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December 8, 2006

The Saga of My Car Accident Continues Slowly or, What Will Happen After You're in a Four-Car Pileup

I'd never been in an accident before (let alone a four car pileup on a busy freeway at rush hour!!), so I wasn't sure what to expect. Here, for your low-key, low-stakes rubbernecking pleasure, is the kind of excitement I've experienced so far:

The police officer who took everyone's statement called bright and early the next day and gave me everyone's contact information. He also told me the driver who had caused the accident (the one on her cell phone) had been cited for reckless driving. He was super nice. I'd taken some people's information, but not the woman who caused the accident because she seemed really distraught, and the cops told me they'd give it to me.

The woman who caused the accident was driving a car covered by Farmer's Insurance, although it's called Mid-Century Insurance for some reason, when you call the number, they say "Farmers" -- nothing like an insurance company with a pseudonym to make you feel like you're in good hands.

"Bad Faith Insurance Companies" (dot org -- catchy url!) rates Farmers as #5 in the NON-PAYMENT OF CLAIMS HALL OF SHAME. (My insurance company, Travelers, is #4, which isn't much comfort, given that they cover my house and car. Maybe I'll check out these guys next time -- they got a really good rating in the Consumer Guide to Oregon Insurance Complaints [PDF download]).

I called Farmers/aka Mid-Century to file my claim and it turned out (or so they said) that I was the first one involved to call, so they wanted to take down everyone's information (contact, and insurance, car etc.) from me. I was like, "um, why don't I call you back later, after you've had a chance to look over the police report, rather than spending the next hour on the phone with you?" The guy who took my call described to me in detail an apparently hilarious ad that my insurance company has on TV. He was like, "That's one funny ad -- I'll give 'em props for that!" So, that was friendly enough.

I filled out an accident report form and biked it over to DMV. That was quick and easy -- just a matter of dropping it off. I didn't even have time to eat my burrito in the waiting room which, as it turns out, doesn't allow eating, anyway. I was kind of irked about that for no good reason -- ask Chris: it doesn't take much to make me surly.

While I was in the parking lot at DMV (which, by the way, doesn't have a bike stand -- I thought that was appropriate but funny), the Farmer's agent called to take my statement. I had her call me back at home. She recorded my account of the accident on the phone, making a big deal out of getting my agreement and all (as she should) and during it she'd say things like, "and then the green car hit you?" and I'd say, "no, then your client's car hit me" or, "and then the green car hit the pickup?" and I'd say, "no, then your client's car hit the pickup." When she turned off the recorder I said, "Now we can start cussing!" and it took her a second to realize I was joshing her, not that it was all that funny.

After my statement, when I asked about a rental car, she said that Farmers may not be liable, even though the driver was cited for reckless driving and had told the police officer on the scene, "it was my fault!" The reasons is because the policy on the car didn't name her. (When I talked to the Oregon Insurance Commission, they said that if the owner said she'd taken the car without permission, it's possible they can get out of it, even if the car wasn't reported stolen.)

She also told me that there might not be enough money to cover us all because the policy only had $50,000 on it for property damage. I said given that the cars involved were a 2001 Hyundai, a 1988 Volvo wagon, and an older pickup that drove away, I didn't see how that would be a problem. She said, "yeah, well, maybe there will be enough." I think she was just trying to get my expectations really, really low in preparation for low-balling me (but really, how low can you low ball a 1988 Volvo with 220K on it? I guess it's probably just reflex). I assured her I wouldn't rent a Kompressor, in any case.

Now it's been three days since the accident, and I haven't heard back from Farmers since the day before yesterday. Yesterday, I rented a Ford Focus, which is a piece of shit but at least the heater works! I talked to my insurance agent this morning. Because I only have liability (I don't even know if they issue collision for cars as old as mine) they won't do much more than give me free advice. She didn't improve my optimism about dealing with Farmers much -- she said sometimes they tend to stall on cases -- but she had a good suggestion, which was to talk to the Oregon Insurance Commission. I called their consumer information number, 503-947-7984, and they were super informative. They told me that the insurance companies get 45 days to investigate an accident, and that if I haven't heard anything by three weeks I should file a complaint and they might be able to "put a fire under them."

I've left two messages on the Farmer's agent's voicemail today with no response. She gave me a Vancouver number.

I wish it didn't feel like I was dealing with a bunch of used car sales people, especially since I may soon be doing that, too.

Update

The insurance agent called me back to let me know that the car the cell-phoning-accident-causing woman was driving was not named in her policy, and she doesn't know who was named on the policy -- maybe it was CPACW, maybe not - she's not handling that part of the case. SIGH.

Posted by mary at December 8, 2006 2:47 PM

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Posted by: linda at January 30, 2007 5:49 PM

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