Expert: Anne - 3/20/2008

Question
i was involved in a accident where i had the green light going straight,a car pulled out in front of me and was t-boned. i was not ticketed. can I contact her insurance company myself w/o involving my insurance company. that is my preference.

Answer
Hello Gerrianne,

Yes you can simply go through the other persons carrier. However, they can make you wait until their investigation is done. Sometimes this could up to 30 days if there is a dispute on who is at fault. Note, some insurance companies will try to put fault on you even if the light was red. This is one of the reasons you want to involved your insurance company. They can help you protect your interest and make sure the accident liability is where it is supposed to be.

The other insurance company will want to take your recorded statement. If you are only going through that insurance company and not your own, check out the following article regarding recorded statments
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Recorded-Statement.html

If you have already given a statement then wait to see if they will accept 100% liability. If they are not, then you should really think about calling your own adjuster and try to move the claim forward that way.

Good Luck,
Anne

http://www.auto-accident-blog.com