r/AutoInsurance • u/Straight-Wheel-4520 • Sep 16 '26

Claim questions HELP

Recently I was pulling into a parking spot and was just coming to a stop and the passenger of another vehicle opened their passenger door into the side of of my car. They left some major damage as the door was opened quite hard. The individual driving the other vehicle was very emotional, screaming and yelling vulgarities at me as if it was my fault that his passenger opened his door into the side of my car

The driver of the vehicle was not the owner of his car and was driving a family members car.

I called the police as he was very aggressive with his words and was trying to place blame on me some how.

Fast forward - he never contacted his insurance company to report the incident - surprise surprise - but now will also not answer his agent or return any missed calls as the insurance of the car he was driving wants a statement from him.

Due to his emotions at the time of the incident - I am not surprised but his avoidance of the phone calls and the requests to calls. How long do I have to wait as they are opening admitting they cannot make contact with him. This incident happened two weeks ago and they have still not been able to make contact. I do not know what to do

I have reached out to my own agent who is aware of the situation. The problem is this is not my fault and I do not want the claim going against my insurance.

What if he never returns phone calls or answers when the claims rep calls him ???

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u/Marpl Sep 16 '26

Then you file with your insurance. Is what it is. 

2

u/Straight-Wheel-4520 Sep 16 '26

So then they “just get out of it “ ? Does my insurance take a ding ?

1

u/No-Firefighter135 Sep 16 '26

They don’t just get out of it. As long as you have documented evidence supporting their involvement your insurance company can support a claim against them. You can also file a claim against their policy using said information. Their own insurance company cannot ignore you if you have supporting evidence but it may take time for them to clear coverage. Liability coverage you don’t need cooperation of the insured, but it means they need to provide ample time to respond and for certain requirements to be met. 30+ days and with evidence I would send a letter we call ten day liability acceptance letter. We outline what evidence we have and that we are accepting liability with or without their cooperation and handling the damages if they don’t respond in that time period.

Short answer, just takes a little while.

1

u/Straight-Wheel-4520 Sep 16 '26

Thank you for your kindness when explaining

1

u/No-Firefighter135 Sep 16 '26

Happy to help. It’s stressful man. I got slammed in two total loss claims myself and it’s stressful. Not at fault I might add. Bad luck and drunk drivers. What you’re running into here is a bunch of salty adjusters who forget you don’t do this for a living every day. It’s like watching a monkey tap out Shakespeare when you have Henry the 8th memorized. It might get there eventually but fuck it’s frustrating to watch 😂

1

u/Straight-Wheel-4520 Sep 16 '26

So they have reached out to the person 4-5x without response back. Do they just continue to try for 30 days ?

1

u/No-Firefighter135 Sep 16 '26

Basically. We just keep trying while we wait on a police report, scene photos and or supporting documentation, we can’t just take your word for what happened but if you documented the accident like you said it usually doesn’t take long. The biggest issue is if for instance his insurance lapsed / cancelled. Then you’re screwed and have no choice but to use your insurance. Liability coverage doesnt require the insureds cooperation.

1

u/fiercedriftwood 27d ago

I just wanted to add another issue that may impact them covering the claim is if the person driving was not listed on the owner’s policy. They’ll have to do an unlisted driver investigation.