Car collision.

Perhaps you can light a fire under the adverse insurance carrier by filing a complaint with your state's Insurance Commissioner's Office. Alternatively, you could file the claim with your own collision damage coverage if you have that available to you.

Legal Disclaimer:

Mr. Lundeen is licensed to practice law in Florida and Vermont. The response herein is not legal advice and does not create an attorney/client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to provide general information about the matter within the question. Oftentimes the question does not include significant and important facts and timelines that, if known, could significantly change the reply and make it unsuitable. Mr. Lundeen strongly advises the questioner to confer with an attorney in your state in order to insure proper advice is received.

Your situation is, sadly, not unique. Many insurance companies will delay payment pending speaking to their insured to get the insured's version of the accident. Maryland does have a prompt-pay statute with regards to property damage. It is Maryland Annotated Code, Insurance Article Section 12-305. It says that payment for property damage is immediately due and owing if there is no significant dispute about liability and damages. If the police report clearly indicates fault (i.e. the other driver ran a stop sign, or rear ended you) you are in a better position than if it is a red-light dispute or a lane change accident.

The suggestion to contact the insurance commissioner and file a complaint is a good one, however, that will not get your car repaired, and can still take some time, although some insurers will pay rather than having to turn their file over to the insurance commissioner. If you have collision coverage, you should try to mitigate your damages by proceeding under your own coverage. Yes, you will have to pay your deductible. However, your carrier will then subrogate the claim against the other driver's company, and you will get your deductible back, assuming coverage is not denied for failure to cooperate. If that happens, your claim becomes an uninsured motorists claim, and even if you did not have collision coverage, you will be entitled to proceed under your uninsured motorist coverage (again minus any deductible) to get you car repaired. You should also be aware that in today's economic climate, insurance companies are aggressively pursuing subrogation claims (claims to get their money back) against both other carriers, and uninsured individuals. You will be required to assist your company to get the money back, and may be required to go to court to testify. When they do get a recovery, you will get your deductible back first before the carrier gets re-imbursed.