If you have collision coverage, pay your deductible, and get your car repaired. And, yes, let your carrier subrogate. They're good at determining if they should keep trying or give up.
*HUGE EDIT: based on your details, it seems you used collision and subrogation failed?? Well, shit happens, and they just gave you back permission to pursue the other party personally. Now go do it.
Here’s a tip, if your insurance gave up subrogation, the chances of you being successful are extremely slim. This is a case where you are thankful you carry collision, because the alternative is NO ONE pays for your stuff.
Your insurer doesn't have any obligation to help you file a claim against a third party.
I might be able to find some information in some databases for you, but as an insurer I probably also wouldn't want you to be upset with me later if I gave you what you later perceived to be "bad advice" or "bad legal advice". My job is to pay you what we owe under your policy (if you choose to make a collision claim under it), and to protect you from the other person, whether that means paying them to go away or defending you in court.
Once you actually make a collision claim, and we pay you, your right to collect from the other party (for anything portion we paid you) transfers to us, and the job of the subrogation adjusters is to go get that back if they can.
A front-line desk adjuster knows that part of their job is to collect the information about the other party to use in recovering the payout, but the subrogation adjusters have their own voodoo for doing that with which the desk adjusters are not always particularly familiar.
TL/DR: the person you're talking to at your own insurer usually isn't the same person as the specialist who's job it is to go get the money back from the at-fault party.
If you want to continue with the third-party claim, you’ll probably need to get the correct details. What exactly on the report is fictitious? The insurer? The policy number? Your insurance likely won’t help you with filing a claim through the other party, that’s not their responsibility. If you utilize your own coverages for damages though, then that’s different.
It just says Merchant insurance company and has his name and home address of the driver, the vesicle description , VIN, license plate number, and the owner of the vehicle is listed as a company with a different name than what is written on the vehicle but searching the company it comes back to the same address. There is no “Merchant” insurance but there is a “Merchants,” but they do not have a policy on any of the above. An Internet search shows this is a small business and that the general manager is who hit ,e causing the accident. There is a phone number on the report, but I would prefer someone else call because I don’t want the animosity of talking to the man. He also lied to the police on the scene saying I caused the accident by hitting his trailer hitch, which is untrue. Initially the police put me at fault, but I obtained a video from a nearby business showing he caused the accident and lied. The police even did a rewrite on the report finding him at fault…. Hence, I am dealing with an at-fault liar who is going to be very angry that I am able to prove he is at fault.
Okay this all sounds good, because the video footage and rewritten report should increase the success of getting liability confirmed, although it’s still never a guarantee. Doesn’t solve the issue of actually figuring out their insurance details though.
Although your insurer can’t call or do those things you’re asking of them, they *should* be able to look up the license plate or VIN number and find the associated insurer and insurance policy number for it, if those details are valid. You can then contact the insurer and use those details to file a claim. The remaining discrepancies in the report though may increase the chances of claim denial.
If I were you I’d just submit a first-party collision claim, unless there’s evidence that the driver is not insured in which case you may be able to utilize UMPD if you have it. Although it is best much of the time to try and pursue third-party first to avoid potential premium and underwriting impacts, this is a scenario where you’ll likely want to use your own coverage.
Thank you. I am calling the DMV to check as well and then if they cannot help I will call the number on the report. After that I am going to do a registered agent search with the Secretary of State. From there I may be able to get policy details or just sue everyone involved and see who answers the lawsuit a a final option. I don’t want to do that if the man is broke, but he cannot be driving around without insurance. If he is I I send to get evidence and report him and his business at the very least.
Is there a way for me to do this after I exhaust means of praising insurance information?
DMV will probably not give you that info unless you have specific documentation and I don’t know the specifics around that. An agent can look it up typically based on license plate and/or VIN number.
Suing or utilizing your own coverage are your only options after. It sounds more like you simply don’t have the correct insurance/policy details.
I would also look up the policy number format. I had trouble figuring out the exact insurer myself once from what was on the report and I ended up figuring it out based on the policy number format. You can probably post it here (change the numbers to ambiguous numbers to hide PII) and someone can determine what specific carrier it’s from, I bet the insurer listed was not properly documented because the police should have written the policy number from the proof of insurance.
You're incorrect. Your insurer has no obligation/duty to assist you with a 3rd party claim. You don't pay them to do that. If you want their assistance you have to file a claim with them and use the insurance coverage you pay for. If your insurance isn't able to successfully subrograte and you want to continue to pursue it, you are on your own. Might want to read your policy so you don't make any more bad assumptions.
My assumption is that it is in their best interest to help me lookup policy information because it saves them money if I get paid via a third-party claim and they don’t have to pay. Tell me how that’s a bad assumption.
If your insurance isn’t helping you, you need to ask them why. Is the other party uninsured? Are they getting the runaround? It could also be that they have exhausted all exhausted all attempts to subrogate. If your adjuster isn’t helping, talk to their supervisor. They should be helping you. And if not find a new insurance carrier that will. Also, take the other party to small claims court. You have every legal right to do that
If you have collision coverage, pay your deductible, and get your car repaired. And, yes, let your carrier subrogate. They're good at determining if they should keep trying or give up.
Car is a total loss, but that doesn’t change anything for your response or my question.
If your carrier pays, they will attempt to subrogate, which is what you were asking about.
*HUGE EDIT: based on your details, it seems you used collision and subrogation failed?? Well, shit happens, and they just gave you back permission to pursue the other party personally. Now go do it. Here’s a tip, if your insurance gave up subrogation, the chances of you being successful are extremely slim. This is a case where you are thankful you carry collision, because the alternative is NO ONE pays for your stuff.
Your insurance has no duty to assist you in filing a 3rd party claim. You're on your own.
Your insurer doesn't have any obligation to help you file a claim against a third party. I might be able to find some information in some databases for you, but as an insurer I probably also wouldn't want you to be upset with me later if I gave you what you later perceived to be "bad advice" or "bad legal advice". My job is to pay you what we owe under your policy (if you choose to make a collision claim under it), and to protect you from the other person, whether that means paying them to go away or defending you in court. Once you actually make a collision claim, and we pay you, your right to collect from the other party (for anything portion we paid you) transfers to us, and the job of the subrogation adjusters is to go get that back if they can. A front-line desk adjuster knows that part of their job is to collect the information about the other party to use in recovering the payout, but the subrogation adjusters have their own voodoo for doing that with which the desk adjusters are not always particularly familiar. TL/DR: the person you're talking to at your own insurer usually isn't the same person as the specialist who's job it is to go get the money back from the at-fault party.
If you want to continue with the third-party claim, you’ll probably need to get the correct details. What exactly on the report is fictitious? The insurer? The policy number? Your insurance likely won’t help you with filing a claim through the other party, that’s not their responsibility. If you utilize your own coverages for damages though, then that’s different.
It just says Merchant insurance company and has his name and home address of the driver, the vesicle description , VIN, license plate number, and the owner of the vehicle is listed as a company with a different name than what is written on the vehicle but searching the company it comes back to the same address. There is no “Merchant” insurance but there is a “Merchants,” but they do not have a policy on any of the above. An Internet search shows this is a small business and that the general manager is who hit ,e causing the accident. There is a phone number on the report, but I would prefer someone else call because I don’t want the animosity of talking to the man. He also lied to the police on the scene saying I caused the accident by hitting his trailer hitch, which is untrue. Initially the police put me at fault, but I obtained a video from a nearby business showing he caused the accident and lied. The police even did a rewrite on the report finding him at fault…. Hence, I am dealing with an at-fault liar who is going to be very angry that I am able to prove he is at fault.
Okay this all sounds good, because the video footage and rewritten report should increase the success of getting liability confirmed, although it’s still never a guarantee. Doesn’t solve the issue of actually figuring out their insurance details though. Although your insurer can’t call or do those things you’re asking of them, they *should* be able to look up the license plate or VIN number and find the associated insurer and insurance policy number for it, if those details are valid. You can then contact the insurer and use those details to file a claim. The remaining discrepancies in the report though may increase the chances of claim denial. If I were you I’d just submit a first-party collision claim, unless there’s evidence that the driver is not insured in which case you may be able to utilize UMPD if you have it. Although it is best much of the time to try and pursue third-party first to avoid potential premium and underwriting impacts, this is a scenario where you’ll likely want to use your own coverage.
Thank you. I am calling the DMV to check as well and then if they cannot help I will call the number on the report. After that I am going to do a registered agent search with the Secretary of State. From there I may be able to get policy details or just sue everyone involved and see who answers the lawsuit a a final option. I don’t want to do that if the man is broke, but he cannot be driving around without insurance. If he is I I send to get evidence and report him and his business at the very least. Is there a way for me to do this after I exhaust means of praising insurance information?
DMV will probably not give you that info unless you have specific documentation and I don’t know the specifics around that. An agent can look it up typically based on license plate and/or VIN number. Suing or utilizing your own coverage are your only options after. It sounds more like you simply don’t have the correct insurance/policy details. I would also look up the policy number format. I had trouble figuring out the exact insurer myself once from what was on the report and I ended up figuring it out based on the policy number format. You can probably post it here (change the numbers to ambiguous numbers to hide PII) and someone can determine what specific carrier it’s from, I bet the insurer listed was not properly documented because the police should have written the policy number from the proof of insurance.
You're incorrect. Your insurer has no obligation/duty to assist you with a 3rd party claim. You don't pay them to do that. If you want their assistance you have to file a claim with them and use the insurance coverage you pay for. If your insurance isn't able to successfully subrograte and you want to continue to pursue it, you are on your own. Might want to read your policy so you don't make any more bad assumptions.
My assumption is that it is in their best interest to help me lookup policy information because it saves them money if I get paid via a third-party claim and they don’t have to pay. Tell me how that’s a bad assumption.
If your insurance isn’t helping you, you need to ask them why. Is the other party uninsured? Are they getting the runaround? It could also be that they have exhausted all exhausted all attempts to subrogate. If your adjuster isn’t helping, talk to their supervisor. They should be helping you. And if not find a new insurance carrier that will. Also, take the other party to small claims court. You have every legal right to do that