Let's boil this down to the basics:

You have no collision coverage with GEICO, therefore they CANNOT act in your behalf. They can only become involved after they pay YOU and YOU transfer your right of recovery to GEICO.

Since you don't have collision coverage, you are essentially SELF INSURED for damage to YOUR car. So, you are on your own to fight with Allstate.

Legally: If Allstate can prove a brake failure due to work done by the shop 2 days prior to the accident, then they have a valid defense on behalf of their driver. They are only obligated to pay for claims in which they are LEGALLY LIABLE (That means the Allstate driver would have to be negligent in some way).

You have a very complicated issue here. If both Allstate and the repair shop are pointing fingers at each other......guess what? Off to court you all go! The problem here is Allstate will have a high priced expert testify the brake job was faulty. What eveidence will you have?

Good Luck. You may in fact need a lawyer. BUT.....he's going to take a slice of the pie if he wins. Could be a big slice too, depending on where you live.

PS to the guy who said Allstate and State Farm are going broke because of Katrina.........hahahahahahahahaha. Not a chance pal!

 

Why would I need evidence on anything? That is the shop and Allstate's problem to figure out whos at fault. I dont have to prove anything. All I want is a check but it looks like I'm going to have to wait for a long while. This whole system sucks.

 

Sorry to inform you, but that's not how the legal system works. If you are going to sue someone for damages, the burden of proof is on YOU to show negligence on either the Allstate driver or the shop for the alledged faulty repairs.

Since Allstate has already said they aren't paying........I think you are in for a long (read: forever) wait ( particularly if you do nothing)

 

Blowtorch said it right.
I'm not 100% sure about New Jersey, but if you were in New York, this would be my recommendation.
Get two estimates for the damage to your vehicle.
Get a copy of the police report and then go straight to the court house and submit a small claim against the driver of the vehicle and the shop.
If you get a good judge, he/she will recognize that you are an innocent party to this accident and will determine how much each party will pay you. If you need any further help, send me a pm.
Nick
justa231@yahoo.com
Good Luck

 

My daughters boy friend was involved in a motorcycle, car accident. The woman that was driving the car claimed she had insurance with Gieco. It too 13 days for Gieco to tell him that her policy had lapsed. Whenever he called, they would just tell him that they were investigating the accident.

 

 

Go after the guy that hit you. He should be responsible for getting your car fixed. He hit you, he is at fault. It is up to him to have his insurance cover it, or to be payed back by the repair shop. If he had his car for 2 days before there was a problem I would venture to guess that the shop isn't at fault.

 

Don't take any gruff from the insurance company. If you was not at fault I would inform the ins. co. that I wanted my car fixed and fixed now. Take it to the repair shop of your choice and get it fixed. Have your lawyer write Allstate a nice letter about what's going to happen about dragging their feet. Allstate is still responsible for the repairs, if they want to go after the auto repair shop for the damages that's on them, but first off your car needs to be repaired.

 

is slamming into the back of me proof enough? i got a smashed up car, a police report, and 4 other people that say he didnt stop at the red light.

since allstate insures him and he is the one that plowed everybody that was stopped at the light shouldnt it be up to allstate to go after the dealer and prove they were responsible?

PS-thanks for all the helpful info everybody.

 

All that is great evidence that an accident occurred. But it doesn't prove how or why the accident happened.

There are 2 choices here. Either the Allstate driver was not paying attention and rear ended you or his brakes failed and he rear ended you. Obviously, Allstate has something to "hang their hat on" regarding a brake failure or they would have paid you and closed the case. Believe me, this is an insignificant claim for them.

Now, you can either listen or argue. The choice is yours. Allstate has made their decision, the ball is in your court. But pleading for justice on this message board is not going to change a thing in your situation!

 

And so would your state Insurance Commissioner, insurance companies hate it when the commissioner gets involved. They can make an insurance company's life a living hell.

 

Unfortunately, the Insurance Commissioner's job/duty is to resolve 1st party disputes between policyholders and their OWN insurance company. For example, there a quite a few gulf coast residents involved in disputes with insurers over Katrina claims that have been denied by various insurance companies for various reasons.

This gentleman has a 3rd party LIABILITY issue. Not in the Insurance Commissioner's arena. 3rd party disputes have the legal/court system to resolve their disputes.

 

Only one problem here. Repair shops insist on being paid for their work!

I suspect this fellow doesn't have the $2700 needed to get the car fixed.

 

 

get rid of the lizard company. Sounds like they are no help at all.

 

1. get a copy of the police report
2. get 2 estimates
3. call a lawyer who does this sort of work

sounds like the only thing left to do is sue the guy who hit you. Depending on the jurisdiction, it may be a small claims court case, in which case you need to know the specific requirements about estimates, paying for repairs, etc,
good luck
-Nick

 

Lots of luck....Allstate is one of the $hittie$t insurance companies in the world. They will make you suffer until they pay up (if they pay up). Probably should get a lawyer and sue the a$$hole that hit you. Good luck

 

I am not defending any of the insurance companies - but one thing you must remember....they are in business to turn a profit. They have a legally binding contract with their insured (the guy who pays the premium to them) to indemnify the insured against claims. Having said that - if they can avoid paying out by finding someone else to blame - they've done their job.

When you elected to carry only liability insurance, you decided that if there were to be any physical damage to your vehicle - you'd pay for it yourself. That was your choice. You obviously made an informed decision that the premiums that you were paying weren't worth paying anymore because of the value of the vehicle. So you saved a couple of hundred bucks a year, and didn't insure the vehicle against physical loss, and now you are the proud owner of an undriveable vehicle with damage. You cannot have it both ways.

If you feel that you have been wronged (and I'm not saying you haven't), then you need to procure legal counsel. If you had physical damage for your car - your carrier (Geico) would represent you because they would have a financial interest in getting their money back (refer to my first paragraph). To those of you who said Geico sucks - they might or might not - it's not their fight in this case. For those of you that said Allstate sucks - they might or might not - refer to the first paragraph.

Neither company has a responsibility to you at this point.

Get a lawyer, and be prepared to pay a percentage of whatever settlement you get (as you should - the lawyer has to eat too).

I know this sounds unsympathetic - but those are the facts. Remember, you saved a couple of hundred bucks on the physical damage. Good luck - you're gonna need it.

 

Forget Allstate. Let the person that hit you worry about them. Get an accident report and see a layer.

 

Let's also try to remember in his first post that the dipsh** that hit him ALSO drove away in a car he claimed had brake failure ---where were the brains of the LEO's that let him drive off after such a statement???

Definitely get copies of the accident report,they should include noted damage, eyewitness accounts and statements made by the dipsh** that hit you. Make sure that it states that he drove away (you want that if he is claiming brake failure)..

Find a descent lawyer and good luck...I do have to agree about the insurance bashing---I myself would be peeved too but they are a business looking to make money not friends.

One last thought--if other people had their cars damaged---I would try and get in touch with them as well and see if their claims have been handled. (their information should be on the accident report) but keep in mind if any of these people had collision---their insurance company may have helped them out..

Lori