The Best Way To Get An Insurance Company's Attention?
 

I was hit by a car a little over two weeks ago. I had right of way and she cut me off. I flew over my handlebars and onto the hood of her car. Road rash, ruined brand new sugoi tights :cry: , and my left collar bone was broken. I have left 3 messages which have not been returned with her insurance. I have totaled all the medical bills, cost for bike repairs, and amount of reimbursement for missed work. Tomorrow afternoon after my doctors appointment I am going to write a formal letter emphasizing I am reserving all my rights and am not afraid to hire a lawyer. And I suppose... leave another message if no one answers again.

Has anyone here had a similar incident where the insurance company was difficult to get a hold of? What happens when I call them is I am kept on hold for 3-4 minutes and then it goes straight to leaving a message. I say who I am, who hit me, her policy number, my phone number, and to call me back asap.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

First: Do not mistake this for legal advice!
Second: Write the letter detailing what happened and what your costs were. DO NOT RANT! State you case clearly and calmly.
Third: Send it as a REGISTERED LETTER via the USPS. They cannot claim they did not receive it if someone signs for it.

Good Luck

Yeah, send a registered letter. Leaving voice messages won't work. Was there a police report written at the time of accident? Attach a copy perhaps?

Adam

Have a lawyer write your letter for you. Don't be polite, don't be nice or cooperative, it's time for a hired gun, or more specifically a hired letter writer. They will ignore you until they think they can't afford too.

Two weeks ago eh? Right before the holidays? My office was closed for the holidays... is it possible that the number you have is for a single agent's office that has been closed for the holidays?

Go with Grillparzer's advice. Forget all of the niceties and get some teeth into the whole thing. Insurance companies are not in business to be nice, rather to take money and ignore claims. Take a bite out of their collective ass.

Joe -

Often times if you hit "0" the automated phone system will switch you to someone else. I had to do this on a regular basis, when the agent assigned to my daughter's accident would never return my calls.

Plan:

1. Letter from you
2. Letter from attorney
3. Summons

Letter from you:

a. Clear statement of what you want and why, a one liner or close to it. "On April 1, 2014, your insured John Moron ran a red light, hitting me and causing $1345 in damages. I demand immediate payment of this amount."
b. Paragraph break, then describe the facts. If possible reference witness statements and any police paperwork (attach these).
c. Paragraph break, demonstrate that the culprit is insured by that company (you can also simply send to the opponent, he's responsible really). "John Moron provided me your information at the time of the incident, indicating you insured him. His policy number is 1234 and the dates on his proof of insurance show he was covered during the time of the accident."
d. Paragraph break, indicate why John was at fault. Generally, provide citations to traffic laws broken and to the general duties violated. Indicate John was negligent. Don't indicate John intentionally attacked you. Often insurance policies don't cover intentional attacks. I'm not sure any do.
e. Paragraph break, described the damage in detail, referring to a couple of estimates (attached).
f. Paragraph, restate the demand and provide contact points and a deadline.


Generally, if you demonstrate that the responsible party was covered, show the duty breached, and detail the damages, all with documentary support, you'll be fine. The only demand I've had turned down ever was for into 6 figures, so I sort of expected a fight.

You could call the lady and tell her that if her insurance company does not call you back in one week, you plan to file a law suit. Does your claim exceed the small claims limit in your state?

The insurance company is less likely to ignore you, when the person sending them money starts to get upset with them.

Read some of the other insurance threads in the forums.

Send the Ins company a copy of the complaint that you will file with the State Dept of Ins if they do not contact you forthwith.

+1
I am also not a lawyer, so check with an attorney before you take this as the truth.
Her insurance company doesn't owe you anything, she does. The insurance company works for her. If you have problems, don't deal with the insurance company, just the person who hit you. You can sue her, not the insurance company. If you sue her, the insurance company has an obligation (to her) to defend her in court. So, if an insurance company doesn't want to talk to you don't deal with them. Just deal with the person who is the law says owes you, the person who hit you.

Not sure this would work. OP is not the policy holder.

Most states have laws that Ins Co's have a duty to deal fairly with claimants, including the duty to communicate. Ins co's hate these complaints because now they have to deal with the state beurocracy which will ask the Ins. Co. to explain their side in handling the claim.

I'll bet that if in the next message you leave, you were to tell them to expect your registered letter in the next few days, that you'd get a call back. But you would also have to send the letter.

If you get a lawyer expect to give them at least 1/3 of your settlement.

Skip the letter. Just hire an attorney. Insurance companies are the spawn of the bowels of satan.

You want to get a lawyer to write a letter to the insurance company for you, you want a lawyer who specializes in insurance claims.

This tells the insurance company, you don't know how to play the game, but your willing to hire someone who does.
A lawyer who specializes in insurance claims is probably already known by the insurance company, so they are less likely to play games.
The lawyer will know what information you need to provide, and the form in which that information needs to be provided.
The lawyer will know who at the insurance company to contact to get claims resolved quickly, because they have dealt with them before.
The lawyer will know everything that needs to be claimed. If your collarbone requires physical therapy after it heals, then that needs to be considered in the costs.
The lawyer will know the "go away" amount.

Let me explain the last one. Claims cost money, a court battle also costs money, a long drawn out court battle can cost more then the claim amount. Because of this, all insurance companies have an amount where, below which they are more willing to write a cheque to make you go away, then to start a court battle, which could cost them a lot of money. If that amount covers your expenses, then your lawyer will claim that amount in the letter, the insurance company writes a cheque, and the claim is closed. The lawyer will probably recommend that everything goes through them, which is a good idea, the paperwork goes to the lawyer, they get to review it all, and get you the best deal possible. A lawyer will make sure that his/her own fees are considered in the claims amounts, so you shouldn't be out of pocket here.

A claim involving a broken bone is a significant claim. Do not screw around with phoning the insurance company. Hire a lawyer. Their fee will easily be made up by the larger settlement you will receive.

How are you going to submit a total when your body has not finished healing yet?

Try finding a motorcycle specialist firm, if need be. Around here, for example, there's http://www.steelhorselaw.com/ 2 wheel wrecks are different. "I didn't see him" appears to fly for some courts, when it's really "I didn't bother looking"

I've gotta say that your translation of the old "I didn't see him/her" defense is really and more dead on then then "I didn't see him/her? that we always hear. Hell even the cops have been known to try and use it themselves.

As I've said before, for some reason some courts think "I didn't see him" is an excuse. In reality, its an admission of incompetence to drive a motor vehicle, and should be treated as such. Full penalties, plus a required education course and re-testing for reinstatement of license.

Yep.

Does the insurance company or the independent agent have a local office? If they do pay a visit in person, even if the agent works out of his/her home. It is still considered a business during business hours so you will only want to visit during those business hours.

But closed for 2 weeks? I understand if they close on Christmas?New Years Eve Day and of course for Christmas and New Years Day. After was a Sat. and Sun. they would likely be closed. That is a total of only 6 days, so not even a full week and there are business days in between. This is only if the company completely closed on Christmas/New Years Eve day, instead of closing early.

I doubt insurance companies have been closed for the entire duration one of the times of the year when the most accidents occur, both auto an in the home.