Expert: Claims Guy - 11/2/2011

Question
I was involved in a low-speed accident in California that damaged my car, rendering it undriveable, but did not cause any injuries.  There was no police report because the police do not come if there are no injuries.  I had just dropped collision coverage because my car was old.  After the accident, my insurance company, Allstate, took both of our statements and sent a technician to photograph our cars and examine the site of the accident, and determined a couple of days later that the accident was 100% the fault of the other party, but since I no longer had collision coverage, they were naturally not going to pay anything to me.   The other party’s insurance company, Farmers, only took our statements without sending anyone over and determined within an hour that the accident was 100% my fault.  Allstate recommended that I try to recover damages in small claims court.

I have some questions of strategy.   First, I assume that I sue the owner of the other vehicle, not Farmers, correct?  Second, would it be beneficial for me to first send photographs and other evidence to Farmers in an effort to get them to change their minds?   Can that be later used against me in court or would it look better for me in court if I first try to negotiate with the other insurance company?  Third, should I file a complaint with the California Board of Insurance with the complaint that Farmers came to a hasty conclusion without looking at evidence?  Fourth, can I try to fix or sell the car before the court date (which could be many months from now), or will that be considered as tampering with evidence and hurt my case in court?  If I can’t touch the car, I have to leave it in my driveway and keep paying insurance on it.

Answer
I have some questions of strategy.   First, I assume that I sue the owner of the other vehicle, not Farmers, correct?          Yes.

Second, would it be beneficial for me to first send photographs and other evidence to Farmers in an effort to get them to change their minds?      Yes, this cannot hurt.


Can that be later used against me in court or would it look better for me in court if I first try to negotiate with the other insurance company?         This does not matter.  Negotiations are inadmissable in court.  But they can use the evidence you submit as their evidence if they think it helps their case in any way.


Third, should I file a complaint with the California Board of Insurance with the complaint that Farmers came to a hasty conclusion without looking at evidence?          You can, but I doubt it will achieve anything.  When there is a dispute about what occurred, pictures and scene investigation often do not really make much difference.  If they made a decision without considering important and material evidence, this would be worth doing.  But often when people complain about a hasty decision, the insurer actually had all the information they needed to make a decision.  They could delay a decision by going through the motions, but it is often not necessary.

Fourth, can I try to fix or sell the car before the court date (which could be many months from now), or will that be considered as tampering with evidence and hurt my case in court?  If I can’t touch the car, I have to leave it in my driveway and keep paying insurance on it.    You can sell or fix the car.  But you will need to prove your damages in court.  So you'll need a repair estimate.  If the repair costs exceeds the value, it is a total loss, so you'll need to show the value of the car before it was damaged.