Insurance company of at-fault vehicle only willing to pay 85% of my damage.

[Mark_A]

Jurisdiction

Georgia

I was involved in a traffic accident and other driver was issued a ticket for "failure to maintain lane." Here is a dashcam video of the accident from my vehicle as I traveled down the left-hand turn lane. The other vehicles were in the straight ahead lane, up until the at-fault vehicle sharply turned in to my vehicle:
Dashcam of Accident

The other driver's insurance company is one of those cheap online insurance companies that doesn't pay the full amount of claims. They are only willing to pay me 85% of the cost to repair the damage to my car, saying that I was 15% at fault. This is ridiculous, as anyone can see watching the video, since the other vehicle sharply swerved into me without warning, trying to enter the left-hand turn lane that I already occupied.

As I approached the intersection, my eyes were on the traffic light straight ahead to see if I could turn left (it was still red at the time of the accident for my left-hand turn lane), so I was not looking to my right to make sure no one was going to crash into me. The vehicles in the straight-ahead lane had a green light to cross the intersection. Also, the view from the dashcam is at the top of the windshield about 6 inches to right of center, and my view as the driver was from a much lower position in the drivers seat on the left side of the vehicle (opposite from the right side of the car where the at-fault driver swerved into me).

I expect to appeal this to the Consumer Services Department of the Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance. If that fails, I want to sue them in Small Claims Court. The total damages is probably about $5.000, so my 15% would be $750. But since I am retired, I have lots of time on my hands to peruse this to a just conclusion, and I don't want the insurance company to get away with this injustice.

The insurance company is based in Chicago, and has no physical offices or employees in Georgia, but they are registered as a Foreign Insurance Company with the Georgia Secretary of State (which means they do business in Georgia, but are located outside of Georgia), and they have a Registered Agent located in Fulton County, Georgia. I live in Forsyth County, Georgia.

1. Should I accept payment for repairs at 85% coverage and have my car repaired, and then file a complaint with Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance (or if that fails then sue in Small Claims court), or does accepting the payment bind me to accepting the 85% coverage settlement?

2. If I file a Small Claims lawsuit, do I have to file the case in Fulton County, Georgia where the Registered Agent for the insurance company is located (the insurance company has no offices in Georgia), or can I file in Forsyth County where I live? The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that a Georgia citizen can sue a Foreign Insurance Company located in another state, so long as the insurance company does business in Georgia.

 

[Mark_A]

Should I accept insurance payment for repairs to my car at 85% of repair cost (because at-fault driver's insurance company said I was 15% responsible) and have my car repaired, and then after that file a complaint with Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance (or if that fails then sue in Small Claims court) for the additional 15%, or does accepting the payment bind me to accepting the 85% coverage settlement? I could wait, because the car is still drivable.

 

[adjusterjack]

Retired claims adjuster here.

1 - There is no question from the video that the other driver was 100% at fault.

2 - The other driver's insurer is not your insurer and owes you nothing until and unless a court of law says otherwise. Meantime, they have done nothing wrong or illegal in offering you 85%. A complaint to the insurance department will get you nowhere. A lawsuit against the insurance company will get you nowhere.

3 - If you accept 85% that's an enforceable settlement and you would have no right to any more money.

4 - If you want to sue, you decline the offer and sue the driver, not the insurer) for 100% of your claim and show the video to the court. Based on the video, I think you will win. No guarantees, of course. You file in the county where the accident occurred or where the defendant lives.

5 - If you have collision coverage, consider making the claim on your own policy. Your company will cover the full amount of your repairs less your deductible. Your company will subrogate (seek reimbursement) against the other company and will refund your deductible when they get paid.

Please keep any further discussion in this thread. I have combined the two posts.

 

[Mark_A]

Sorry for reposting the second question, but I didn't see the other category at first and thought it was a generic question not related to the facts of my case. I will keep further discussion here.

Retired claims adjuster here.

1 - There is no question from the video that the other driver was 100% at fault.

2 - The other driver's insurer is not your insurer and owes you nothing until and unless a court of law says otherwise. Meantime, they have done nothing wrong or illegal in offering you 85%. A complaint to the insurance department will get you nowhere. A lawsuit against the insurance company will get you nowhere.

3 - If you accept 85% that's an enforceable settlement and you would have no right to any more money.

4 - If you want to sue, you decline the offer and sue the driver, not the insurer) for 100% of your claim and show the video to the court. Based on the video, I think you will win. No guarantees, of course. You file in the county where the accident occurred or where the defendant lives.

5 - If you have collision coverage, consider making the claim on your own policy. Your company will cover the full amount of your repairs less your deductible. Your company will subrogate (seek reimbursement) against the other company and will refund your deductible when they get paid.

Please keep any further discussion in this thread. I have combined the two posts.

I dropped collision coverage because the retail value of my 2009 Hyundai Genesis is only about $6K, and I previously had a $2,000 deductible. I said above that the damage to my car might be $5,000 but I suspect it closer to $3,500. The car only has 79,000 miles, been superbly maintained, and is in excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition (at least before the accident). I prefer to not make any claim on my policy, as that would probably affect my rates going forward.

I was curious why you say that a "A complaint to the insurance department will get you nowhere." The State of Georgia has an online portal to process such complaints:
File a Consumer Insurance Complaint

Both the driver and myself live in the same county (Forsyth), so that is where I will file suit in Small Claims court. The accident occurred in Fulton county. I am retired and have lots of time on my hands to do this. Should I get the car repaired first and present the receipts in court, or get estimates to present in court? I can fund the repairs myself ahead of time.

I really appreciate your comments and help on this matter.

 

[adjusterjack]

I was curious why you say that a "A complaint to the insurance department will get you nowhere." The State of Georgia has an online portal to process such complaints:
File a Consumer Insurance Complaint

You file your complaint, the investigator writes an inquiry to the claims manager. The claims manager writes back explaining the reason for the offer. The investigator writes back to you that there was no wrong done. That's what I meant by getting nowhere. But go ahead with it if you like.

Should I get the car repaired first and present the receipts in court, or get estimates to present in court? I can fund the repairs myself ahead of time.

Get an estimate and receipts for the repairs that conform to the estimate so there is no argument about the amount of your loss. Have photos that justify the cost.

I see that you've posted on freeadvice.com. I participate there every day and folks often defer to me on insurance matters. I've posted my reply. Save them some typing. (grin).

 

[Mark_A]

You file your complaint, the investigator writes an inquiry to the claims manager. The claims manager writes back explaining the reason for the offer. The investigator writes back to you that there was no wrong done. That's what I meant by getting nowhere. But go ahead with it if you like.



Get an estimate and receipts for the repairs that conform to the estimate so there is no argument about the amount of your loss. Have photos that justify the cost.

I see that you've posted on freeadvice.com. I participate there every day and folks often defer to me on insurance matters. I've posted my reply. Save them some typing. (grin).

Sorry about posting in the other forum. I will stay here from now on. Being this is happening over the holidays, I am kind of under pressure of time constraints of responding back to the insurance company (I will reject their offer of 85% coverage).

Thanks for your advice about the state insurance investigator. I was assuming they would look at the dashcam video, but I guess not. I guess I will just skip that and go to Small Claims Court against the driver.

Thanks again.

 

[adjusterjack]

Take another look at your thread at freeadvice.com. There are additional notes worth reading.