Auto Insurance Claims/Auto insurance

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Expert: - 10/22/2009


Question
I have recently found out that the insurance companies offer a accident rating waiver endorsement which they promote as a free accident that will not affect your rates. what they don't tell you is that if you are in a accident within the next 6 yrs they then bring the waived accident back in play which would show 2 accidents and your rates sky-rocket. so that being said the second accident was a 50/50 fault accident. when talking to insurance company i asked to let me know damages and if it was not too expensive i would like to pay for it. they did not contact me and put it through insurance. now my rates have increased over 70%. Can i go to the insurance company and offer to reimburse the insurance company for what they paid out and have that accident removed off my records. the pay out that they spent was very minimal and I had to find this out through another insurance company.

Answer
Hello,

I am going to assume you are in Ontario because you have a choice of companies. It gets worse in other areas like Mantitoba and BC where there is no competition and the insurance companies are a government run monopoly.

I do not know the answer to this questions, but you comments are very interesting. I will research this a bit for you. My private email is robo14@aol.com.

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Rob Painter, Ase, CFEI, CAFATE

Expertise

Please remember. I am not an attorney and cannot legal advice. My answers are based on my experience due to litigation I have been involved in as an expert, for both insurance companies and while oposing them opposing them. I deal with only comprehensive claims on autos related to fire and theft. I have even had the opportunity to rewrite policy coverage language as it relates to vehicle theft and forced entry for insurance defense attorneys.

Experience

Experience in the area: Working with insurance companies and attorneys on these issues for over 20 years. It is very common to have a reported stolen car with a so-called factory anti-theft system to have the theft claim denied. I have served successfully as an expert witness in the courts across the US representing the insured and their attorney revealing that the insurance expert did not take all known theories into consideration before rendering their "Forensic" conclusion. Many insurance carriers us independent "Forensic" experts to examine reported stolen vehicles commonly using flawed methodology implicating the innocent insured with the theft. My job is to determine if the insurance expert reached his conclusions based on accepted scientific principals or just net opinion with no basis other than opinion. My case record against such experts is very compelling.My resume can be seen at the catagory "Auto Theft and Prevention." In "Forensics" the scientific method must be employed. In the forensic locksmith field determining how a reported stolen vehicle was last operated, many processes cannot be duplicated and are conveniently not addressed. If they were, juries would have the opportunity to make a fair and impartial opinion at least about what the expert could or could not prove. There is a purported process determining the last key used. The chances of determining such is very rare uless the key is found in the ignition lock. Experts commonly destroy evidence as well and are rarely questioned on this event. I reveal the weakness in their testimony on such instances.

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