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Originally Posted by psfred
They are also not entitled to raise YOUR rates for an accident not your fault,
Peter
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In the Republic of California, an insurance company counts every accident YOU are involved in whether it is your fault or not.
First hand information commin:
In 1990 I was driving my 1989 500SEL in downtown Los Angeles. I was stopped at an intersection that was controlled by a traffic officer. A 1987 Honda hit me in the rear doing about 25MPH and well witnessed by the cop.
His car was totaled ( he had to exit through his sun roof
) and my car had about $1200 in damages. I sued him in small claims court and received $2300 which he paid.
My insurance quote went up 15% because I was involved in an accident. My ageant agreed that I was not at fault yet his company, State Farm, had the policy of increasing the preminum for the next three years. He promised me that it would revert to my old policy price if I was not involved in another accident or convicted of a moving violation during that time. I promised him that I would suck the cesspool dry before I did buisness with him again.
Probably 30% of our clients are lawyers and they all confirmed that it was common practice for the companies to penalize their clients regardless of fault.
I would suggest that Cazzidy sue the guy in small claims court for the max limit of $5,000. Get an affidavit from anyone qualified to give an estimate of your damages to the court. That person MUST testify in court since a document will not stand on it's own as testimony. Only a person holding ASE certification(s) are recognized by the California courts as experts.
Be creative with the estimate. These small claim cases come up FAST and are usually desposed of within 90 days of filing. Make sure to have a Statement of Assets in hand and ask the court to order him to fill it out COMPLETELY at the time you win your case.
Maybe next week we will talk about the posting of a bond in lieu of an insurance policy