Elmhurst, ILWhen you are involved in a car accident, you expect that the insurance company will take proper care of you, especially if you were not at fault in the accident. However, many people report having a lot of trouble dealing with insurance companies following their auto accidents. Dellene H. says she has had nothing but trouble getting the insurance company to pay her van repairs.
"I was driving and a lady ran through a stop sign and hit the side of my van," Dellene says. "I was spun around and ended up on the side of the road I had been driving on but facing the wrong way. The police gave her [the other driver] a ticket and said she needed a driving lesson because her response about the accident was, 'I guess I misjudged the stop sign.' She goes to court on December 4.
"Her insurance company has been extremely rude to me. I've done a lot of work and research into this and there are other people who have had problems with them. They said there was only a little damage to my van, but there is a lot more than they said. I have medical bills for my neck strain and I'm supposed to fax those to the insurance company, but they say I can't do that until the forms they mailed me are signed.
"I won't sign those forms because they said they would only give me $2100 for my van. I went to two other repair places that said my repairs would cost at least between $4,200 and $4,600 [likely more because the mechanics thought there was damage to the rear axle, but that cannot be determined until the van is taken apart].
"The woman's insurance company said they would pay for my rental car until my van was fixed provided that, if I was found liable for the accident, I would pay for the rental car. I said that was fine because I know I'm not liable for the accident. However, during a three-way phone call between the insurance companies and me, her insurance company denied saying that. Basically, my account's been overdrawn because in order to have a rental car, you have to give them [the rental companies] a debit or credit card. The charges ended up being almost $700 and the insurance company said they would not pay that.
"I dropped my van off to be fixed and the insurance company said they would reappraise it, now they've said they would pay $3,200 to fix the van [this is the third offer the insurance company has made, the second offer was for $2,400]. I still don't want to sign the forms because after you sign, if more damage is found, they won't pay for it.
"I don't want this to happen to anybody else. I have all my dealings with this insurance company documented. I have printouts from people who have complained about this company, I contacted the Better Business Bureau, I contacted the Illinois State Attorney and I contacted the Illinois Insurance Department and filed a complaint."
Dellene says she was advised not to go to work following the accident—she works in construction—but after talking to the insurance company, decided she could not risk not having money coming in to help with her expenses. However, she says she still has pain in her neck and shoulder and suffered severe pain while at work.
"The insurance company extended the rental car for 14 more days, but I just returned it," Dellene says. "They keep taking money out of my account and I've just been laid off, so I have 3 weeks to wait before unemployment [insurance] kicks in. If I'm not working, I don't need a car to take me to work, so I took it back.
"Something's out of whack with this insurance company. They're in the business for a reason, I understand that, but it's not my fault that she ran the stop sign and she has coverage. It's just a mess."