warm-wolf-4491d ago

At-fault driver's insurance stonewalling for months — can I force them to pay?

I'm so frustrated I could scream, so bear with me.

Back in the spring I was rear-ended at a stoplight by a guy who was clearly not paying attention. Cops showed up, did a full report, and the officer literally noted that the other driver was following too closely and caused the collision. No ambiguity. No ticket for me. The other driver even admitted fault at the scene — I have a witness who heard him say it.

I filed through my own insurance because I needed my car fixed fast. They covered it, I paid my deductible, and they said they'd go after his insurance to get that money back for me (subrogation, I think it's called?). That was almost eight months ago.

His insurance keeps dragging their feet — first they said they were "still investigating," then they went quiet for weeks at a time, now they're apparently disputing the liability percentage even though the police report basically hands them the answer.

My own insurance rep told me last week that there's "nothing more they can do right now." That answer is NOT acceptable to me. My deductible wasn't cheap and I don't see why I should be out that money when there's a police report spelling out exactly what happened.

Has anyone been stuck in this same loop? Did you eventually get your deductible back? Is there anything I can actually do to push this forward, or am I just at the mercy of two insurance companies slow-walking each other?

I've thought about small claims court but I don't even know if that's the right move here. Any experience or advice appreciated — I'm at my wit's end.

8 replies

Most helpful first

sharp-heron-7801d ago
Went through almost the exact same thing two years ago. The other guy's insurer stonewalled for so long that I finally just sued the driver directly in small claims — not the insurance company, the actual person. Once he got served, his insurer suddenly found the motivation to settle pretty quickly. It's a pain but it worked for me. Check your state's small claims limit first though.
- bright-swift-9201d ago
  I used to work on the claims side and I'll be honest — files like yours sometimes get deprioritized because the company knows your own insurer is handling you and you're not squeaking loud enough directly at them. Call the at-fault driver's insurance yourself, not just your own insurer. Ask to speak to a supervisor and specifically reference the police report narrative. Also, file a complaint with your state's Department of Insurance if they keep stalling — that gets attention fast internally.
calm-hare-4901d ago
"Still investigating" eight months in is a stall tactic, full stop. They're betting you'll get tired and go away. Don't. Document every single call — date, time, name of rep, what was said. Send follow-up emails so there's a paper trail. Adjusters pay a lot more attention when they know someone is keeping receipts.
spry-newt-2491d ago
The process your insurance is doing is called subrogation — they step into your shoes to recover what they paid out (including your deductible) from the at-fault party's insurer. The frustrating reality is that your insurer controls that process, not you. BUT — and this matters — you may still have the right to pursue the at-fault driver personally for your deductible even while subrogation is ongoing. Those are sometimes separate claims. Worth looking into for your state specifically.
sharp-vole-5521d ago
Not legal advice, but this is a pretty common scenario. A few things worth knowing: (1) you can often file in small claims against the at-fault driver directly for your out-of-pocket deductible regardless of what the insurance companies are doing between themselves, (2) a demand letter sent directly to the at-fault driver sometimes shakes things loose, and (3) your state's insurance commissioner can apply real pressure if the other insurer is acting in bad faith. A quick consult with a PI attorney — many do free ones — could map out your options clearly.
brave-dove-4681d ago
Stop waiting on your insurance company to fight for you. Their subrogation interest and your deductible interest overlap but they're not identical — they're mostly focused on recovering what they paid. Write a formal demand letter to the at-fault driver's insurance yourself, cite the police report, give them 15 days to respond, and CC your state's insurance regulatory office. Then file in small claims if they ignore it. This is solvable, it just requires you to be the squeaky wheel.
silent-swift-2971d ago
Ugh, I'm so sorry. You did everything right and you're still the one getting punished by all this bureaucratic nonsense. Don't give up — everyone here seems to have real ideas that have actually worked. You deserve to get that money back.
candid-marten-9381d ago
Quick question — did you get a copy of the full police report yourself, or are you going off what the officer told you at the scene? Sometimes what gets written in the official narrative is slightly different, and the other insurer may be hanging their dispute on specific wording. If you haven't already, pull the official report and read every line. Might also be worth knowing if the other driver filed a conflicting statement with his insurer after the fact.