Im really quite lost and wondering what to do and/or what my options are. Im reaching out in hopes someone can help me out as ive never been in a car wreck.
Back In June i exited the freeway behind an 18 wheeler. I dont not get physically injured!
We get to a stop light, and are waiting for the light to turn green. During this wait, the semi truck decides to start reversing to get into a lane at a cutoff approximatly 50 feet behind us. The send he started reversing i honked my horn in which he reversed right into my front end. I continued to honk as the semi truck pushed me backwards for about 10 seconds. He got to the cutoff in which he switched lanes on a different exit. He got to the stop light in the other lane after switching, i continuasly attempted to get his attention, honking, waving, pulling up to the side of his semi. The light turned green and he took off. I was able to snap a pic of the liscence plate as he took off.
I was shook up and thought, well shoot a semi just hit me, i better make sure my care is safe to drive before i go chasing down a semi. I pull over and the front bumper is hanging woth multiples visual damages to the front, but the damage didnt go inward enough to hit the radiater. I called the police, made a report, and then contacted the surrounding building for footage.
A hotel got the incident on footage and sent it to me.
I reached out a few days later to the police departments crash team investigater whom helped me locate the semi driver. They got his insurance information, Progressive. I filed a claim with them, provided footage and evidence and a preliminary estimate. Progressive and the semi truck driver said he was at fault.
Progressive reaches out to me and said this isnt the right insurance for commercial, it was his personal. The give ke his "commercial insurance". I contact the commercial insurance given in which the policy was non existent.
I reach back out to the crash team police people, they get ahold of the semi driver, he takes photos of the his insurance, progressive, and we verify it is in fact his commercial insurance. We call progressive back and deal with them for a month before the adjuster says oh yes, this is his commercial insurance, it appears he is at fault, but we cannot cover damages because there isnt valid coverage for the accident as there are grey areas in his coverage.
We contact a higher up at progressive, they say they should definatly be able to cover damages and they are unsure whats going on and no one seems to be giving us a straight answer.
We reach back out to the adjuster who explains theres grey areas, such as if he was pulling into a gas station or leaving home from work.
A week later i get a letter in the mail from progressive afjuster stating we are sorry, but we cannot mobe forward with the claim to support it as there is no valid insurance.
The crash team investigater from the police department recommends i file through my insurance as we have been battling progressive for 3 months now.
I call my insurance. My deductible is 500, and i have a very low rental car coverage. In which i have to pay for a rental car too.
Im lost cause i currently live paycheck to paycheck as a single mom, trying to finish school. I can not afford a deductable and a rental car for i dont even know how long but the rates are about 60 a day here. I need a car for my job as im a at home hospice at( i go to people homes). My car has been drivable, that i know of atleast, with some minor changes ive noticed aside from visilual damage. Like the shaking, a tire pressure unit light and turning right it creaks a little. These have all happened since the incident.
I dont feel like its fair i have to pay money to fix aomething that wasnt even my fault because his insurance is giving the runaround, or so it feels to be so.
What are my options, suggestions or whatever advise you have would be beyond appreciated!
TIA!
Semi truck backed up into my car at a red light, his insurance company wont pay for damages. Im lost.
byu/PossibleFeedback8026 inInsurance
Posted by PossibleFeedback8026
17 Comments
Commerical insurance is in fact very confusing and does have a lot of gray areas, their words.
The best vet is to use your insurance and let them fight it out with progressive.
They are not denying liability, they are denying coverage which is different.
Your only option is to use your coverage, with the deductibles and rental limits that you chose and pay for.
Progressive is saying they have no coverage, this could be due to an unlisted driver, improper coverage type or any number of reasons. They are denying the claim. They are out of the picture.
Far to often innocent people get placed in financial hardship due to other driver’s not having any or improper coverage. Once this issue is resolved sit down with your agent and review your policy and check prices for lower deductibles and higher rental reimbursement coverage. Kudos to you for having rental reimbursement in the first place. So many people skip that and have nothing to help when something like this happens.
Keep your receipts and document everything. You can potentially take the car owner to small claims court in an attempt to be made whole
Commercial insurance is difficult for those who haven’t worked it before.
There could be multiple insurance companies that insure that truck, depending on what it’s doing.
There’s an insurance company for the truck.
And insurance company for the driver.
And another for the people who contracted the load.
It sounds like they’re denying coverage because he was in-between loads, which makes me think you got the latter of the insurance companies.
Genuinely, good luck with this chaotic mess.
Insureds/drivers on commercial policies have no idea what they’re doing and just give out random information.
File with your own insurance, it’s what it’s there for.
You still have the sentence incorrect. I think you are saying you weren’t injured
I’m sorry you are getting the runaround. You will have to sue him in small claims court if he refuses to pay you.
Your insurance will deal with his company for you.
Honestly it sucks but life isn’t really fair. You paid for the coverage you have use it. Let your insurance figure out that headache of a commercial policy. You should be able to find a rental car within your limits if your insurance sets it up. Pay the deductible and hope you see it back in 6 go 18 months.
I’m not reading all that but get a fucking dash cam, a good one is 100 bucks
you really need to work through your insurance first. there are a lot of insights in the rest of the comments here, but you may in the end be forced to sue directly. If that becomes the case you would likely name the driver, all insurance companies that you know of who may be even remotely involved, and the company driver works for. Obviously this becomes a challenge for someone with little time and resources but ask around and you may find someone willing to assist pro-bono.
You need to file through your insurance. I got rear-ended while waiting in a Taco Bell drive thru. I had a $250 deductible through State Farm and they ultimately refunded me that as well, in the end.
File with your insurance company and when your rental runs out file a claim for loss of use with the trucking company in small claims.
This situation is challenging. Since your insurance is the backup option, you might want to file a claim with them. They might cover the costs minus your deductible. Keep all records and consider speaking with a legal advisor if needed.
If you need a rental car while yours is being repaired have your insurance adjuster arrange it for you, they get MUCH lower rates than even the lowest publicly available rates, and the rental company (usually Enterprise) will bill the insurance company directly.
We went through something similar. Here is what I learned that may help you.
The good news is that, if you file this with your insurance, while is everything is being worked between the two companies you won’t have any out-of-pocket expenses until the end. Your biggest issue is the rental car. However, if your insurance can get things straightened out fairly quickly then the cost of the rental will shift over to the trucker’s insurance and most likely the time will get extended (probably 30 days). The same will apply to your $500 deductible. But, if things take longer to resolve and your car gets repaired in the meantime then you will need that $500 when it comes time to pick up your car. If you don’t have it then not only do you not get your car back but they will tack on storage fees which can add up rather quickly.
Contact your insurance. As soon as they assign an adjuster speak to them, explain everything, and keep in contact with them on a regular basis.
Best of luck to you.
> I reach back out to the crash team police people, they get ahold of the semi driver, he takes photos of the his insurance, progressive, and we verify it is in fact his commercial insurance. We call progressive back and deal with them for a month before the adjuster says oh yes, this is his commercial insurance, it appears he is at fault, but we cannot cover damages because there isnt valid coverage for the accident as there are grey areas in his coverage.
> We contact a higher up at progressive, they say they should definitely be able to cover damages and they are unsure what’s going on and no one seems to be giving us a straight answer.
> We reach back out to the adjuster who explains there’s grey areas, such as if he was pulling into a gas station or leaving home from work.
> A week later i get a letter in the mail from progressive adjuster stating we are sorry, but we cannot move forward with the claim to support it as there is no valid insurance.
> The crash team investigator from the police department recommends i file through my insurance as we have been battling progressive for 3 months now.
I need to bookmark this post because it’s a perfect example of why we tell people with claims against heavy trucks to just use their own insurance. This big circular path you took is how a truck liability claim goes 90% of the time.
> I don’t feel like its fair I have to pay money to fix something that wasn’t even my fault because his insurance is giving the runaround, or so it feels to be so.
Them wrongly denying his coverage is between him and his insurer, and it doesn’t really have anything to do with you. You use your own insurance and then your insurer will pursue him over it. Your only other option if they won’t voluntarily pay you is to take him to court and get a judgment. Your insurance is definitely the easier route.
> My car has been drivable
If you car has been drivable then you can file the claim, get paid (minus your deductible) and then wait until they subrogate it and get your deductible back. Then fix the car.
You can also float the deductible on a credit card until your insurer gets it back. You’ll have to pay the credit card interest on the $500 until they get it, (and there’s always the possibility that they can’t get it) but you can get your car fixed right away.
Some body shops offer financing of deductibles that’s similar to financing an appliance in an appliance store. 0% interest or 2% interest or something for 1 year and then if you don’t pay it off it retroactively jumps to 29.99% or whatever. Just make sure it gets paid off in a year. If your company successfully pursues the other party for the bill then you should have the $500 back long before that.
Ok. It sounds like Progressive may be his “bob tail” policy. Meaning that they only cover the vehicle when they are not operating under dispatch. This is very rare, like going to get it washed or going to get maintenance performed. But, if they were in their way to pick up load, just dropped a load and on their way home, or had a trailer hooked up, then the company they are diving for should have liability coverage for the loss. Call Progressive back and ask for the specific reason for the coverage denial. Ask who the vehicle was driving for at the time of the accident.
Do you have insurance? File against your insurance. They’ll go after the semi driver and his company. That’s their job.