Legal Question in Insurance Law in Pennsylvania

I was rear-ended while waiting on red light. My car was severely damaged, but I did not sustained any visible injuries. I was very shocked and dazed, and did not call the police. The other driver and I exchanged our insurance information. No witnesses were available. I immediately filed the claim with my insurance company. I gave a recorded statement to my insurance agent and to other company agent. The other driver filed the claim with his insurer. I was informed by my insurance that if the other driver's fault is proven (which was not supposed to be difficult), I will have his company covering my deductible and loan car. However, his insurance company cannot make contact with him to take a recorded statement from him because he does not return their calls and messages. Because of that, they deny paying for my deductible and loan expenses. My questions: do I have to take check from my insurance company for the repair cost, minus deductible? (I really do not understand why do I have to pay more than a thousand dollars for not my fault!) If I take the check to pay for the repair of my car, will it mean that I accept this situation? What if the driver at-fault will not contact his company at all? Shouldn't my company to make sure that his company reimburses my expenses? Can my company going to raise my insurance rate because of my claim?


Asked on 6/01/16, 7:53 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Richard Teitell Richard K. Teitell, Esquire, P.C.

Sorry you're in the middle of this situation. You have 2 options at this point. 1. You can take your ins co check, which as you know will leave you short due to the deductible & rental car (unless you have rental car coverage). Your ins co may seek reimbursement (we call it "subrogation") from the other driver's ins co. This is usually done through an arbitration program between the ins co, called inter-company arbitration It's all done by documents. If the other driver doesn't provide a statement it's likely your ins co will win. If it wins your ins co will get the deductible from the other ins co & pay you. That process can take many months. 2. You can wait & see if other ins co will end up paying since it's getting lack of cooperation from its insured-other driver. Your choice may depend on whether or not your car is able to be driven, or if you want to wait. There is no harm in taking your ins co check & letting the subrogation process play out. Hope the above helps.

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Answered on 6/01/16, 8:21 am


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