Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

insurance company changes their tune and we pay for it

here's the situation: one lane road, blind corner, cliff on one side and

mountain edge on the othertwo cars collide, however, one car (our car)

tries to avoid hitting other car and hits mountain but gets wedged

between the other car and the mountain wall anyway.opposing party

refuses to give insurance information.we contact our insurance and

report it and the situation. we are told by our insurance company that

we are in no way at fault or liable and not to worry .we receive letter in

mail from other party claiming they are sueing us. the other party

involved is the teenage son of two lawyers. our insurance company has

decided to settle out of court and are paying the other party what was

asked. we are told that because we do not know if the other party was

stopped, it is our fault.our insurance premium in now going to double

and we want to know what our options are or if we have any at all? and

do we have a say in anything? and how can they now say it is our fault?

there are many more details but too numerous to include in this box.

PLEASE HELP

i sincerely thank anyone whom helps or answers my questions.


Asked on 9/02/03, 5:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Steven Murray Steven W. Murray, APC

Re: insurance company changes their tune and we pay for it

Insurers generally can control all details of handling a claim, but there are exceptions. You should IMMEDIATELY write your insurer and tell them to write you a detailed analysis of how and why they reached the conclusion to settle, and for how much. In fact, demand a copy of your entire claims file.

You probably are best served by retaining a knowledgeable lawyer right now to deal with your insurer since it is your own interests which the insurer has to protect. You could also get a lawyer to sue the other party, or at least make a demand against them for the damages you did suffer (your vehicle, loss of use, etc.). But without fighting back, you are going to pay for this for a long time in higher premiums, etc.

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Answered on 9/04/03, 3:31 pm


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