Hi everyone, looking for some urgent advice on how to navigate a messy claims situation in Virginia.Last week, I was involved in a car accident.
I was actively clocked in, on the clock, and executing a mandatory work task/errand for my employer when the crash happened.I have the official police report, and it clearly lists the other driver as 100% at fault. My car (VW Passat) has severe front-end damage. The AC stopped working immediately, and the check engine light is actively on. I managed to drive it home right after the crash, but it is completely unsafe to drive now. It’s sitting disabled in my driveway.
Here is where I am stuck:
The At-Fault Insurance (State Farm): They are officially stalling. They claim they "don’t have enough information to set up liability" (presumably because their driver isn't answering their phone calls). They refuse to authorize a flatbed tow or a rental car.
My Personal Insurance (Progressive): They told me "no can do" because I don't have roadside assistance or rental reimbursement on my personal policy. Plus, personal policies typically don't cover commercial/on-the-clock use anyway.
My Employer / HR: I’ve emailed HR requesting to route this through our company's commercial business auto policy. My boss knows I was clocked in but is currently out of town. HR hasn't gotten back to me yet today.Because of the July 4th holiday weekend, everything was completely shut down, so no progress was made.
Now it's Monday morning. I had to miss work on Friday (7/3) and today (7/6) because I am completely stranded. I do not have the upfront personal funds to pay out-of-pocket for a private flatbed tow to a shop and a rental car.What are my options here?
How do I force State Farm to look at the police report instead of waiting on their driver? If my employer continues to drag their feet on utilizing their commercial policy, what leverage do I have? Also, how do I go about recovering my lost wages/hours for the shifts I've missed?
Any advice from adjusters or people who have been through this is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Note: I used AI to help me write and organize this post because I am incredibly stressed out and stranded at home trying to deal with multiple insurance companies today. Here are the exact facts of my situation:
Hit while clocked in for work. At-fault insurance (State Farm) is stalling, personal insurance (Progressive) won’t cover tow/rental. Need advice.
byu/CremedelaaCreme inInsurance
Posted by CremedelaaCreme
5 Comments
You cannot force State Farm to hand you a tow and rental just because the police report says their driver was at fault. They usually make their own liability decision. I would push HR harder right now because that is the cleaner path than waiting on the other carrier.
Severe front-end damage? What happened in the accident? As for State Farm, yes, they need to talk to their driver, but VA’s pure contributory negligence law may be an issue here for you. You need to move your vehicle and can submit the invoice to SF if they accept liability. Same with a rental. But sounds like your car is totaled, so just find a new car.
It’s inaccurate to purely say your policy wouldn’t cover your use of your vehicle while ‘working.’ There are specific things in a policy in regards to this and it’s not clear your situation meets those or there could be other underwriting issues depending on the full circumstances, but you don’t have rental or towing anyways so it doesn’t matter. The more important question would be if you have collision coverage and I’m guessing that is also no, So there’s just nothing your insurance can do to help, you are dependent on State Farm.
A work policy may only cover your liability for an accident, not your car, so no real help to you.
Why does on the clock have anything to do with this unless you drive the company car. If it’s your car, and it’s involved in an accident, your employer won’t be responsible for it. You resolve this with your insurance if the other insurance is not paying.
A police report won’t help with State Farm moving forward with the claim. They need to talk to heir insured to get their version of events. There is no going around that. A police report does not determine liability when it comes to insurance.
I’m not sure what state you are in but very possible your works insurance policy won’t cover your car either unless it’s listed on their policy.
Your vehicle not options for now are to pay out of pocket and hope State Farm gets ahold of their insured or else the claim through SF will be denied.
What are the details of the accident?
What is your role in the company and what “mandatory” task were you performing while on the clock?