Q:  July 11 I was driving on the highway at 10:20 pm and collided with another car when I tried to change lane. I honestly said that I checked my rear mirror first to make sure of any cars and turned my signal to the right, check my right side mirror to make sure two lights are visible and checked the passenger side window to the right to make sure there’s no car beside me before I changed lane. I was driving 60 mph and slowed down when I tried to changed lane. Was I at fault? She was driving pretty fast. The paint on the passenger side door of her car were scratch on the surface, though mine was OK, just very little. How will this affect my insurance?

A: If she was not in the lane and was speeding to the point that she came up on you during your lane change, then most likely she is at fault.  I don’t know how it will affect your car insurance premiums, as there is a lot of information that goes into creating the premium specific to your needs and details.

Q: Last May 15 I had an accident that lead to me filing a claim, I was at a stop sign in a parking lot when another driver back up and hit my car. There are two big dents and the paint were scrapped on the left rear side of my car. Obviously I am not at fault. Since that was a first incident ever happened to me, it didn’t occurs to me to call the police or the management to verify what happened and all we did is exchanged Info like insurance, driving license and took some pictured of both cars. I told my adjuster that I was not moving and at a stop sign when this happened and they concluded that I was not at fault. But the other driver told a lie and said that I was driving the car and her company put me at fault for “failing to keep a safe distance and drive past her and scratched her rear side and bumper” but they are willing to pay 50% of the repair on my car. Now we have to pay $500 deductible before the rest are covered by my insurance and hers. I felt wronged because I have to pay for someone else mistake but my insurance/GEICO said they cannot do anything and advised us to go repair our car otherwise they can’t proceed with the claim.

A: Unfortunately, without a police report or any other evidence the only evidence to go off of is the he said/ she said.

However, with that being said there are two things that are glaringly sticking out at me. First, usually in a rear ending case (like what the other insurance company is accusing you of) the driver doing the rear ending and “failing to keep a safe distance and drive past the other driver” is found 100% at fault. But, they only found you 50% at fault, which makes me wonder why they found their own driver 50% at fault for something that they should have found them 0% at fault for.  If there is nothing else, like your state being a comparative negligence state, it sounds like they are just trying to get out of paying the full 100% of the claim. I would ask your claims adjuster about why the other company would find their own driver 50% at fault for what they are claiming to be a rear ending accident.

Second, I would ask a repair shop to look at the damages to your vehicle and see if they can determine what happened by the way the scratches and dents are placed or facing. They may be able to provide you with the claims evidence you need to prove that the other driver backed into you.

Question: I canceled my insurance with thr general they told me I was going to get a refund than days later I get an email tjat I owe them I cancel 5/26/16 last payment was 5/2/16 they say I have a balance of 633 but I don’t understand why they told me when I was canceling I was getting a refund of 200 and some I still don’t get why where dis they get the 633 from.

Answer: You need to contact them back and ask them how they got this number and also to make sure they have your cancellation date correct.  Now, with your last payment being made on 5/2 and a cancellation date of 5/26, you could still have earned premium. However, I don’t know your billing cycle or your premium to be able to tell you.

Earned premium is the insurance coverage that the insurance company provided for you, but that you had not paid for yet.

Question: Hi I have Chevy Malibu 2012 I owe 14000 but car worth 11000 my gieco insurance told me I don’t have gap my lean holder capital one told me is better to find insurance offers gap i can’t find one know do you have any advice thanks.

Answer: Getting insurance quotes from other insurance companies for Gap insurance is how you are going to find Gap insurance from an insurance company. The only thing I would advise you though, is that your vehicle is no longer a new car and many insurance companies do not offer Gap insurance on anything but new vehicles. However, some do have loan coverage that works like Gap that you can ask about.

Also, your lien holder is right about it being better to get Gap insurance through an insurance company as it is cheaper that way.

Question: Why does my insurance rate go up $21 dollars when I just change my address and also my email?

Answer: Part of what makes up your insurance rate is where you live.  Insurance companies rate on the safety of a neighborhood, the likelihood of a claim in that neighborhood, as well as other factors.  Your insurance rate went up because where you moved to has higher rating factors than where you used to live.  Your email address has no affect on your insurance rate.