Im hoping that one of the lawyers (or anyone else with expertise in these kinds of matters) on the board can chime in on this question.
The basic question:
2 car accident. One party admits fault and presents insurance. The party at fault wants to take care of the issue with a cash payment directly to a garage. Can the party at fault dictate how the matter is settled... Insurance v. cash?
More on the story:
My car was hit yesterday. The guy in the other car just held up an insurance paper and no drivers license. He didnt speak any English. There were 2 teen girls in the car with him who spoke English and said that the car was their uncles car and they wanted to take care of the issue without involving the cops or insurance. I called the police anyway and got a report on record.
Nobody in the other car had a drivers license. They say that they are covered under their uncles insurance and that one of the girls had a wreck recently and used their uncles insurace. They want to keep the rates down and have me to go to a shop and let the uncle pay the shop directly.
The police agreed that it was the other guys fault and they issued him a citation for an illegal lane change. The police said that if the driver had permission to drive from the owner then they are more than likely covered under the uncles policy.
The damage to my car is not too bad, but the repair will involve replacing part of the headlamp assembly and repainting the front fender and bumper. The girl who was talking to her uncle on the phone kept trying to make the repair to sound simple and tried to get me to just let it go.
From the way she was acting I know that I will probably have to fight with them if I go to a garage and call them back with an estimate. On the other hand, if this guy is not covered under the uncles policy then I will have to use my uninsured motorist insurance and pay a $250 deductible to get the car fixed. Any advice is appreciated.
The basic question:
2 car accident. One party admits fault and presents insurance. The party at fault wants to take care of the issue with a cash payment directly to a garage. Can the party at fault dictate how the matter is settled... Insurance v. cash?
More on the story:
My car was hit yesterday. The guy in the other car just held up an insurance paper and no drivers license. He didnt speak any English. There were 2 teen girls in the car with him who spoke English and said that the car was their uncles car and they wanted to take care of the issue without involving the cops or insurance. I called the police anyway and got a report on record.
Nobody in the other car had a drivers license. They say that they are covered under their uncles insurance and that one of the girls had a wreck recently and used their uncles insurace. They want to keep the rates down and have me to go to a shop and let the uncle pay the shop directly.
The police agreed that it was the other guys fault and they issued him a citation for an illegal lane change. The police said that if the driver had permission to drive from the owner then they are more than likely covered under the uncles policy.
The damage to my car is not too bad, but the repair will involve replacing part of the headlamp assembly and repainting the front fender and bumper. The girl who was talking to her uncle on the phone kept trying to make the repair to sound simple and tried to get me to just let it go.
From the way she was acting I know that I will probably have to fight with them if I go to a garage and call them back with an estimate. On the other hand, if this guy is not covered under the uncles policy then I will have to use my uninsured motorist insurance and pay a $250 deductible to get the car fixed. Any advice is appreciated.
