genuine-finch-9645/12/2026

Rideshare driver hit me in a rental car 4 months ago — zero progress, no adjuster, nothing

I need to vent and also genuinely need help because I feel like I'm losing my mind.

Back in the spring I was sitting at a red light when a car rear-ended me hard enough to deploy my airbags. The driver pulled over briefly, then just... took off. I was shaken but had the presence of mind to get the plate before they disappeared.

Turns out the car was a rental. And when I looked the driver up on the rideshare apps, it looks like they were actively doing a fare when they hit me. So now we've got a rental company, a rideshare company, AND an uncooperative driver all in the same mess.

I filed a police report the same night. My own insurance says they can't move forward without the at-fault driver's policy info. The rental company's claims line keeps bouncing me to different departments. I've called probably 30 times. Last week someone finally told me — four months in — that an adjuster hasn't even been assigned yet. Not that the adjuster is busy. That one hasn't been assigned at all.

Meanwhile I've had two rounds of physical therapy, my car sat undriveable for six weeks, and I've been paying out of pocket for things I shouldn't have to.

The kicker? I have reason to believe the driver still has the rental. The rental company won't confirm or deny it. And the detective on my hit-and-run case told me they can't move forward without the driver's info, which the rental company won't hand over.

Is this actually normal?? Does it take this long when a rental and rideshare are both involved? Am I doing something wrong? I feel completely invisible.

8 replies

Most helpful first

keen-marmot-0245/12/2026
Oh man, I feel this so deeply. I was hit by someone driving a rental last year and the runaround I got was insane. Two different companies both pointing fingers at each other while I was stuck in the middle. What finally helped me was sending a formal written demand via certified mail to the rental company's legal/claims department — not the 800 number, but their actual registered agent. The tone of the calls changed pretty fast after that.
- quiet-sparrow-0355/12/2026
  The rental company is running out the clock, plain and simple. Every week that goes by without an adjuster assigned is a week your frustration builds and your memory of details gets fuzzier. They know exactly what they're doing. Stop calling and start putting everything in writing — emails, certified letters, whatever creates a paper trail. Calls disappear. Paper doesn't.
- brave-mole-5055/12/2026
  A few things worth knowing: rental companies are often considered the "owner" of the vehicle under vicarious liability laws in many states, which can matter a lot here. Also, most states have unfair claims settlement practice statutes that require insurers to acknowledge claims and assign adjusters within specific timeframes — usually 10-15 business days. Four months is potentially a regulatory violation. You could file a complaint with your state's Department of Insurance, which sometimes lights a fire under people faster than anything else.
- quick-owl-5205/12/2026
  This is so unfair and I'm so sorry you're dealing with it. You did everything right — stayed at the scene, got the plate, filed the report — and you're still getting punished for someone else's terrible decision. Please don't let this go. You deserve to actually be made whole here.
spry-heron-2275/12/2026
I used to work claims and I can tell you that rental company liability cases involving rideshare are genuinely complicated internally — there are coverage arguments between the rental fleet policy, the rideshare company's commercial policy, and sometimes a personal policy too. That's real. But four months without an adjuster assignment? That's not complexity, that's neglect. Someone dropped your file or it got stuck in a queue nobody's watching. Escalate in writing to their corporate claims supervisor level, not the front-line reps.
careful-badger-2985/12/2026
Not legal advice, but the intersection of a rental vehicle and an active rideshare fare creates a genuinely complex coverage stack — and that complexity is exactly why cases like this benefit from having someone in your corner who speaks the insurance industry's language. The fact that you have a police report and plate number is actually a strong foundation. What's missing is someone pushing hard enough to force the process forward. Worth at least a free consult to understand your options.
clever-elk-1575/12/2026
Please make sure you're documenting every single medical expense and every therapy session, even the ones you paid out of pocket. Keep receipts, keep the explanation of benefits from your own insurance, keep a journal of pain levels and how the injury is affecting your daily life. I've seen people lose out on legitimate compensation just because they didn't keep records early on. The legal stuff will eventually sort itself out — just don't let the medical documentation fall through the cracks in the meantime.
gentle-lynx-5035/12/2026
Stop calling. Seriously. Every call you make that goes nowhere is just burning your energy. Send one certified letter to the rental company's corporate headquarters addressed to their claims department director. State your claim number, the date of loss, and give them 10 business days to assign an adjuster or you'll be filing a complaint with the state insurance commissioner and consulting an attorney. Then actually do both of those things if they don't respond. Being polite and patient has gotten you nothing for four months.