I reported yesterday that I had damaged my M when some road debris hit my car- truck tire tread and plastic fender. At first it was only the grille cover and seal but today the service guys said my intercooler was badly bent and should be replaced. So tab went from $150 to $825. Time for insurance claim.
Well- (I won't get into who my insurance company is but they are one of the huge big boys).....So called my agent to report the claim and after I described what happened she said so---"did you run over the objects" or did they strike your car. I truthfully admitted, no the other car kicked them up into my car.
She responds- "good answer"......
So (((warning I am not an insurance agent) but if you claim you ran over an object it will be coded one way and you will have to pay your deductible. If it flies in the air and strikes you it is coded under the comprehensive part of your insurance and no deductible is needed. They pay the full cost and life is good.
After I spoke to my agent I had to officially put in the claim with the agents and bingo- they said the same thing and check is in the mail.
So just a heads-up as to how you communicate damages.
If anyone has specific questions- let me know and I will try to get answers thru my agent.

 

So you ended up paying the deductible?

 

Yes, I've heard that several times from different sources. If you hit a stationary object (even debris on the road), except for extraordinary circumstances it is considered that you could have avoided it and you are considered to be at fault.

 

So why did the agent say "Good answer" to you hitting the debris? Good for the insurance company?

 

@Big Knight- no it was coded under my comprehensive and I DID NOT have to pay my deductible. Also- that is why I am extremely loyal to my insurance company- because I feel like my agent WATCHES out for my best interest. I have paid insurance for 30 yrs and this is my first ever claim for an accident of any kind. Good for the insurance company- With my personal history I would say Hell yes.

 

As an auto insurance adjuster, I do not appreciate you advising others to fabricate their facts of loss to benefit themselves financially.

Insurance fraud is rampant in this country and it causes all of us to pay higher premiums.

You are part of the problem.

And if you do say an object was moving when in actuality you ran over a fixed object and are caught via an eye witness, you can and likely will be investigated for fraud. All major insurers have Special Investigation Units that are highly trained to detect and investigate fraudulent claims. So before you do it, ask yourself if it's worth it.

 

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You carry no deductible under Comp coverage ? Interesting decision.

And your agent has no obligation to help you lie. And that would be true had you paid 50 years of premiums without a claim. You don't pay insurance for future claims, you pay it to take the burden of risk of your shoulders.

I will give him or her the benefit of the doubt and assume the reply, "good answer" was equivalent to saying, "glad for you" and not saying, "I would have instructed you to say that if you had asked me".

 

@CR and P - if you read MY comment carefully I said I answered truthfully when the question was posed to me. If I ran over the object I would have sustained damage underneath my car. The damage I actually had was up near my bumper area.
Lastly I didn't advise anyone to do anything- I did advise to the facts as I was lead to believe. Now it has actually made me ask the question- why is this a closely guarded secret and not officially explained. (The answer may be that it is in the fine print.

 

I don't care about your particular claim. What i care about is your blatant insinuation to others that despite the actual facts of their loss, they will benefit to say an item was stationary. It's pretty much the whole point of your thread.

 

So just a heads-up as to how you communicate damages.

This is what pisses me off.

And your agent isn't a claim professional... don't ask others to give you claims questions so your agent can answer them. Another bad idea on your part.

 

I say take those blood sucking insurance companies for all they got!!! ha ha jk jk... just kidding CR My insurance company has been good to me..Ive been with them forever.. Really telling the truth is your best bet..lol

 

It's no secret. Read your damn policy.

 

Point taken----So to update my thread- "Folks call your insurance agent and ASK them the difference between if you hit an object vs if the object strikes you". Once you are armed with that information you will now know what liability you are faced with in whether to pay out of pocket or put in a claim.

 

CRP- calm down- I will take my policy and be sure to read it fully this weekend.

 

Seriously ? Still offering claim advice ?

Why ask the agent the difference ? Just tell the agent what happened, ask them if it's a Comp Claim or a Collision claim. Then decide if you want to report it or not.

Wouldn't you say that's the best way to handle it ??

 

Yup I agree.

 

CR...ive never seen you get this worked up!!! Take a deep breath!!

 

I'm fine... laughing my *** off as I watch an episode of The Office.

Of my nearly 12,000 post over the past 7 years, about 11,950 have been light hearted and easy going. The other 50 have been to address matters like this one. Not the first time someone on this board suggested insurance fraud or gave blatantly wrong advise on insurance matters of which they are not trained or informed enough to provide.

 

Well CR I understand what you are saying...really I do... In your line of work I can see why it really gets you going.. It seems insurance fraud has always been a problem here in the US.. Like I said my insurance company has always treated me fair.. Its only right to do the sme back to them.

 

I agree you should tell the truth about what exactly happened. I also think that a foreign object that is in the middle of the road, which should not be there, should not be the fault of the driver. Many times you can't possibly see these things until the last second if there are cars ahead of you. If you try to avoid hitting them, you may veer into another lane, possibly causing a lot more damage to yourself and someone else. I think the insurance company always treating this as the fault of the driver is the real fraud here.

 

Best strategy is to just explain what happened very clearly and truthfully. I don't play word games with people. Do that when crafting a contract, not after you've agreed to it.

 

When insurance starts running in a coop/break-even/non-profit model... I will care about fraud. While there is still high profits.... Any mention of fraud lands on deaf ears. I do think the individuals morality should keep them from lying though. THis was an important to post to be careful in your description of the actions and answer truthfully and concisely. Don't let the insurance company lead you and if you didn't run over, don't even say maybe. Say yes. I tell the truth on insurance, even when I don't want to (just had to have a roof replaced and the bid came in below appraisal-deductible which seems to cause more hassle that my agent or adjuster wants to deal with).

Michael

 

very well said. a policy stating that a hitting an unavoidable tire in the road at 75mph is the driver's fault is absurd. and any representative of an insurance company should be embarrassed to attempt to substantiate it.

perhaps the insurance company would prefer we attempt to swerve around it at 75 mph instead.

 

I agree some insurance companies find any reason to not pay claims that people paid for. Leading questions is a great description. All for the sake of profit and greed, not to get people back to their lives (and able to pay future premiums). Glad no one was hurt in the accident, which should be the main concern. Cars are replaceable, people aren't.