Not At-Fault but forced to pay $300?

[iFly55]

I was recently in an accident where i was rear-ended by another driver; we had to get both cars towed, Peel Police arrived on site; Cnst. wrote an accident report and advised his car was a write-off and that mine could be repaired. I was also given a rental car at the scene of the accident.

I had my car towed to my local repair-shop and they did the work. When the car was ready, repair-shop advised me i had to pay a $500 deductible to pick up the car. I called my insurance company and they advised the other driver's insurance policy # doesn't match the plate; and that they would need to run a plate search which would take 3-days.

Right now my insurance company advised me to pay the $500 and they would reimburse if the other insurance company checks out. If the other driver was uninsured i would have to pay $300 out of my own pocket.

Here's where i'm getting confused, why should i be paying for an accident where i'm not at fault. My insurance company has his driver's license, knows where he lives! Shouldn't they get the police to summon him to court and face $5000 minimum fine, and sue him for the $300.

Why should I have to pay $300? My insurance company isn't being co-operative at all, they've already called my rental company and told them that today is the last day. So as of tomorrow i won't have a car, i won't be able to go to work; can i sue the other driver for lost income? I'm just so frustrated by all of this.

Why couldn't the police officer at the scene tell if he had valid insurance or not?

Please help

[Brian P]

It's obvious that you have a policy with a $500 deductible on it. They are under no obligation to waive that deductible AT ALL. If they are paying a claim (which they are - you're getting your car fixed and they're paying for a rental car) then their obligation is to pay the total claim amount less the deductible.

While it's true that under certain circumstances it's generally accepted that the insurance company will waive the deductible ... they are completely within their rights to not do so.

Don't complain. Pay the deductible. If they later reimburse you for it ... that's a bonus.

If you can't deal with having to pay a deductible then get your policy changed to zero deductible. You will, of course, have to pay a higher premium in order to have zero deductible. You can't have it both ways, and you can't retroactively change your policy to zero deductible after you have learned the hard way what it means to have it otherwise.

BTW I have $1000 deductible on my car insurance, because unless I plan to file a claim every three or four years (which I don't), the lower premium makes up for it. Stick the premium savings in the bank and I'm ahead of the game after three or four years (which happened a long time ago). It means that if I get a rock in the windshield, I have to pay it (because a new windshield is less than the deductible) but I've already saved more than enough to pay for that windshield by having lower premiums ...

[Brian P]

One other thing; put the thought of "suing" for $300 completely out of your mind. It will cost more than $300 to have a lawyer utter a single word, never mind actually file and go through with a lawsuit, and that's assuming that you are actually in the right in the end. Also, if the other driver didn't have insurance, there is the distinct possibility that it's because they don't have any money. You can win a lawsuit for as much money as you can think of, and it does you no good whatsoever if the other party can't pay.

"You can't get blood out of a stone" ...

[Corey McNeely]

I feel for your situation. When invovled in an accident your coverage comes 1 of 3 places, Collision (atfault), DCPD (not at fault) and Uninsured Auto.

Because the other driver is uninsured, your coverage falls under UA. This means that is a $300 ded and your rental car is covered up to a certain limit. Your insurance company will persue the other driver for all cost associated with the claim. Once they have been reimbursed for the expense they should refund your $300 deductible. This process could take months or years. The insurance company will take him to court, possibly garnish his wages and can even contact MTO to suspend his Driver's licence until payment is received.

A lot of times it takes years especially if the Police are involved as on top of the insurance expense they have a possible fine of $6000 for driving without insurance.

Police are not set up to confirmed valid insurance in real time. There is no system for them to access to confirm coverage.

[Scuba Steve]

Pay the 500 get your car and fight it after, why piss around? If everthing get confirmed you will get reimbursed.

[iFly55]

took the advice and paid the $500 from cc

if i was at-fault i can totally understand paying the deductible, but not being at-fault i was confused

the repairs were close to $2200 + $1150 Rental (23 days) + $500 (tow) + Injury Claim; but paying close to $6000/yr for just car insurance, i felt it should've been waived

oh well, i guess i learned this the hard way; i guess it's a good thing i called the police, the other driver was adamant we leave the scene and settle this w/o insurance

[Dimsler]

Insurance in Ontario is such a scam.

[OpenGambit]

If it doesn't have 4 zeros on it, don't even utter the word sue.

The average cost of civil litigation in Ontario is nearly 50,000 per case, and over 90 % of cases settle before trial. ( I think the figure i last checked was between 95-98 )

However, in ranges of 20 thousand plus, it might be worthwhile to get a lawyer to negotiate a reasonable settlement.
Under 15, just do it yourself in small claims.

[Corey McNeely]

It's obvious that you have a policy with a $500 deductible on it. They are under no obligation to waive that deductible AT ALL. If they are paying a claim (which they are - you're getting your car fixed and they're paying for a rental car) then their obligation is to pay the total claim amount less the deductible.

While it's true that under certain circumstances it's generally accepted that the insurance company will waive the deductible ... they are completely within their rights to not do so.

Don't complain. Pay the deductible. If they later reimburse you for it ... that's a bonus.

If you can't deal with having to pay a deductible then get your policy changed to zero deductible. You will, of course, have to pay a higher premium in order to have zero deductible. You can't have it both ways, and you can't retroactively change your policy to zero deductible after you have learned the hard way what it means to have it otherwise.

BTW I have $1000 deductible on my car insurance, because unless I plan to file a claim every three or four years (which I don't), the lower premium makes up for it. Stick the premium savings in the bank and I'm ahead of the game after three or four years (which happened a long time ago). It means that if I get a rock in the windshield, I have to pay it (because a new windshield is less than the deductible) but I've already saved more than enough to pay for that windshield by having lower premiums ...

An insurance company must return your deductible if you are held not at fault for an accident (unless you opted for a deductible under DCPD, which is extremely rare). The issue with regards to this claim is that in order for the insurance company to waive the deductible they have to confirm details via a police report or 3rd party driver statement and they must confirm valid insurance on the other vehicle.

You can try to sue, but you will not win as the insurance company is well within their rights to investigate a claim.

Again it is NOT a bonus that they return your deductible. There is a process which can take time.

As for the obligation to waive the deductible. The only reason they have not waive the deductible is they are still confirm the details of the loss. They ARE obligated to waive your deductible if the claim is paid out under DCPD.

[Platinum Cycle]

If this is a Section 5 Uninsured Motorist Claim it has a $300 deductible. End of story. You have already had about $3500 plus your injury paid on your behalf, not a bad deal. In the end though you will likely be out $300 - sadly that's life.

It's unlikely your insurer will sue the at fault uninsured motorist. That would cost a lot and the judgement may not be worth the paper it's written on. Again, you're likely to be out $300.
You have the legal right to pursue the uninsured dead beat for $300 - but again, best of luck with that.

In Ontario Section 263 of the Insurance Act does not allow you to pursue anyone other than your own insurer for the damages to your automobile ($300 UIM Deductible excluded) so you can't sue the piece of crap who hit you for anything other than $300.

Your rental car coverage is covered under Section 5 UIM. The only limit being $25 000 in total for Property Damage - which includes the automoible, it's contents, and their loss of use (i.e. rental car costs).

Life sucks when you get tagged by an uninsured piece of crap.

Here's the good news. Your insurer protected you for everything except the $300. Sure as hell beats you trying to drag the piece of crap into Small Claims Court only to end up with nothing anyway.

[nobbie48]

Why should I have to pay $300? My insurance company isn't being co-operative at all, they've already called my rental company and told them that today is the last day. So as of tomorrow i won't have a car, i won't be able to go to work; can i sue the other driver for lost income? I'm just so frustrated by all of this.

Please help

In collisions and most matters there is usually a requirement that all parties try to minimize the damages and costs. You would look awkward if you got into an expensive stalemate with the bodyshop, insurer and yourself. The hard part to swallow is that it's easier to hold onto money than to get it back.