Disadvantages to filing claim on insurance?

[nkereina]

I just went through this over Thanksgiving. A woman ran a red light and hit me. The exact same options were presented to me. I called my insurance company and reported the accident. They opened a claim for me and said I have the choice to either file a claim with my policy or go through the other insurance company. I specifically asked if they would facilitate the process with the other company and was told no, that I would need to do that. I ended up filing a claim against the other insurance and they were pretty responsive (State Farm). Never had to do anything further with my own insurance company. I think it would have been more complicated to go with them because they would have had to then go after the other company, and I would have run the risk of increasing my rates.

 

[okeydokey]

So a week after the accident, the other company's insurance appraiser is heading over today. The agent I spoke to said they were still trying to reach the other driver for a statement regarding MY claim. I know that he has already told them the story when he filed HIS claim to get his own car repair started. I'm thinking it should be the same story, right?

I asked what happens if he just doesn't call them back and his adjustor said I can always file with my own company if I think this is taking too long. I really do not want to do that.

 

[Klayfish]

I just went through this over Thanksgiving. A woman ran a red light and hit me. The exact same options were presented to me. I called my insurance company and reported the accident. They opened a claim for me and said I have the choice to either file a claim with my policy or go through the other insurance company. I specifically asked if they would facilitate the process with the other company and was told no, that I would need to do that. I ended up filing a claim against the other insurance and they were pretty responsive (State Farm). Never had to do anything further with my own insurance company. I think it would have been more complicated to go with them because they would have had to then go after the other company, and I would have run the risk of increasing my rates.

Correct. Your own carrier can try to help walk you through filing a claim with the other insurance, but they can't actually step in for you. They don't have a legal standing to do so, unless they pay them claim on your behalf.

So a week after the accident, the other company's insurance appraiser is heading over today. The agent I spoke to said they were still trying to reach the other driver for a statement regarding MY claim. I know that he has already told them the story when he filed HIS claim to get his own car repair started. I'm thinking it should be the same story, right?

I asked what happens if he just doesn't call them back and his adjustor said I can always file with my own company if I think this is taking too long. I really do not want to do that.

When he called the claim into his carrier, it wasn't an adjuster he spoke to. It was an intake team. They're not insurance adjusters, they're a call center. So if the adjuster is having a hard time reaching their insured, then yes, your claim may get delayed.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yes they will. And most (if not all) require you to report all incidents involving vehicles they are insuring, even if no claim is filed with them.

I assure you that is not true at all. You do not have to report an accident to your insurance company if you are choosing to handle it through Company B (aka the other insurance company). Reporting an accident does in fact start the claims process. If that claims process gets too far then you would need to have your insurance company formally recinde in order to get it off your record with your insurance company if Company B is covering the loss.

I couldn't tell you how many times I received a total loss letter from Company B which allowed me to cancel our insured's vehicle without there having been any reporting of an accident to the insurance company I was working for.

If however you are wanting your insurance company to cover the accident then yes you need to notify them. When you have no intent to use your own insurance and instead use Company B you do not need to notify them. Requirement for notifying your insurance company is there when you want to use the coverage not just cuz. However, each person should look into their policy contract for how their policy is set up.

Like I said, it was years ago, right(months) after California started requiring drivers carry proof of insurance. I'm sure things have been sorted out or could have changed. My insurance claim adjuster said the other guys insurance was on the hook to pay the claim since the proof of insurance card had been issued, and it was THEIR problem to workout the premium issue with their client. That, as I recall, is why my company gave the other company a week to pay the claim, or my company would step up and pay it and wait for reimbursement.

If it was years ago how does it have relevance now? I looked it up and requirement to carry proof of financial responsibility (auto insurance ID card for liability coverages) was adopted in 1974 as far as I could tell.

 

[tvguy]

I assure you that is not true at all. You do not have to report an accident to your insurance company if you are choosing to handle it through Company B (aka the other insurance company). Reporting an accident does in fact start the claims process. If that claims process gets too far then you would need to have your insurance company formally recinde in order to get it off your record with your insurance company if Company B is covering the loss.

I couldn't tell you how many times I received a total loss letter from Company B which allowed me to cancel our insured's vehicle without there having been any reporting of an accident to the insurance company I was working for.

If however you are wanting your insurance company to cover the accident then yes you need to notify them. When you have no intent to use your own insurance and instead use Company B you do not need to notify them. Requirement for notifying your insurance company is there when you want to use the coverage not just cuz. However, each person should look into their policy contract for how their policy is set up.

If it was years ago how does it have relevance now? I looked it up and requirement to carry proof of financial responsibility (auto insurance ID card for liability coverages) was adopted in 1974 as far as I could tell.

California law requires you to report any accident involving injury, or more than $750 in damage to the DMV within 10 days. DMV forwards that information to the insurance company of record for your car. So even if you don't call your insurance, they are automatically notified by DMV.

From California Department of Insurance page: "

• Notify your agent and/or your insurance company immediately."

https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/01-auto/hadaccident.cfm

The proof of insurance law in California went into effect in 1984. http://articles.latimes.com/1987-10-27/news/mn-16876_1_mandatory-auto-insurance-law

 

[okeydokey]

Correct. Your own carrier can try to help walk you through filing a claim with the other insurance, but they can't actually step in for you. They don't have a legal standing to do so, unless they pay them claim on your behalf.



When he called the claim into his carrier, it wasn't an adjuster he spoke to. It was an intake team. They're not insurance adjusters, they're a call center. So if the adjuster is having a hard time reaching their insured, then yes, your claim may get delayed.

I am pretty sure he got the claim going to get his own vehicle repaired. I get that there are two claims, one for his car and one for ours. It's just annoying that he is willing to return a call to get his own car repaired, but not the one he hit.

 

[Klayfish]

California law requires you to report any accident involving injury, or more than $750 in damage to the DMV within 10 days. DMV forwards that information to the insurance company of record for your car. So even if you don't call your insurance, they are automatically notified by DMV.

Unless California is in a world by itself (which admittedly sometimes it is), this is not correct. The DMV does not forward information about an accident to the insurance company. Pretty much all states have some type of similar language where you are "required" to report an accident...insurance policies have this language too. But reality is that for every one claim that gets reported, there are plenty that never do.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

California law requires you to report any accident involving injury, or more than $750 in damage to the DMV within 10 days. DMV forwards that information to the insurance company of record for your car. So even if you don't call your insurance, they are automatically notified by DMV.

That's not what we were talking about and you know it. You said:

Yes they will. And most (if not all) require you to report all incidents involving vehicles they are insuring, even if no claim is filed with them.

That is not the same as an accident pulling through your MVR...which believe me I know all about..that's how a ton of accidents are even found out when you are applying for an insurance policy. Notifying the police is not the same as notifying your own insurance policy.

From California Department of Insurance page: "

• Notify your agent and/or your insurance company immediately."

That is if you intend to use your insurance to cover the loss. I am speaking directly from experience even in California if you didn't want to have our insurance cover your loss we didn't need to know about the loss. You may tell your agent if you wanted to but if you didn't intend to use our insurance you would need to instruct your agent not to file a claim on your behalf. Again couldn't tell you how many times we got a total loss letter from Company B when no claim or knowledge about the accident occurred until that letter was given to us from the insured and majority of the times the agent had no clue either.

The proof of insurance law in California went into effect in 1984. http://articles.latimes.com/1987-10-27/news/mn-16876_1_mandatory-auto-insurance-law

_____________________
Regardless it's pointless to go back and forth. We'll just move on at this point.

 

[Klayfish]

That is if you intend to use your insurance to cover the loss. I am speaking directly from experience even in California if you didn't want to have our insurance cover your loss we didn't need to know about the loss.

Not to get too technical, but a base policy form (ISO) does require the policyholder to report a loss to the insurance company...it's in the Conditions section of the policy. It's there to protect the carrier for situations such as the policyholder has a bad accident, doesn't report it, evidence is lost and suit is filed. But beyond that, in practice we all know that tons of claims go unreported and it's no harm/no foul. So you're spot on that there are so many times where you in UW may get notified of a policyholders car being totaled, etc...but you/claims/agent had no idea.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Not to get too technical, but a base policy form (ISO) does require the policyholder to report a loss to the insurance company...it's in the Conditions section of the policy. It's there to protect the carrier for situations such as the policyholder has a bad accident, doesn't report it, evidence is lost and suit is filed. But beyond that, in practice we all know that tons of claims go unreported and it's no harm/no foul. So you're spot on that there are so many times where you in UW may get notified of a policyholders car being totaled, etc...but you/claims/agent had no idea.

Yeah I would say in practice that's how it's utilized.

 

[tvguy]

Unless California is in a world by itself (which admittedly sometimes it is), this is not correct. The DMV does not forward information about an accident to the insurance company. Pretty much all states have some type of similar language where you are "required" to report an accident...insurance policies have this language too. But reality is that for every one claim that gets reported, there are plenty that never do.

Citations and accidents are automatically reported in California, even if the information is incorrect. It took me MONTHS to get an accident off my record that I was not a part of. First I learned of it was when my insurance rates skyrocketed. I called my insurance agent and he said I was lucky I wasn't canceled since I had an accident I did not report and DMV notified them. I didn't report it because it wasn't me. Long story short, Beverly Hills Superior Court put the accident and a citation on my record for someone with the same first and last name, a different middle name, who lived in New York and crashed a rented Rolls Royce when he ran a red light in Beverly Hills.
The court went so far as to also inform DMV (and DMV in turn told my insurance) that I had a second residence in New York state! I have only been to New York once, and that was only at JFK and it was in 1976!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Unless California is in a world by itself (which admittedly sometimes it is), this is not correct. The DMV does not forward information about an accident to the insurance company.

I'm only guessing here but what the poster may be referring to is in CA it's required for insurance companies to run MVRs on their insureds something like every other 6 months for renewal purposes and at New Business CA MVRs were run 100% of the time. So an accident if the police were called and a report actually made would more than likely be found out by the insurance company when they ran the MVR for renewal but I don't believe they were transmitting them automatically and electronically to the insurance company--it was a byproduct of running an MVR. It may require Underwriting attention if the insured is stating that accident was fault-free/not-at-fault, etc but it came through their MVR as an at-faut coding.

 

[scrapquitler]

I would call my insurance company and give them the information for the other insurance company and let them deal with it.

 

[tvguy]

I'm only guessing here but what the poster may be referring to is in CA it's required for insurance companies to run MVRs on their insureds something like every other 6 months for renewal purposes and at New Business CA MVRs were run 100% of the time. So an accident if the police were called and a report actually made would more than likely be found out by the insurance company when they ran the MVR for renewal but I don't believe they were transmitting them automatically and electronically to the insurance company--it was a byproduct of running an MVR. It may require Underwriting attention if the insured is stating that accident was fault-free/not-at-fault, etc but it came through their MVR as an at-faut coding.

Okay, so the DMV sending it automatically may not be correct. Maybe I should say the insurance company automatically (and electronically) requesting it on a annual or semi-annual basis triggers an electronic reply from DMV. DMV isn't acting, it is reacting.

We are funky in California.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Okay, so the DMV sending it automatically may not be correct. Maybe I should say the insurance company automatically (and electronically) requesting it on a annual or semi-annual basis triggers an electronic reply from DMV. DMV isn't acting, it is reacting.

We are funky in California.

Yes that would be the case but it's because the MVR is being run. I mean if you called the police and no police report was filed then you have nothing on your record about said accident. It's not even that the insurance company is requesting it so much so that the DOI is requiring it but yes if we're talking about what is physically (well electronically occuring) the insurance company is requesting the information from the DMV. Insurance companies elsewhere in the U.S. do not take on the cost and effort to run MVRs on a consistent basis even at new business-they do run them but usually a back algorithm is in place to run this person's MVR but not this person's MVR. The insurance company I worked for only re-ran MVR's for renewals if you were switching products (as they introduced a few new auto products) or if they were deciding as a whole to run everyone in a specific state. Like one year all MVRs were run for all drivers in MO, IL and I forget the other state. Only difference is if state law required you running the person's MVR. I can't off the top of my head remember that being the case (there may have been one just can't remember). Most often if something was required by the State it was credit that was required to be run every so often (usually something like 3 years) but with CA credit cannot be used in rating determination so that is different for you.

You are right that CA is funky lol

 

[manning]

I have State Farm. I got rear ended and filed with other guys insurance. Had to have it towed to dealer due to tail pipe jammed against the wheel.

What a disaster. A repair that should have taken a week to repair took a little over a month. The delay was getting an adjuster to examine the car. When I told the dealer the name of the insurance they said they are a pain. I guess you are not in good hands

Then I have a low impact front end (she came into my lane) I filed with my insurance. I paid my $500 deductible and got it fixed within several days. State Farm collected from the other insuance and I got my $500 refunded.

My rates did not go up.

 

[DebbieB]

If your company subrogates and gets the money back, it should not count against you. My car got hit in a parking garage and the driver took off but didn’t know someone took down his license plate and left the info for me. I had to report to mine because I needed him tracked down. They did and got the money back from his company. Didn’t count against me.

 

[Donnainnj]

We need to report to the police if over $500 or any injury in NJ, and our insurance requires us to report the same to them, not a law but part of our policy and we will be denied benefits if we don't.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We need to report to the police if over $500 or any injury in NJ, and our insurance requires us to report the same to them, not a law but part of our policy and we will be denied benefits if we don't.

Most policies would be written that way in that you don't get their benefits if you don't tell them about an accident. What Klayfish and I are saying in practice there are a decent chunk of accidents that go unreported to one's insurance company when they are seeking coverage from Company B (other party involved) and it becomes a no harm/no foul situation. If you don't want coverage from your own insurance company and instead seek to have the other company cover your damages then the clause of your own insurance company not providing coverage to you doesn't matter to you in that situation.

 

[mom2rtk]

We need to report to the police if over $500 or any injury in NJ, and our insurance requires us to report the same to them, not a law but part of our policy and we will be denied benefits if we don't.

Damages under $500? I'd need to see that in person. Even a minor bumper tap can easily go over $1K.