One of our insured cars was hit while parked on a street. Dude was going 55-60 according to police, basically ended up with his engine in the cargo area of our 2018 Volvo Momentum. Then the Volvo was pushed into a tree, totaling the front end. He was driving a work truck, AND he fled the scene. Filed a claim with his insurance (Progressive), they’ve been okay but are holding on liability because they haven’t been able to contact the guy. He’s the GM of the business, and truck was registered in his name, we believe it was him (95% confident) but wouldn’t be able to say for sure or provide proof. Witnesses only saw aftermath and him fleeing. I think he’s luck he hit a Volvo, if he would have gone into the tree he might be dead. Anyway, they haven’t resolved it yet, so we’re still waiting for IAA (any opinions on their estimating?) to take the car to assess it ‘officially’. My insurance said to go through the other insurance first but I’m not 100% confident in a quick resolution (while it hasn’t happened yet, the guy could claim the truck was stolen) which may impact things as well. Advice?
Posted by Next-Island3575
2 Comments
To be clear, they aren’t waiting on liability, they are waiting on coverage.
If time is of the essence, I would go through my own insurance, as they will not have to wait for any investigations to be completed. If you can afford to wait a week or two, then wait for them to finish everything.
As far as IAA goes, they aren’t going to literally write the estimate. That’s just where the vehicle is stored. But if the damages are what you say, it’s totaled, they won’t put more than 5 minutes into looking at the photos and declaring it a total loss.
Go through your insurance. It’s frustrating to me when carriers pass you along to the at fault carrier for vehicle damages when you pay them for coverage every month. It’s always faster through your carrier and if he owns a business, odds are better that he has enough coverage that you’ll get your deductible back. His carrier likely can’t finalize coverage until they speak to him and that could take a while. I always tell my insured’s to use their own collision for the fastest resolution, especially for an obvious total loss.