Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some perspective from people who’ve dealt with insurance disputes, especially involving Tesla Insurance.
Background (short version):
- I was involved in a collision with a Tesla.
- The police report shows the Tesla driver at fault. The officer went to the Tesla, reviewed the video footage on scene, and issued a citation to the Tesla driver.
- Tesla Insurance initially told me they accepted full responsibility.
- About 2 days later, Tesla Insurance reversed their decision and claimed I have 25% fault, stating it’s based on video footage.
- Tesla Insurance has never released that video to me or to my insurer (AAA), despite requests.
- My insurer (AAA) reviewed the police report and evidence and told me they place 0% fault on me.
- AAA offered to repair my car under my policy (I’d pay the deductible for now), and said they would pursue subrogation.
- AAA also told me that AAA’s liability determination and Tesla’s determination are independent: Tesla says 75/25, AAA says 100% Tesla fault.
At this point I have a few questions I’d really appreciate insight on:
- What is Tesla Insurance’s likely intention here? Is this mainly about reducing payout by 25% on property damage / injury exposure, or is there another reason insurers do this even when a police report and citation exist?
- If AAA considers me not at fault, but Tesla insists I’m 25% at fault, how does this show up long-term? If I later shop for insurance with a third-party insurer (not AAA), will they see:
- AAA’s “not at fault” decision,
- Tesla’s 75/25 decision,
- or some combined record (e.g., CLUE report)? Could this increase my future premiums even if my own insurer says I’m not at fault?
- Is there any practical point in continuing to fight Tesla Insurance to remove the 25% fault? From an insurance-history and premium perspective, does it matter if Tesla keeps their 25% position as long as my own insurer maintains 0% fault?
I’m not trying to be difficult — I just want to understand whether pushing Tesla Insurance further actually helps me long-term, or whether it’s mostly symbolic.
Thanks in advance for any insight, especially from adjusters or people who’ve seen similar cases.
Tesla Insurance changed fault from 100% to 75/25 after video review, won’t release footage — how does this affect my record?
byu/dayninesoco inInsurance
Posted by dayninesoco
6 Comments
Your options are: file on your own carrier who gets to choose how to duke it out (arbitration, subrogation and collection, and/or lawsuit) and see if they can reclaim your deductible, if they can’t you’re stuck with it, or sue their insured and try to get the video in discovery and hope you were right as to its contents and the case law for liability in the state of the accident. You might have an option of accepting a partial payout from Tesla. I usually advise deciding based on the costs of repair and any injuries and what your time is worth per hour relative to the insanity factor of chasing people down in the legal system. Filing on your own carrier nearly always wins.
It is likely that Tesla does not want to pay anything more than they have to and are trying to fight liability. Last time I worked a claim with Tesla insurance they were not arbitration members so they may be willing to deny part of the liability because depending on the amount litigation might not be cost effective.
I’m not too familiar with the record side of things since I handle things on the Subrogation side
Their intent isn’t to reduce your payout with malice. They would only do this if they had evidence to support that you contributed in some way, like video. Police don’t determine insurance liability, they can only be used as supports. Go through your carrier and they will argue in subrogation and arbitration. There is a neutral third party deliberation that happens if insurances don’t agree. They will review all evidence
Liability isn’t always 100% against 1 driver. Many states have comparative negligence laws. Tesla likely saw some liability on you after reviewing their drivers dash cam.
They aren’t obligated to release the video footage without a subpoena so your best bet is to file through your own carrier. Your carrier will subrogate Tesla insurance and you’ll get 75% of your deductible back unless your carrier convinces them to pay a higher %.
Most carriers are members of inter company arbitration to resolve disputes such as this where an arbitrator will render a binding decision as to liability and damages.
If Tesla isn’t a member of arbitration then your carrier will either have to negotiate directly with Tesla or file suit to attempt to recover the full 100%, though it might not be cost effective for them to litigate the matter.
First thing is the police do not determine who is at fault. The insurance companies will fight it out between them and eventually come to a mutual decision. Until then there isn’t much more you can do. If they do determine that you are 25% at fault it will be on your record. And your premiums will probably increase.
Lol at Tesla insurance.