Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightspore68
I would get a lawyer to deal with the other person's insurance. If I was dealing with my own insurance, I probably wouldn't, unless it was clear they weren't providing the coverage I had been paying for.
In my experience, my own insurance company (USAA) has been very easy to deal with, while the other drivers' insurance will try to weasel out of compensation. Examples: a woman rear-ended my new Porsche. I dealt with her insurance. Big mistake. They wouldn't reimburse me for the time I missed from work or the diminished value of the car. And they provided the chepaest possible rental while my car was being repaired. I should have hired an attorney. Second example- my wife wrecked my Lexus, hitting a street sign front on. This time I used my insurance. Everything was covered, including the aftermarket invisible shield and new rims and tires, to the tune of nearly 9k. (We didn't bother with a rental.) Amazingly my rates didn't even increase.
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Djinva's on the money in what he says.
The difference in the way you were treated was because you have a contract with your insurance that spells out how they deal with you. The other carrier only owes you what they LEGALLY owe you- which in most states is minimum transportation and missed work is not expensible except as part of an injury claim. You sign up for different levels of service with your own carrier and Customer Service is more important if you're paying their bills. An attorney wouldn't have made a difference at all in your example except in costing you money because these items have been decided by prior court cases- and courts have made efforts to make settlements more reasonable due to the runaway 80's. As far as dimunition of value goes- that's state by state but most states require you to prove that your value was reduced- which usually means selling your vehicle and proving that you lost some dollar amount due to the accident.
I don't mean this in any way negatively toward the person I quoted, I mean this in general. I cannot believe how uninformed people remain about insurance and vehicle accident tort laws considering it is most peoples only contact with civil law.