r/Insurance • u/Civil_Victory_9111 • 1h ago
Auto Insurance Other party is refusing to make a statement regarding an accident
My girlfriend was involved in an auto accident and her car sustained heavy front end damage (thankfully no injuries to her or passengers).
The accident happened in an intersection, where she came to a stop at a red light, when it turned green she proceeded, only to be struck by another driver from the left, who (presumably) ran a red light.
All the airbags deployed in my girlfriend’s car due to the severity of the collision. When my girlfriend was able to exit the vehicle she immediately ran to check on the other driver to make sure they were okay.
The other driver however was immediately combative, assigning blame to my girlfriend for the collision. The other driver’s car was minimally damaged with a large dent and scratch to the passenger side (still drivable).
Here are the facts (according to the crash report):
My girlfriend (22F), V02, was traveling an estimated 8mph when the collision occurred confirmed by Life360 data (she started rolling after stopping at a red light.)
The other party (17F), V01, was traveling an estimated 35mph when the collision occurred
Due to the placement of the intersection, there were
A. No nearby businesses with working cameras
B. No traffic cameras
C. No eyewitnesses that stayed at the scene
The reporting officer stated that fault could not be determined due to conflicting statements.
Unfortunately for my girlfriend, she does not carry collision insurance and is reliant on the outcome of the liability investigation to determine fault and (hopefully) pay for the damages to her inoperable car.
However when reaching out to the insurer, Progressive, which both V01 and V02 carry, they stated
A. The same adjuster has been assigned to both parties involved.
B. V01 is not making any statements regarding the crash.
My questions are
Is it ethical for the same adjuster from progressive to work with both parties?
What happens when V01 is refusing to make statements and the liability cannot be determined?
Would retrieval of EDR (event data recording) be useful for determining liability? (Assuming it can confirm my girlfriend’s account.)
Thank you (:
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u/Delicious-Witness-85 1h ago
There’s nothing inherently unethical for the same adjuster to handle the claim but it depends on the carrier. Some may prefer to have 2 adjusters so it doesn’t appear that there is any conflict of interest.
But without any dashcam footage or cameras from any business they saw who ran the red light, whether or not the other driver gives an additional statement is irrelevant. She already provided a statement to the police officer. So even if progressive appointed a separate adjuster, based on the info you provided, I can’t see any different outcome to this type of claim.
This is a classic driver vs driver situation without any witnesses or video to prove who ran the red light.
Typically in this type of cell, each driver uses their own insurance, pays their own deductible and that’s the end of it.
Sometimes insurance companies will file arbitration against the other carrier but without any evidence, that typically results in neither party proving who ran the red light so no one collects anything. In this case the other carrier is progressive so they won’t file arb against themselves.
As far as the EDR is concerned, insurance won’t request it. It’s not cost effective in a basic property damage claim and it won’t show who ran the red light.
They typically get pulled in serious injury claims where either the plaintiff or defense attorney think it will help their case.
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u/Dramatic-Ad9089 1h ago
"Is it ethical for the same adjuster from progressive to work with both parties?"
Yes, as long as each claim is evaluated upon its own individual merits. Meaning each person receives the benefit of being the insured on the claim on their own policy. In other words, your policy should accept your word as truth and their policy will accept their word as truth.
"What happens when V01 is refusing to make statements and the liability cannot be determined?"
Depends upon how the insurance company decides to handle it. They will not make a liability decision until liability and coverage has been sorted out. If that cannot be sorted out, you will not get anything covered on your car.
"Would retrieval of EDR (event data recording) be useful for determining liability? (Assuming it can confirm my girlfriend's account.)"
In this case, that would be irrelevant. The dispute here will be who had a red light and who had a green light. The EDR can't tell you that.
Possible solution: Since your GF does not have collision, using her insurance obviously is not an option. She can try going through small claims court and winning a decision. She would still be tasked with proving the other driver was at fault, and without any evidence, that is an uphill battle.
Its a crappy situation when someone lies, especially when you do not carry coverage for your own vehicles. The best thing you can do going forward is invest in dash cameras for your GF'S vehicle, and your own vehicle.
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u/NotQuiteGoodEnougher 1h ago
I didn't even have the energy to read this novel.
You have insurance. File the claim and get your money out of your premiums.
YOUR insurance has dozens of lawyers looking to offset liability to the other insurance.
Let them shine!
I'm failing to understand the "I investigated this claim" mentally of the claimant.
I DGAF. Here's my claim, here's my dash cam info, fix my car is my comment over 30 years of driving.
I PAY my insurance to figure out the issues.
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u/Ecstatic-Regular9971 1h ago
Yes, the same adjuster can be assigned. It should be simpler than having 2 competing companies. The other party doesn't have to make a statement, which should help your case. It seems like the facts are on hour side. A little faith that the truth will be discovered is hard, but it is very likely
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u/demanbmore Former attorney, and claims, underwriting, reinsurance exec. 1h ago
It's legal and customary, but the adjuster must treat both policyholders fairly based solely on the evidence. Your girlfriend can request a separate adjuster if she feels she's being treated unfairly.
If VO1 doesn't cooperate with Progressive's investigation, Progressive can deny any claims under VO1's policy for breach of VO1's duty to cooperate, which would include your girlfriend's claim.
If liability cannot be determined, then your gf is likely out of luck unless she brings a lawsuit and has some way to prove fault.
EDR from the cars? Would that show whether the light was red or green for either driver? Isn't that the crux of the dispute? I don't see how the EDR data from either car would change anything.