Intricacies of the Insurance Industry

[DieNacht]

  I was run down when biking Wednesday by a dangerously idiotic and absent-minded driver, coming from the opposite direction and turning right into me in spite of good visibility and me driving according to rules and at modest speed. She wanted to drive down a byway. Was lucky and didn´t break any bones, but my leg looks like the Swedish flag incarnated.

  Ironically it seems I´ll have to pay for a comprehensive bike repair or a new bike myself too, in spite of it being an expensive and extremely well-kept one, since the insurance value automatically goes down per year. I´ll probably send a copy of the bill priavtely to the offender, when the insurance company refusal comes, but can´t assume that she will be paying.

  The morale that was repeated is of course: always assume that your current traffic comrades can be totally irresponsible  - and don´t ever forget it - stay alert.


 

[DavidW]

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope that you're not in too much pain.

[kishnevi]

Glad to hear there were no broken bones, and hope you heal quickly.

First rule of insurance policies is to assume that the insurance company does everything it can to ensure it doesn't have to pay.   Second rule is to repeat the first rule.

As for sending the bill to the driver at fault, don't you have some equivalent of the US small claims court--not quite so formal and technical, and assumes the two parties represent themselves, for disputes under a certain amount--system where you live?  That's the route I would pursue if she doesn't respond to a politely phrased letter.

[Todd]

First rule of insurance policies is to assume that the insurance company does everything it can to ensure it doesn't have to pay.   Second rule is to repeat the first rule.

QFT.


DieNacht, sorry to hear the news, and I certainly hope you recover speedily and fully.

[DieNacht]

As for sending the bill to the driver at fault, don't you have some equivalent of the US small claims court--not quite so formal and technical, and assumes the two parties represent themselves, for disputes under a certain amount--system where you live?  That's the route I would pursue if she doesn't respond to a politely phrased letter.

Thanks for the idea & the sympathy, hadn´t thought about it. I think it is called a "civilt søgsmål" here. There wasn´t any police report though, I´m the "heroic" type saying "I seem to be relatively fine" and refused an ambulance doctor´s visit after talking to him on the phone, but had to go to the hospital later on. There were witnesses however & I got their names, and they made a damage report at the hospital, I´ll have to check in later there too.

What seems weird to me is that the rule reducing the value of the bike per anno overrules the plain justice aspect of that one should have the right to at least get it repaired to its former state, before the accident, which was the result of someone else´s behaviour  .

This insurance policy might be different from country to country however.

[drogulus]

    What? What?? Insurance companies are wunderfal! Universal Insurance covers homeowners (I "mistakenly" typed Unsurance....hehehe) in Florida, a state where people have nothing to fear from disasters. They make good use of their premiums by paying me 9% per annum , which leaves plenty of money to not pay claims with.

     These people live in Florida!! Don't they know how dangerous that is? It would only encourage them to pay claims for hurricanes, floods, baby-eating gators etc.

[DieNacht]

A rough but correct estimate would be that I´ve retrieved about 5% in insurance coverage of the total money I´ve spent there, through 2 1/2 decade with the same company .

[cwarchc]

DieNacht,
In the UK, you would be entitled to claim against the driver's insurance policy.
If you have witness reports and evidence that you have been to hospital, their insurance company should place you back into the position prior to the incident.
You would also be able to claim for any injuries and extra costs incurred.
There are several legal companies who would advise.
I'm not sure how it works outside the UK though. However I would have thought that their third party liability should cover their driver's fault incident
I work in insurance, admititdly not in this area, if I can help? please pm me

[kishnevi]

What seems weird to me is that the rule reducing the value of the bike per anno overrules the plain justice aspect of that one should have the right to at least get it repaired to its former state, before the accident, which was the result of someone else´s behaviour  .

This insurance policy might be different from country to country however.

Think of it this way--you're insured for the amount of money you could have sold the bike for in its undamaged state.  Unless you have an exceptional bike--say,  one of the ones Lance Armstrong used to win the Tour de France--the resale value will naturally go down over time as the bike gets older.

So once the insurance company pays you,  you're in the same position as if you sold your own bike privately and are now looking for another bike to replace it.

Similar provisions are found in car insurance here in the US, and I would expect also in Europe.  Often the company reserves the option to itself of paying for the car's value or paying to have it repaired, and will have it repaired if the repair bills are less than the car's value. 

Cwarch's suggestion is also a good one, although you may find that a deductible reduces the amount you can collect , if not reduces it to zero, leaving you to chase after the driver on your own as you are now.  (I have no idea of how deductibles work in European insurance policies,  but it's something you shouild be aware of.)

[DieNacht]

DieNacht,
In the UK, you would be entitled to claim against the driver's insurance policy.
If you have witness reports and evidence that you have been to hospital, their insurance company should place you back into the position prior to the incident.
You would also be able to claim for any injuries and extra costs incurred.
There are several legal companies who would advise.
I'm not sure how it works outside the UK though. However I would have thought that their third party liability should cover their driver's fault incident
I work in insurance, admititdly not in this area, if I can help? please pm me

Thank you, that is very kind of you. I am working on the matter, I do have witnesses and medical reports, now also a doctor´s statement recommending a few days off. But things will take time of course, since both her and my companies are involved.