<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, Verdana">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hansona:
My wife was involved in an auto accident that was not her fault. We contacted our insurance the next business day. Since then, we were told that her car is repairable. We do not trust that. We want to have a car in the same condition it was in before it was hit. Our claim rep has instructed us that this is our only choice. I feel different. I want to seek councel to assist us in this case. My question is, do we have a case? My wife had only minor injuries. We just want the car replaced. The insurance company acted on their own to settle the entire case with out consulting us of the direction they were working in. What should we do? I thought our insurance was hired to protect us?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
I'm a bit confused by your post. First, you say: "My wife was involved in an auto accident that was not her fault" and then you say: "The insurance company acted on their own to settle the entire case . . ."
Usually, when an insurance company pays the "other guy," that means that your insurance company has decided, from its investigation, that the "other guy" was "not at fault" and that you, the insured, were the ones at fault. With the exception of certain "business" insurance policies, an auto liabitity insurance company has the right, under the policy provisions, to act on their own and pay out on your policy if an insured's liability is present. If you read your policy, you'll see that I'm correct. This, however, is undoubtedly what happened in your wife's case. Something was against your wife's version of the accident - - a collision report, witnesses, or something she said to the insurance adjuster when she spoke to the adjuster - - but something was amiss to make them pay the "other guy."
If you disagree with the insurance company concerning your car, again, if you look at your policy provisions, you'll see conditions for Arbitration. You might want to run your scenario by an attorney, and bring your policy with you for review. Perhaps the attorney can, at least, get them to change their mind on auto repair/replacement.
Good luck to you.
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