Expert: Bennie719 - 11/24/2007

Question
Our car was involved in two separate accidents - 1 not our fault the other was.  1 claim for the rear portion was claimed under the other driver's insurance (Claim A) and the other with our own insurance (Claim B).  The adjuster for Claim A reported the entire damage vs only the rear portion of the vehicle.  I called both the adjuster and Claim A's insurance company to report this and tell them they overpaid our claim.  They insisted the claim was paid and we didn't need to do anything, even though they overpaid it.  Claim B was also completed and paid.  I'm worried about 'insurance fraud'.  I did deposit the payment from Claim A in order to get the vehicle repaired.  What should I do?  They don't want the money back and told me to just consider it finished.

Answer
Hi Julie,
You definetly have done nothing wrong or fraudlent.  It appears that you have made every possible effort to return the excess payment. Make notes of who you talked with, including the dates and time.
I suggest that you put the excess money in an interest bearing account for at least one year in the event that the company from claim A should audit the file and ask for a refund (which is highly unlikely).  After that time, feel free to spend it.
I hope this has been of help, please write again if I can provide more assistance.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area 11-24-07 1:58 PM PST