fraay

Well.. I'm not sure how many of you know.. but I got in an "accident" on day 4 of having my P5...

Long and short.. I was stopped in a crowded traffic circle.. traffic started moving.. as did the car in front of me.. I signalled and shoulder checked to leave the traffic circle and the person in front of me stopped (with no cars around anywhere) and I hit their right bumper with the left front of my car at about 3km/h..

They agreed to handle it without police or insurance companies..and the next day went to the police claiming injury and over 1000 dollars damage to their stunning 89 oldsmobile.. they signed a collision statement that said 2 of them had gone to the hospital and been treated... their story about who was hurt, if anyone, changed 3 times.. after of course, my insurance company asked for medical records (and none existed)..

I asked the police THREE times if they were giving me a ticket.. you'd think if I got in an accident that was 'my fault'.. that I must have been breaking some law (following to close.. careless driving.. etc).. but they didn't give me a ticket, because they think the other people staged the accident.. but because I was the car in behind.. my fault..

By now, because of the initial 'injuries' to the other people.. I had an insurance claim regardless of what happened, and an "accident" on my driving record.. so instead of just getting the scratches fixed on my car, I got a new bumper.. since my insurance was going to go up the same amount anyways..

Last I had heard.. their whole car needed to be repainted (yeah, it needed to be repainted before I hit it too.. I guessed the colour of the car wrong on the police report cuz the paint was so bad).. I hit their medal bumper.. not their paint.. and yes, there was a dent where I hit it..but there was dents everywhere else too.. and I don't know that *I* made that dent.. my car was only scratched!.. but hey.. atleast the tail lights didn't need to be replaced like they first claimed?!

Anyways.. I just got my claim closing notice.. guess how much they got.. for their "injuries" and "damages" to their car.. ZERO.. NADA.. NOT A FREAKING PENNY.. THANKS FOR JACKING UP MY INSURANCE ********! I hope they burn.

I just had to vent...
D

fraay

They didn't want to go to the police.. but me.. being scared out of my mind and not knowing what to do..I drove straight to the police station and talked to an officer (after getting their information)...

The law is the law.. I was in behind.. so it's my fault.. as far as a lawyer... my insurance will go up.. can't change that.. the accident was my fault.. can't change that.. I do want to get the collision report corrected.. as nobody was injured... and I CAN sue them for undue stress and fraud.. I haven't decided if I'm going to or not.. any pay out probably wouldn't be worth the stress of dragging it out..

hihoslva

Your insurance MIGHT go up no matter WHO was at fault.

I may have told this story before, but here goes:

I was squeezing thru NYC traffic at like 2 MPH, and I clipped a cab's mirror off - hit it with mine, his fell off. I stopped, we exchanged info - fine. No cops - tiny little thing, not necessary to get the cops - fine. I PLEAD with the guy to have his boss call me, so I can pay for the damages. He agrees and we go on our way.

Two days later, I get a call from my ins. company - this ******* made a claim! $157 or something - whatever. I tell my ins. company to ignore it, and I'll pay it myself. I call the owner, and give him some **** (very mild - not angry) for calling my ins. company - but ask him to cancel the claim, because I'm sending a check. Done.

When my ins. renews a few months later, the **** went up by almost $300 a year! WTF?!?! I call my company, and they tell me this (read!!):

ANY INCIDENT, whether we make a payout or NOT, affects your insurance driving record. The little bump with the cabbie is a REPORTED INCIDENT and affects rates no matter what.

I am livid - telling them I shoulda just let them pay the ******* thing - $157 for the mirror, plus $300 a year for probably 3 years is over $1k for a stupid little thing - but what could I do?

This is how it works (in NY at least), so always KEEP INSURANCE AWAY if at all possible. You can call the cops without having to exchange ins. info. Jeez - take a few hundred out of your pocket or ATM if possible and just give it to them if you can. ANYTHING to avoid having the ins companies get involved, because they will find ANY reason to jack you up.

~HH

king_girliegirl

I had a very similar inncident happen to me two years ago. I was driving a friends truck when a stupid girl that was trying to follow us drove into the side of his tire (it was a 4x4 so that's all she could have hit). We looked at everything and all she had done was put a little crack in her front grill. The guy who's truck I was driving even offered to pay for a new grill and she said not to worry about it, it was nothing. Then the following week while I'm sitting in class she comes in with an accident report form claiming that her dad made her get an estimate down and there was like $1500 in damage. I'm almost sure the stupid #%*@& hit something else later that night and then decided to blaim it on me. Anyway...to make a long story short the cops wouldn't listen to any of the witnesses stories cause they were all my friends there for they said that they would be partical to me. My friends insurance ended up covering the damage and I got slapped with an "accident" on my driving record cause the stupid chick drove into the tire.

fraay

Here's the thing I don't understand.. I offered to pay the whole insurance claim.. My insurance company said my insurance would go up the same amount whether or not I paid the whole amount because there was still an accident, and still a claim..

So I'm in this situation.. where I got in an "accident" without breaking any laws.. that was 100% my fault?!.. where I had a verbal agreement (they actually told me not to go to the police or call my insurance company) that no police or insurance companies would be involved..

They broke that agreement.. and claimed 1000+ damages and a couple hospital visits to a police officer and signed a collision report that said the same thing.. when really there was 0 damage and no injuries or hospital visits..

So I was "caught" doing NOTHING wrong.. was completely honest, didn't break ANY laws according to the police.. they were caught lying to the police and the insurance companies in a really sad attempt at pulling off insurance fraud.. I get screwed and nothing happens to them..

I realise life isn't fair.. but come on..this is a tad rediculous..

David

I'm not sure what the insurance laws are in Canada but in more state getting a lawyer won't do **** for you. The claim is closed and his insurance paid the claimant ZERO. I think they made the right call. Fraay made a claim for the damages to his car and they paid for it to be fixed. Plus he is at fault for the damages to his car. So his rates go up. What is wrong with that? I've had some claims and the same thing has happened to me. In most cases if it is not your fault and your insurance pays out to you then they go after the person who is at fault for the money they paid. I don't think they will rise rate if they can recover their money. One last thing always call the police. Or if you have a camera with you take some photos of you car and the other car and send them to your insurance company.