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Insurance claim

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ime1979

New member
What is the name of your state?
California

In April 2019 my parked car was rammed into by a driver that fell asleep at the wheel. Car was parked in the driveway and she ran the stop, got onto the curb hit
two cars, one being mine. It was reported right away to my insurance and driver's insurance. Signed agreement settlement to her insurance and sent it to them. I have not
received anything and I call and they keep telling me that now I have to wait for the city to file a claim because she damaged a fenced that belong to the city. All the other
parties involved had been paid out. Do I have to wait or can I file a Small Claims?
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state?
California

In April 2019 my parked car was rammed into by a driver that fell asleep at the wheel. Car was parked in the driveway and she ran the stop, got onto the curb hit
two cars, one being mine. It was reported right away to my insurance and driver's insurance. Signed agreement settlement to her insurance and sent it to them. I have not
received anything and I call and they keep telling me that now I have to wait for the city to file a claim because she damaged a fenced that belong to the city. All the other
parties involved had been paid out. Do I have to wait or can I file a Small Claims?
You don't HAVE to wait - you are free to file a small claims suit.
 

ALawyer

Senior Member
My sense is that the driver had limited property damage coverage, and his/her insurance company doesn't want to risk paying out more than the amount of the maximum amount of that coverage given several claimants -- you, the city, the other parties, etc. So in the meantime you are forced to wait and while it may make sense to the insurance company, that's not fair to you.

If the damage to your car was $10,000 or less small claims court in California should be available -- unless what you signed with the driver's insurance company precludes you from bringing suit -- so take a careful look at what you signed and sent to the driver's insurance company -- I'd sue the driver immediately. Delay is not your friend -- as people can move, declare bankruptcy, facts often get muddy, witnesses become unavailable, etc. You'll have to have proof of the actual damages sustained -- a paid repair bill from the auto body shop might do it. However if your car was not repaired, you'd have issues of proof of damages.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
You don't HAVE to wait - you are free to file a small claims suit.
I dunno Zig, a settlement agreement was signed. I would not file a small claims case without talking to an attorney and his/her insurance company since his/her insurance company is involved.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Signed agreement settlement to her insurance and sent it to them.
Settlement agreement for what? Was there a dollar amount? Was that dollar amount the repair cost irrespective of policy limits. Even if the claim rep agreed as to the cost of repair (or replacement if a total loss) that amount would still be subject to the Property Damage Liability limit and you would only get a pro rated share of that limit if the limit wasn't enough to cover the damage to all claimants. Even if you got a judgment you would have to collect the difference from the other driver personally.

Why aren't you using the Collision coverage on your own policy (if you have it) and then let your insurance company seek recovery. It's what you pay insurance premiums for. It would save you the cost, hassle, and delay that a lawsuit would entail.

Also understand that the other driver's insurance company may pay your claim, or a portion of it, with no admission of liability. If you sued, the burden would be on you to first prove negligence before the court will address damages. Now suppose that the other driver passed out because of some unforeseen or unexpected medical condition. There would then be no negligence and you would not win.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I dunno Zig, a settlement agreement was signed. I would not file a small claims case without talking to an attorney and his/her insurance company since his/her insurance company is involved.
Yes, it was signed, but it was never completed by the other party.
 

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