.

Is it worth it to sue this David guy? I know the amount isn't large, but i don't want this guy to walk away scott free with a slap on the wrist. He should pay, either through his insurance or to me.
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An insurance card does not PROVE the coverage is in effect. He could have received the card and then stopped paying the bill...

Your insurance should repair the damage and then seek to recover from the other party.
 
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!CuriousGeorge!

Member
Zigner said:
An insurance card does not PROVE the coverage is in effect. He could have received the card and then stopped paying the bill...

Your insurance should repair the damage and then seek to recover from the other party.
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Or canceled after getting his card .. maybe he has different insurance, the OP does not know.

If the OP does not like the 400 bucks being offered then take the driver/car owner to court for the 700-750. Unless you can take the 400 now & be able to go to court & get a judgment of 700-750 .. then when paid (ha) pay back the 400 to the insurance co.

An insurance company that has a lower estimate? Oh my!
 
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Labtec600

Member
The difference is that I am sure progressive wrote that the bumper can be repaired while geico was writing it as being replaced. If you accept the estimate and go to the shop, and they can't repair it, Progressive should come back out and write a supplement for replacement and the difference be paid. If the bumper can be fixed for $400 - the bumper is fixed and you're back to where you were before the accident.



Suing the other driver will do nothing for you right now. Liability is not the issue - coverage is. The other parties insurance could have been canceled, he could have been an excluded driver - a whole bunch of scenarios could be happening. If Geico says he does not have coverage and deny the claim, they are denying it because of coverage - they are not saying he is not liable for the damages. This just means that they wont cover him so he has to pay out of pocket.

He may do this for you if you present him with the estimate from progressive. If he doesnt, you could sue him but still doesnt mean he is going to pay.
 
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blahit

Junior Member
This guy who hit me has an expired license of two years. He can't be an illegal citizen if he has a driver's license right?

At this point i'm just going ot go through my insurance. My insurance will try to get the money back from his insurance.

But if i go that route, and he turns out to not have coverage, he basically walks away without any reprecussions right?
 
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OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
If he does not have a license, he should not have insurance coverage. Every policy I have seen excludes operation by non licensed drivers. It should be an uninsured claim to Progressive from what you say.
 
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Labtec600

Member
blahit said:
But if i go that route, and he turns out to not have coverage, he basically walks away without any reprecussions right?
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No - remember, no coverage does not equal not responsible. Progressive can still pursue for the damages paid out for this claim personally against the other party. They can put him on a payment plan - IE, you pay us 50 a month for X months (or all up front).
 
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blahit

Junior Member
i see, so if he's not insured, then my insurance company, Progressive, will bypass his company, GEICO, and go after him personally?

I'm going to fight my Progressive to raise the repair cost from their appraisal of $500 to $800, so Progressive will go after him for the $800 instead of GEICO?
 
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Labtec600

Member
blahit said:
i see, so if he's not insured, then my insurance company, Progressive, will bypass his company, GEICO, and go after him personally?

I'm going to fight my Progressive to raise the repair cost from their appraisal of $500 to $800, so Progressive will go after him for the $800 instead of GEICO?
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Yes - if he is not insured Progressive would go at the other party personally. They will also seek whatever is paid out.
 
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las365

Senior Member
OP, do you have uninsured motorist coverage? As pointed out, if you do, then it should be the primary coverage under your policy in this incident, not your collision coverage. I believe this would eliminate your deductible.

You certainly can dispute your own carrier's esimate of repair costs. The way to do that is, as pointed out, getting estimates that are supportable (one could argue, for example, that Geico's estimate is reasonable).

Your insurance carrier owes you a duty of good faith and fair dealing, and that includes adjusting your claim fairly and paying the amount that is reasonable and necessary for repairs.

You can pay for the repairs yourself and then sue your carrier if you have to. It would be a shame to have to go that route over such a relatively small amount of money, but it is an option.
 
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