Expert: Anne - 7/23/2008

Question
Driving I-84 in Connecticut, 5/18. in our Volvo station wagon, a Jeep cut me off and slowed in front of me in one motion. I braked hard, still hit him. No damage to his Jeep; front-end damage to my car. No citations from the trooper. No injuries. In the full report, State Farm says the trooper said the Jeep had established itself in the lane and I hit it.Therefore they won't pay the claim. Do I have any recourse? Opinion of arbitration?

Answer
If you have insurance (liability only), you must a claim with your own insurance company. Remember that if the other party is not at fault 0%, then they are saying that you are 100% at fault. Therefore, your liability policy should “kick in” to protect your possible negligence.

If the other party does not have any damages and they are not making a claim against you, then your insurance company can elect to close the claim (nothing to pay = nothing to defend).

The reason why you want to them to defend you is to have the insurance companies go to arbitration. Arbitration occurs between insurance companies or to settle a dispute the insured and her own insurance company.

Probably will not apply to your situation because you want to dispute your case with someone else’s insurance company (you are not the insured, you are the claimant). If there are no damages claimed against you, then you only have the option of small claims court or hiring an attorney for a formal lawsuit.

If you have full coverage insurance, then your insurance company will file arbitration on your behalf to pay the damages they had to pay to fix your car. Because they are out money (your damages), they will want to recover the money they paid. This can help you because a binding decision will be made by a neutral party.

For more information about arbitration, visit:
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/arbitration.html

If you have no insurance and you are dealing with this claim on your own, the only recourse is small claims court or a formal lawsuit.

I hope this helps

Good Luck,
Anne
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com