Other driver's insurer has ghosted us for 6 weeks — is this even legal??

I dealt with almost this exact thing after a landscaping company truck sideswiped me. Commercial carriers are a whole different animal — they're slower, more bureaucratic, and honestly I think they count on you getting tired and going away. What finally worked for me was going directly to the employer's risk management department and CC'ing their carrier on the email. Once the employer started asking questions internally, things moved fast. Don't wait for the carrier to feel like calling you back.

Six weeks of silence is not an accident. Commercial insurers do this deliberately — the longer they delay, the more pressure you're under, and the more likely you are to either accept a lowball offer just to be done with it or make some mistake they can use against you later. Document every single call and email with timestamps. You're building a record right now whether you know it or not.

Filing a complaint with your state's Department of Insurance is absolutely something you can and should do if they've blown past the legally required response window. Most states require a liability insurer to acknowledge a third-party claim within a set number of days — often 10 to 15 — and to accept or deny within 30 to 45. Look up your state's specific rules. A DOI complaint won't magically fix everything, but it creates a paper trail and sometimes lights a fire under carriers who've been sitting on files.

Not legal advice, but this situation is exactly why a lot of people at least consult with a PI attorney even if they think their case is 'simple.' Once an attorney sends a formal representation letter, the carrier is now legally required to communicate through them — and carriers tend to respond a lot faster when they know an attorney is watching the clock on bad-faith exposure. Most initial consultations are free. Might be worth a call just to understand your options. Not saying you need to litigate, but having someone in your corner changes the dynamic.

Three things, do them this week: (1) Call the employer directly, ask for risk management or whoever handles their fleet claims. Be polite but direct — tell them their carrier isn't responding and you need this resolved. (2) File a DOI complaint online, it takes 20 minutes. (3) If your own policy has collision coverage, ask your insurer about going that route and subrogating against the at-fault carrier. You'd pay your deductible upfront but get your car fixed now while your insurer chases them. Not ideal but beats driving a crumpled car indefinitely.

Quick question — when you say your insurer 'made contact once,' do you mean they actually spoke to a claims adjuster at the other carrier, or just left a voicemail with the agent? There's a big difference. If it's the latter, your own insurer may not be pushing this through the right channels either.