I got rearended on a highway not long ago. The guy in a very old minivan wasn't paying attention.
I discovered, that I had to make a claim against my insurance company even if there was absolutely no my fault. OK, I did it. The damage was over $12.000 and it was extremely difficult to get them to fix my car right. For example they didn't want to pay for my brake lights because they didn't know they were working before the accident. They were fighting for each dollar and treated me like I was robbing their company. I end ou paying 50% for several parts (the ones they forgot to fix at the first time).
At one point they told me that my insurance premium might go up. I responded that they do not have right to do it because 100% of the fault is on other guy and I would sue them if they try that. They shut up after that.
No, as I bought a new car they gave me a very high rate on it. I phoned them and got a response that they are not interested in me anymore. Of course I went to a different insurance company, but they made a research and declined covering my car because of that incident!
Now I?m in a strange situation: I have clean record for last 11 years, but at the same time my insurance rate is high because they spent a lot of money to fix my car.
I don?t get it.. Why MY insurance company has to pay for that accident? BTW I live in Canada.

 

Bottom line, insurance companies want to make money.

You should find out what happened to the other guy who hit you. Did your insurance company sue the guys insurance to get the money back? If they didn't, then it's the same as you hitting the other guy; it was your fault.

It's unfortunate, but that is the way it goes a lot of times.

 

You know what sucks...when you file a claim with SOMEONE ELSE's insurance because it was THEIR fault...then they contact YOUR insurance co and your rates *still* go up even though it wasn't your fault.

It's a LOSE/LOSE situation with insurance companies.

 

After the accident I took insurance information from the gay who hit me expecting HIS insurance company would fix my car. Later I've been told that I should make a claim with my insurance, they will pay me and after that get the money from the guy's insurance company. I assume they did, but at the same time they were not happy to pay me.
Also, they don't admit they raised my rates because of the claim. They just give me the rate for the new car. When I complain about it they say they are not interested in me anyways.

 

Who is your insurance provider, if you don't mind me asking. Normally in a situation like this, we would subrogate against the other party's insurance company to recover what we've paid out. Stories like this seem more common in a place like the States (working in the claims dept, you hear about all the horror stories). My mandate is not to save the company money, although this is usually what the general public thinks of adjusters. In fact, in situations where I think there might be no coverage, I would often look into other areas to find coverage. Trust me when I say it's a lot easier to pay out than to deny.

 

try this, just mention the "Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing." its some lawyering thing that insurance co's are supposed to understand, or at least US ins co.'s, but i dun see why it would be any different in canada. try it. i've heard that it works. see what happens. you've got nothing else to loose. good luck!

 

The "covenant of good faith" with regard to insurance comapnies was established in cases where the insurance company refuses to settle a claim and essentially leaves the insured party out in the cold because maybe they figure the costs of litigation will be cheaper than a settlment even if they lose in court.


The rule: Insurance company refusal to settle: If an insurance company refuses in bad faith to settle a claim that is covered by a policy it wrote, courts are quite likely to hold that the insured has suffered a tort, and can recover punitive damages against the insurer.

Check your policy. The covenant of good faith will only apply if your insurance company acted way outside the terms of their contract with you. Go back and read it carefully, and if you have any doubt, go talk to a lawyer. Surprisingly, you might have signed away your right to sue them if there was an arbitration clause in the contract. Your lawyer will check for this and know what to do. I am sure that insurance law in canada differs slightly from the law here in the states. They may have some sort of no-fault system. Who told you that your insurance company would have to pay?