Long story short, over a month ago I was driving behind a flatbed commercial truck hauling stone products on the freeway. The truck had chipped rock-like debris on its bed. A rock piece flew directly onto my windshield and immediately caused a large crack. My comprehensive policy has high deductible so I ended up spending over 1400 dollars out of pocket to get my windshield replaced. My auto insurance told me I must file a claim against the other party's insurance if I want them to pay for it.
Today I received a letter from their insurance adjuster that they denied my claim because: incident happened in a construction zone, claim is being denied due to road debris.
I believe they are dodging their liability. After the incident happened, I stopped the driver to obtain his insurance, and I took photo of the bed of his truck (which has debris on it). This photo was submitted to their adjuster so she's aware that improperly secured/loose debris could fall when driving at higher speed or on bumpy road. My car didn't have a windshield damage until I drove behind that truck that afternoon, which I personally witnessed a small piece of rock hit my windshield from that truck, and I heard a loud noise.
Although they are right, that portion of the freeway was going through some construction at the time (K-rails placed in the center divider area), both the truck and my car were driving in middle lane when this incident occurred.
I think this is just wrong that just because there is a construction zone, they are automatically assuming rock came from the ground instead of looking at concrete proof of a truck that had debris on it. To my understanding, there are vehicle codes that prohibit truck from carrying loose object without securing it, but there are no vehicle codes that automatically assume all damages must be caused by a "construction zone" and exempt trucks from securing/cleaning debris whenever driving in construction zone.
Can you tell me what my next step should be? Should I try to convince the adjuster (who seemed extremely unresponsive during the claim process)? Or should I just go file at a small claims court?
Thanks a lot for your advice.
At-fault party denied my insurance claim, what can I do now?
byu/Rockets93717 inInsurance
Posted by Rockets93717
2 Comments
Depends on your State. Small Claims is one answer. Another is Alternative Dispute Resolution or Property Damage Arbitration. Good Luck
Of course they are dodging your claim. The other driver’s insurance company is not your insurance company and owes you nothing unless or until a court of law says so and says how much. Meantime they have a contractual obligation to protect their insured and if they believe that the driver is not liable they deny the claim. That’s how it works.
Your option is to litigate or arbitrate but that’s no guarantee that you will be successful.