Questionable Claims Call

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.