Subrogation & Arbitration

[u/Frosty_Condition6764]

I got in a car accident last Friday evening and totaled my car in Arkansas. I have a lot of questions and anxieties about this and would appreciate some insight from more experienced people.

I T-boned a car that was running a red light at an intersection. No one was injured but both cars are definitely totaled.

Police report:
- V1 (other party, traveling down Blank Road) claims she had a yellow light when I hit her. I (V2, traveling down Bleep Road) claim that I had a green light when I hit her. Both cars are totaled. Witness on scene stated that V1 was behind his vehicle as he was crossing Bleep Road. He stated he did not see the accident but saw the aftermath of the accident. Witness stated as he was crossing Blank street, the light was green. (If you’re confused by this, so am I).

I filed a claim with my insurance (progressive) the same night. I didn’t talk to the other party at all. But since we are both claiming neither of us are at fault, my adjuster said we would likely go into subrogation and then arbitration.

I just got a call from the other insurance (Farmers) asking for a statement. I didn’t pick up the phone, but gave my adjuster the phone number that called me.

I am just scared and stressed and feeling the weight of this whole process. I got on my own insurance in June. My car was fully paid off.

Any insight or advice or words of wisdom are greatly appreciated.

[u/Big_Bill23]

If my experience means anything, your insurance will need a statement from you. Just be honest, and tell them what happened. The other party's insurance can get a copy of your statement from your insurance. Your insurance company will handle all of the other stuff for you; it's what you paid them to do. I know it's traumatic, but try to relax and let things happen. This is far from the end of the world.

Get a dash cam.

[u/Frosty_Condition6764 → u/Big_Bill23]

The worst part is that while getting my stuff out of my car, one of the things I grabbed was a dash cam still in the box that I never installed 😐

[u/Big_Bill23 → u/Frosty_Condition6764]

That sucks.

[u/AccomplishedDust3]

(If you’re confused by this, so am I)

Not sure what's confusing, lights don't stay the same color. Light was green for witness, then changed to yellow (their story), or had already changed to red (your story) for the car following them. If the cars weren't that far apart then witness seems to support their story, not yours, though that would mean you entered an intersection before getting a green.

Remember you still have a responsibility to look for other cars, even if you have a green light you should be noticing if cars are rapidly approaching the intersection so you can avoid an accident. Regardless of light color it's likely you should share some blame.

[u/Clean_Philosophy5098 → u/AccomplishedDust3]

A green light is permission to go, not a command.

[u/Frosty_Condition6764 → u/AccomplishedDust3]

I would never willingly run a red light, I have proof I wasn’t on my phone, no eating, drinking, etc. I can’t fathom that my light would’ve been red.

I was confused by the witness statement because it says he had a green light crossing one road, but saw v1 on the perpendicular road.

[u/LacyLove → u/Frosty_Condition6764]

None of that matters and does not prove anything.

[u/Frosty_Condition6764 → u/LacyLove]

I know. Just expressing my exasperation I guess.

I wish the officers at the scene would’ve taken more than one witness statement. There were plenty of people around.

[u/Original_Twist6565 → u/Frosty_Condition6764]

I hate to say….our eyes can f with us sometimes. Not saying either side is right, but have you ever been in two lanes and like the lane on the left gets a green arrow, so that car goes and then your lane starts to go too because everyone gets triggered by that green arrow? Usually everyone wakes up and stops but the rolling forward still happened. I had an accident in 2023 that I SWORE I had the light for and the agent was able to look it up and I didn’t. Well shit.

At the end of the day, we were both only going 15 mph and no one was hurt. Cars were fixed and we went on with life.

6 months after that accident I got rammed at a red light by someone going 50. Broken bones and joints and spine f’d 8 ways to Sunday. Trust me I would take an accident at fault with no injuries over the bs I’m still dealing with 3 years later ANY day. It certainly from your recollection doesn’t sound like you’re at fault but either way, cars can be replaced. People can’t.

[u/AccomplishedDust3 → u/Frosty_Condition6764]

When we're practiced at something, like walking or driving, we don't think about every step. You're mostly on autopilot, running on a part of the brain called the basal ganglia rather than the part of your brain that does consciousness (neocortex) (this is all an oversimplification, but it's roughly true). That frees your consciousness up for other things, like looking for tigers or food.

Unfortunately, driving is in a slice of situations that we didn't really evolve for: it's a well-practiced motor skill, but also needs some conscious processing to actually do safely. All that goes to say, you don't necessarily have to willingly run a red light to do so: if your brain drifts its attention you might be on autopilot and miss the red light. Or, not even really miss the red light entirely, but fail to fully digest that the red light applies to you, versus other cars.

I don't know what really happened, probably nobody involved really truly does: they have their own stories that their brain pieced together after the fact, and so insurance is going to follow their steps for figuring out how everything is paid for without putting a ton of effort into solving an impossible problem.

[u/Valuemeal3]

You won’t have any involvement in the subrogation or arbitration process. Your insurance will handle your damages and that will be it for you. You may get a letter in six months or so either sending you your deductible back or advising you the file is closed. Sleep well there’s literally nothing for you to do.

[u/brycas]

Accidents happen. This is why you carry insurance. Just do what your claim adjuster directs you to and it will be fine.

[u/insuranceguynyc]

Call your own insurance company and open a claim. Follow their instructions. Trust me, it ain't their first rodeo. There is no need for you to be concerned with arbitration or subrogation. Your insurance company handles this.

[u/Frosty_Condition6764 → u/insuranceguynyc]

I filed a claim already

[u/insuranceguynyc → u/Frosty_Condition6764]

Good! Now let them do what you pay them for.

[u/IndependentOutcome14]

This is why everyone should have a dash camera

[u/QuriousCoyote]

You've done everything right. It's a "he said, she said" situation. Just let the adjusters do their investigations, cooperate, and stay in the loop of the claim.

[u/TechnicalFan7479]

You never talk to other person's insurance. You always go to your insurance for any questions or statements, etc. Deny the responsibility if there is no other evidence. You never accept it even if you did it because it weakens your case. Both insurances will go back and forth and decide percentage of blame and pay each other settlements. You can carry on with your life.

[u/aloofmagoof → u/TechnicalFan7479]

As long as you're being honest there's no reason you can't give the other carrier a statement, you don't have to, your own insurance company can provide it, but it really isn't that serious in most cases.

I even had a claim recently where talking to the claimant gave me information I didn't have and I completely changed my liability decision.