Here is one for you Tom, My 2 kids and myself took my kids boat out fishing and on the way back we were stopped at a red light and WHAM!! A kid hits the boat broke the motor off and sent it flying almost into the driver window of the car next to us, shoved (pinned) the boat to the rear window of our pathfinder and wadded up the trailer under his front suspension. Shoved us 25ft after the impact. I got our and looked back and people were saying the kid was blowing red lights at over 80 mph and being chased by someone but that person was not there when i got out (about 5 sec after hit) Ok now it gets fun, the kid won't get out of his pick up (talking on cell) Several people including myself call 911 and report the accident. About 5 minutes later a cop car comes around the corner and pulls over, guy gets out he is in street clothes with a sidearm, me being curious i ask why the street clothes says he is on the way to the store, ask why he stopped and he says make sure everyone is ok, now by this time several people had come to him telling of the kid speeding and running red lights and he thinks nothing of it, now 15 min into it here comes two CHP units lights a flashing, pull up to scene and the cop goes over and talks to them now i see the CHP pulling away and ask him where they are going and he says not needed and i say you are off duty why would you send them away? no answer. I go and take pics of everything and anything. The kid finally got out of the truck and went over and talked to the cop, then gave him some paper work and he took ours as well as the witness. Story we got was someone hit him and pushed him into us, exact wording was "i stopped just before hitting them, and someone hit me and pushed me into them" Turns out the cop was the kids dad and he had his buddy at the station write the report from the kids statement. Enough rambling and to the point, my kid only had the min state required ins with no collision (progressive no less) they said no go no collision, so we contacted the kids ins and they said nope find the mystery car that pushed him into us. I said that would be fine if they could explain how someone pushed him into us and their was NO DAMAGE to the rear of his truck anywhere!!! OK now i am in war mode and go to the lawyer and all they want to do is go after our ins for med coverage because it is easier and i said what about the car and boat? oh no coverage so nothing on them. So the question is with no damage to the rear of his truck and only damage from the TC to the front, how can his ins co deny the claim? I know why the lawyers won't go after them, no $$ for them, but why won't my kids go after them as they should do for their customer? I have been in the body work business for the past 35 years and i know for a fact no one is getting pushed into someone to do that much damage and not even have a scratch on the rear of their car, not going to happen.
I hit a deer with my O/T Dodge Magnum a few years back. Damage wasn't bad, about $1200. No cops, nothing. I weighed just paying out of pocket and not reporting it to insurance. What I ended up doing was calling my provider (Travelers) and asking. I told them what happened, the damage estimate, and asked if it would affect my rates. They said no, it would not. So I decided to have my insurance cover it. Shop did the work, got paid, everything was great. Until my next renewal. My policy had gone up, and it was stated in black and white, that it was because of the accident with the deer. What's your take on this? I'd appreciate the input from an insider. Did I get taken for a ride? Straight lied to? Is there any recourse to recover the increase incurred if it was through error or dishonest practice?
Rodhotz, I would file a complaint with the state or municipal police " Office of Professional Standards " . At least that is what they are called in our town. Done the correct way you will get their attention.
Larry, I saw that video. The actuators are working and the buttons move up and down. The linkage between the actuators and the lock is mechanical. I'm doubting this all happened at the same time. People will ignore a problem with the rear door. They can't ignore the front door.
You will have to check your state's laws about exactly how fault is determined in a multi-car accident. If the liability can be passed on to a third party, then you might be out of luck, since the third party is fictional. It sounds like a crooked public servant covered up for someone to save them some trouble. And unfortunately, his own financial burden has been passed on to you. If your son had collision, it would have been simple.
Again, it doesn't appear to be vacuum related. I thought it my be too. As for making a claim, you can claim anything. The question is does coverage exist for the problem? In this case, the answer is no. This car 28 years old. I don't know of any company that will warranty a car that long. Add to this that the car is a gray market car not sold in the US and you can see why Mercedes dealers don't want to be involved. The regional office is trying to help as a courtesy.
I would also go to the dept of Insurance on his insurance company. If nothing else works go to local tv station. They would kill for a cover up story like that and the attention would probably help get it resolved.
The vehicle that did the damage has liability insurance. That is where the coverage exists. If the report was the kids name and the father wrote the report (or his buddy did). I'd go after the police department for falsifying reports. If no lawyer will help you, I might check with one of those problem solver reporters on TV. I'd fight tooth and nail. The problem, as they say, is that you can't fight city hall. Good luck. It sucks. EDIT: In most cases, liability would fall to 'both vehicles. That is the kid and the phantom. The kids insurance company should still be involved.
My take is that I'd be switching companies. That should be a non-chargeable loss. BUT, if you are hearing this from the agent, I'd try to get confirmation from the company along with an explaination. I've seen rates go up with the guy living in the sticks and he's hit 5 deer within a couple years. It's become a trend. Hit one deer, and nothing should happen.
That would probably turn out to not be covered. I learned a new one the other day, there is separate sink hole insurance that you have to buy to be covered for sinkholes. There is also separate insurance for earth quake insurance. I want to say something positive on this thread. As I have stated earlier I have never had a good experience with an insurance company. Well it has finally paid off. My wife got called up for jury duty and was stuck on a civil suite (SP?). It was going to happen next week while my daughter is in town, and my wife is on vacation. Anyway it has to do with a water problem in a house that the insurance as well as the everyone else is trying to get out of paying. One of the questions was are you related to or familiar with anyone that works for or has worked for a civil design firm or architect. She thought that she was out because I was working civil design when I became retired again. No such such luck. When we spoke at lunch she said that she thought that she recognized one of the plaintiffs, but she couldn't place it. Anyway end of the day the very last question is do any of you have insurance with X company or have ever had a claim with X company, or ever had a bad experience with X company. The wife held up her little placard and she said all at once the fella turned white as a sheet and leaned over and spoke with his attorney. Then she recognized him as the adjuster from our house fire that I mentioned earlier. She was asked to leave the jury box. So it did get her out of jury duty.
Technically, you are right, it wouldn't be covered. But if the insurance company denies a loss, they need to prove in a court of law their point of view. I certainly don't have the expertise, and the cost of hiring an expert for one claim would probably be more expensive than just paying the claim. I'm glad the wife got off jury duty.
My wife was cruising the interstate when the car ahead of her hit a "tire peel" (an 18 wheeler recap tread) and sent it flying into the nose of her car, causing about $2500 in damage to the hood, grille, and headlight assembly. The insurance company wanted to call it "collision" but when I explained/showed that it hit the car from above (from the sky) they labelled it "comprehensive". Saved me a $400 difference in deductible, not to mention a potential increase in premiums.
I read the post and I don't believe that it is an insurance problem it is a legal problem. I am certaqinly no expert on the matter but I don't think that your insurance company is required to help in legal matters. Me too. I mean its not like she was doing a sequestered thing, but it was going to keep her away from the house while the girl was here. I guess we had coverage we didn't buy on that one.
Well, the insurance company has the responsibility to defend to in court (unless you were drunk, trying to kill people, etc.). They don't have the responsibility to sue others. They can, but they don't have to. If someone sued you of your liability, they will defend you.
I think where the problem lies in that for the most part the insurance company only has the police report to go by. I don't know about every state but in Missouri if some one rearends you even if they were knocked into you it is their repsonsability to pay. For instance, I am at a light there is a volckswagon in front of me a fella hits me from behind knocking me into the Volkswagon, he is responsable for the damage to the back of my car, I am responsable for the damage to the car in front of me and my own front end damage. It was not that way when we were a proof of liability state but now that insurance is required you have no way out.
some insurance companies have "stated value" policies you dont need an appraisal if youre getting a car appraised to sell,you're really pissing money away.
Neither Hagerty or Grundy require an appraisal to insure your vehicle. Stated Value policies are a crap shoot. If you think this is a better ulternative, you'll possibly be surprised (badly) when that hot rod you may have insured for $60K turns into a check for $35K because the handling adjuster doesn't think your ride is worth $60K. This happens. this is why there is agreed value policies.
To my knowledge, none of the claims I've handled with Hagerty has had an issue other than VIN verification because the owner played loose and fast with bought titles, serial number plates from other vehicles, etc. The same is true with Grundy. Put a station wagon VIN plate on a two door car, or buy a title for a V8 Nova when the cowl tag shows the car is a six cylinder tends to create it's own problems. Even then, 99% of these claims were paid and the insured was dropped vs just denying a claim.
Yes, I do. I looked at a '55 Chevy pick up truck insured by Allstate. The repair shop had me write the estimate on the truck which came out to $22K. The insurance company told the owner the vehicle was a borderling total loss. They thought the truck was worth no more than $30K after it was insured for $60K. I'm guessing you don't know the difference between Stated Value policies and Agreed Value policies. Hagerty and Grundy sell Agreed Value policies.
PnB; Considering what I know about, & think of; judges, insur co.s, lawyers, etc, if I was in the situation your wife was in, esp considering your past experiences, I'd be fighting like dbl hell to get on that jury. Payback can be a real bitch... . & there's a lot that *need* it... Marcus...
Hey, TOm; Couple of sites I used to be on, when I was interested in the Merc 300DT, for veggie oil conversion. Not sure what you (your client) needs, but these may help? If the MercedesSource doesn't, which is about as good as it gets... http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diy-links-parts-category/ http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/DoItYourSelf http://mbworld.org/forums http://mercedesforum.com/forum/search.php?searchid=746484 FWIW. Marcus...
Here's a stupid question... I use Gieco for my daily, and American Collectors for my Hot Rod... Why do I have to pay for PIP and Liability on collector car insurance over and above my daily driver insurance... I cannot drive them both at once, and I am the same person in both cars, why am I paying twice?
All insurance folllows the car, not the driver. So PIP is paid out on every policy. The same is true with your liability limits, the actual insurance on the car, etc.
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