A school bus just sideswiped my car

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Injury

Originally posted by: Ns1

Originally posted by: Injury

Originally posted by: Semidevil

even if they are not 100% at fault, they should hold majority liability.

AFAIK, there is no such thing as "majority" or percentages of liability that aren't 100% or 0%... the only other option is that the insurance companies don't see fit to sue the hell out of each other and just each takes care of their own client in situation where fault cannot be accurately determined.

not true. I was stopped in a parking lot, waiting to make a right turn into a spot. some girl backed into me. they held me 20% liable because i didn't honk fast enough. i shit you not.

That's so f'ing ridiculous it hurts my brain. Insurance companies are such a crock of crap. Maybe it varies by state.

funny, I felt the same way

 

[Alistar7]

Originally posted by: Ns1

Originally posted by: Injury

Originally posted by: Semidevil

even if they are not 100% at fault, they should hold majority liability.

AFAIK, there is no such thing as "majority" or percentages of liability that aren't 100% or 0%... the only other option is that the insurance companies don't see fit to sue the hell out of each other and just each takes care of their own client in situation where fault cannot be accurately determined.

not true. I was stopped in a parking lot, waiting to make a right turn into a spot. some girl backed into me. they held me 20% liable because i didn't honk fast enough. i shit you not.

Let me guess what happened, her insurance covered all but 20% of the damages so they f'ed you with the rest with that lame ass excuse. I hope you changed providers.

 

[Mr Incognito]

Originally posted by: Alistar7
Let me guess what happened, her insurance covered all but 20% of the damages so they f'ed you with the rest with that lame ass excuse. I hope you changed providers.

Wow, if that's the case, how do you pick an insurance company that won't do that?

Also, good call on the TL.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: sactoking
Ok, here's the deal- I used to work auto insurance liability claims. I did some research on NJ law, and this is what I came up with: NJ IS a 'not as great as' state. This means that the only bar to recovering for property damage is that you cannot recover from someone who's negligence is 'not as great as' yours. In a two-car accident, you can recover from the other driver so long as you were not 51% at fault or more.

In the situation you described, you would normally be 0% at fault. The fact that your car was parked facing the wrong way (presumably on the wrong side of the street) does not alter the fact that the other driver hit a stationary object. You may be criminally liable to the city/county for a parking violation, but that has no bearing on the fact that the bus driver (and their employer) is civilly liable for the property damaged.

Now, the other driver's personal insurance will not cover them, since they drive for a living and that is a common exclusion. Since the bus driver was acting in the course of employment when the accident happened, the school/district is liable as an employer. Getting the school/district to pay will be tough.

Do you have collision coverage on your car? If so, suck it up, eat the deductible, and make a claim on your collision coverage. By using your insurance, you've got them and their adjustors and attorneys on your side now. Your insurance will be legally required to fix your vehicle, covering all expenses minus the deductible. When you make the claim, be sure to tell them exactly what happened and that you believe the other driver is at fault. They will conduct an investigation and should agree. At that point, they will have paid $$$ to fix your car, money they should not have paid. They will contact the other insurance and attempt to recover their money (and your deductible). If they can't reach an amicable agreement, they will go to arbitration for you. All of this is done at their expense. Trust me, they will have much better luck at pushing around a public agency than you will. If you need a rental, either use the rental coverage on your policy or pay out of pocket. If you pay out of pocket, keep the receipts for reimbursement.

The other option if you choose (or do not have collision coverage) is to go direct to the employer. Trust me, it will be a headache. If you have to, always remember that:
1- you are not at fault
2- you have no monetary responsibility for any of the repairs (except betterment, which is when you get a new part to replace one that was damaged BEFORE the accident)
3- you will not go away

Good read. The only other thing that I can add is if you or a friend has a connection through a mechanic (or if you are generally good sweet talker) then there is good chance that they might jump through loop holes so you only have to pay a fraction of your deductible or none at all. It's a bit shady of course, but it is also impossible to pin you. Worst case scenario is that the mechanic will take the hit which nearly never happens unless they are dumb about how they do it.

I'm sure it differs per insurance company, but this is what happened to me when I took this route. The insurance company came up with an estimate on the cost to repair my vehicle. The estimate was $3500 with a $500 deductible. My mechanic was pleased that I chose him since $3500 is a fair chunk of cash and he wants to me to return to him with more work in the future so he swings me a deal and says I will only have to pay $200 deductible. The way he did it is by completing the work, keeping my car for a few extra days which wasn't a problem because my insurance covers a rental, and then he sent to my insurance company a statement which showed that the cost for the job was $3500 plus an extra $300 since his garage was full and he was forced to rent extra space across the street for my vehicle. The truth was that he did rent the space but his garage wasn't actually full. That earned him a legit receipt for the rented space. My insurance company didn't even question the added expense. Apparently, these kinds of loopholes happen all of the time and it is damn near impossible for insurance companies to prove which ones are scams and which are true to their word. It simply costs too much for them to investigate all of those cases.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Mr Incognito

Originally posted by: Alistar7
Let me guess what happened, her insurance covered all but 20% of the damages so they f'ed you with the rest with that lame ass excuse. I hope you changed providers.

Wow, if that's the case, how do you pick an insurance company that won't do that?

Also, good call on the TL.

My mistake was going through HER insurance company. THEY gave me the shaft (allstate, if I'm not mistaken). My insurance company would've f'd them in the ass (liberty mutual)

 

[sactoking]

For Ns1- That's why it's important to ALWAYS have your own collision coverage, and use it! It sucks to say now, but whenever you get in an accident and you think you're getting the shaft, use your coverage and have your insurance go to bat for you. The only times, in general, that I would advocate using someone else's coverage are when you think you're getting a good or great deal OR you just cannot find any way on the planet to cover the deductible.

Xavier434- just FYI- your mechanic perpetrated insurance fraud. That's absolutely none of your concern, just make sure you don't know what they planned on doing before it happened, or you could be liable as well.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: sactoking
For Ns1- That's why it's important to ALWAYS have your own collision coverage, and use it! It sucks to say now, but whenever you get in an accident and you think you're getting the shaft, use your coverage and have your insurance go to bat for you. The only times, in general, that I would advocate using someone else's coverage are when you think you're getting a good or great deal OR you just cannot find any way on the planet to cover the deductible.

Xavier434- just FYI- your mechanic perpetrated insurance fraud. That's absolutely none of your concern, just make sure you don't know what they planned on doing before it happened, or you could be liable as well.

Yeah I should've, but IIRC, it was pay for my own deductible and then get repairs and then take have LM deal with her insurance company, and get reimbursed later, OR have her company deal with it and it never touches my insurance. Or something like that.

I've used my coverage before when others have hit me, and will always do so now.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: sactoking
Xavier434- just FYI- your mechanic perpetrated insurance fraud. That's absolutely none of your concern, just make sure you don't know what they planned on doing before it happened, or you could be liable as well.

Yes, I am aware of that. They could never prove anything though. Unless someone is dumb enough to ask the mechanic to perform this kind of thing on paper or electronically then no evidence would suffice as proof. Maybe the mechanic would get busted if they spent enough time trying to do so (which they won't for reasons I mentioned), but not me. It's a shady loophole like I said, but I never felt guilty about it considering how much I pay them vs how much I get in return. I have never claimed to be innocent. I just never claim to be guilty either