To return to the OP's original point -- that AIG is behaving badly here, and therefore we should consider getting our insurance from some other company -- is there any reason to believe that any other insurance company
is better, or would have handled this differently?
As for the "other" question -- advice -- I'd suggest following Expatriate's advice, because his inside knowledge here is extensive.
The insurance company has based their assertion on two points:
- The OP didn't have a light
- The OP failed to take evasive action
Disproving the first point, that he didn't have a light, is fairly straightforward. It's not quite as simple as many seem to think, because if you read his post carefully, the police report doesn't say that he
had a light, it just
doesn't mention that he
didn't have a light. Maybe it "stands to reason" that if he hadn't had a light the officer would have mentioned it in his report, but that absence of mention is
not conclusive proof. Best would be a signed statment from the officer that he (OP) had a light. Next best would be a signed statement from the OP's riding partner. I'm assuming the SUV driver wouldn't cooperate, but if she would, her signed statement that OP had a light should also do nicely. Too bad there are no photos from the crash site.
The second point is trickier. As Expat says, the facts are critical. If she pulled out right in front of him, what evasive action could he have taken? There were only two possible evasive actions: go to the right of (behind) the SUV, or to the left (in front). Was there a curb, ditch or other obstruction on the right? If so, evasive action to the right would have been impossible. Was there other traffic on the road? Regardless, trying to evade by going left, in front of the SUV, would
obviously not have been a reasonable action. What if she had started moving forward again? And if there
was other traffic, going left would have also put him in danger from the other traffic. Finally, the distances and speed are vital facts. How far in front of him was she when she stopped? 20 mph is about 30 feet per second. If she pulled out 30 feet ahead of him, he would have had about 1 second to react. That's not time enough to stop, nor is it time enough to decide what, if any evasive action to attempt. But if she had kept moving, it would have been enough time (just barely) for him to squeeze by (behind) her.
Anyway, Anthony, I hope you win.
I'm not sure if you're right about AIG being particularly bad, but I will certainly keep my eyes open and consider other options.
My opinion of insurance companies is very similar to my opinion of the police: I don't
hate them -- in fact, when I need them I'm glad they're there -- but I always feel better when I don't have to deal with them at all.