true colors
what a day……
The morning and early afternoon were good. I was settling in after having lunch with Mick and running errands- and getting things ready for what I thought would be a relaxing Friday afternoon with the boys. (we got Corpse Bride and Carmel popcorn-and were going to put jammies on as soon as the boys got home from school) I was talking with my neighbor at the bus stop and as the kids got off the bus they came over to my neighbors car. My neighbors son accidently slammed Thomas’ hand in the door which resulted in a lot of screaming and a trip to the doctor. Nothing on Thomas’ hand was broken- just a very bruised finger. Since Oregon is a no fault state my medical insurance doesn’t cover ‘car injuries’- car insurance does. So I paid the bill in full- came home called the insurance company and was told to get my neighbors car insurance so we could file a claim. I asked if they would have to pay anything- or if their rates would go up. Dan, my agent said NO. So I called the neighbor who was in the car, Darcy and told her what happened. She was concerned until I asked for her insurance information. She said she wouldn’t give it to me because she had a deductible and she wasn’t going to pay the deductible for this accident. She then asked me how far I wanted to take ‘this’ because if necessary she’d get other people-a lawyer- involved. I tried to explain to her that all I wanted was to file a claim- per my agents request. She got bitchy and told me that she didn’t believe that my health insurance wouldn’t pay and that if that were the case my kids were not ever allowed around her car again. (sigh….). After giving up trying to tell her I didn’t want to take her to the cleaners- we hung up. 1/2 hour later her husband called- and he was much nicer and very apologetic. He had spoken to his insurance agent who told him I was wrong and they would have to pay the deductible and their rates would go up. (not sure why). I hung up with him and called my agent back again- got the same information as before and he said we shouldn’t even deal with these people. The husband calls back AGAIN. Tells me that his daughter hit her eye on the tailgate of their truck 4 years ago and their medical paid for that- not their car insurance. I reiterated what my guy said and hung up. 5 more minutes go by, he calls AGAIN wanting to know if I was going to file a claim with MY insurance because my insurance would ultimately go after them and they didn’t want that so he offered to pay the doctor bill again. I reiterated i was NOT after the money but the claim- per my agents request. They insisted that I was wrong even though a year ago when Graham slammed his finger in the car door i had to go through the car insurance to pay for the bill. Same situation here. The husband told me to call him this weekend- i had his cell phone number and blah blah blah blah …… I haven’t decided what to do yet- other than contact my insurance agent again on tuesday and tell him that I would be giving his name and number to these imbeciles so they could call him and argue it out with him. A part of me is trying to be mature about this and let it go- but a very big part of me wants my insurance to go after them. (which is what will happen if they refuse to give me their information) I don’t want the money. But I also want them to know it is NOT ok to threaten me. People like that are the lowest of the low- gutter trash. I am truly appauled at this woman’s reaction and I know I will not deal with her again- even on a friendly level. The sad truth is that Thomas and her daughter are best friends. UGH…… I truly have no tolerance for people like this. I don’t expect an apology from her- but even if she gave me one- it wouldn’t matter. It’s that whole thing about true colors. And hers are very ugly.
Tiffany said,
February 18, 2006 @ 1:41 pm
OK … not trying to be difficult, but I’m a little confused. Why do you want to file a claim, if they’ve offered to pay the medical bills? They probably have a different insurance company and I’m pretty sure with mine, any claim would raise the rates and I’d have to pay my deductible too. So, in the same situation, I’d probably offer to pay the medical bills too, since my deductible is $500. Granted, they didn’t need to be rude about it, but I’m not understanding the need to file a claim if they’ll pay the bills?
Tina Ring said,
February 18, 2006 @ 4:06 pm
I need the claim for MY insurance- in case there is any future damage to Thomas finger. (which i don’t think there will be but it’s what my insurance needs). Like I said, I was NOT asking them to pay the doctor bill I just needed their insurance info. AND my insurance agent reassured me several times they would NOT have to pay a cent nor would their rates go up. Insurance confuses me- I am just doing what my agent told me to do. had I known that it would have resulted in something like this- I never would have called the agent and reported it nor would i have called my neighbors wife to get their info. Live and learn I guess and always have a lawyer on retainer! LOL
T
Tiffany said,
February 18, 2006 @ 11:54 pm
I get it now - I wasn’t thinking future problems
Mick said,
February 20, 2006 @ 3:49 pm
I’ve run into this situation a few time in a variety of circumstances where people would rather deal with things “off the books” - i.e. not reporting to insurance and paying in cash. Aside from the legal necessity, why even have insurance if you’re not going to use it? Over the last 10 years, Tina and I have filed 5-7 accident claims and our insurance costs have never gone up. Never.
Perhaps it’s because we don’t drive new, expensive-to-insure cars. Mostly, though, I think if making your insurance company do it’s job results in increased premiums, then it’s time to change insurance companies. I know we don’t have the cheapest premiums that we could, but every time we’ve made a claim, the service has been spectacular.
Regardless, it seems to me that if both parties don’t agree to keep it “off the books”, then both parties are legally obligated to provide the insurance info. In this situation, the consequences to the other party are a result of decisions they have made in the past. We’re not responsible for those decisions and shouldn’t be obligated to pay for them.
Mick said,
February 20, 2006 @ 3:53 pm
Note that the issue of whether medical insurance covers the accident is unlikely related to Oregon’s “no-fault” status. As you observed in our conversations, when Graham got his ankle closed in the van door, our medical insurance at the time elected to pay for it; but when he got his finger in the door, our (different) medical insurance would not pay for it. I think that means it’s up to the medical insurance company (or maybe even a particular adjustor) to decide whether they cover an auto-related injury.
What's New with Mick said,
February 20, 2006 @ 4:06 pm
Vital Statistics
Thomas got his hand slammed in a neighbor’s car door on Friday and had to go to the doctor.