Dealing with insurance companies

Life Cars & Motorcycles
1

I tried searching but didnt see anything that specifically addresses this, its a ver minor issue, but Im curious.

A while back, sitting at a red light which had been red for a while I get rear ended, no major damage and no one was hurt. The woman of the other car was very apologetic and immediately accepted resposibility and said she was having an argument with her son and wasn’t paying attention and would cover costs of repairs.

Actually, there were 3 cars, mine being at the front, and the second car was a lot more bashed up, so we get the police come along, photos, wait for the traffic cops to turn up, show licences, go back to the station and make a report.

We get in touch with the insurance company, who ask us first to wait for the police report , which we do, and then say they need to come to the garage with us, but only monday to friday during working hours, which is a bit annoying but ok, do that.

So, the guy at the garage says, because it needs a few days to do a paint job, come back for the car next Wednesday. The insurance guy so far is ok with the costs, so it leaves me just one question. What do I do for transportation for the next 5 days or so.

At this point the insurance guy looks and says, oh we dont do that, sorry. Which Im a bit peeved about since without transport, either I need to rent a car out of my own pocket or travel by taxi or some other means of transport at my expense. So I protest. Once again Im given the run around, put on the phone with the guy dealing with my case who after being threatened to be sued said, ok, we can give you a car, we will even come round to your house to pick it up, but we want to fix at our garage, which I said ok, since its only minor stuff.

So the question. Is there a law that would stipulate alternative transportation should be an obligation of insurance coverage in the case where a person has to have the car in the garage due to the fault of the insurance companies client. Secondly, is there a law which allows for a person to stipulate that the car be handled by their own car company rather than a company of the insurance companies choosing.

2

I don’t think there are any laws regarding this and it is not common practice as in western countries. The reason they want you to have your car fixed by their affiliate is because they probably get a much better price that way. I was brushed by a bus about a year ago and had to have some body work done. The agent got a little nervous when I said I was going to take it to the dealership for fixing; dealership service is notoriously expensive compared to mom and pop paint and putty shops. He also tried to talk me down on the number of panels to be painted…I was like, your client scratched it, your client paints it. The whole thing was a massive exercise in patience. :fume:

3

I would think this depends on the insurance the client has signed.
If it say it will cower damage on others cars it will do that.
If it don’t say it will cower transportation fee for you while the car is in for repair then the this is something you would need to ask the client to pay for you.

4

I think thats right Stain, who is obliged to do what and when seems unclear, which was why I started the thread. In my case, which is very minor, it made me realize for someone involved in a more serious accident, the process could be a lot more frustrating. For example, if the car is damaged too severely to be fit for road use.

The insurance company of the other driver, in my case had wished to wait for the police report, then go to the garage. Which was a couple of months coming out. What do they do? Take the car for repairs, rent another and “hope” they can reclaim the costs?

Should they wait for the report before making the repairs? In my case, I got a loner, but it was the biggest pile of junk, started to shake rattle an roll if pushed over 80, so good thing I only needed it for a couple of days.

By the way, for anyone who has not got a license. Its easy to get and only takes a few hours. The written test they have in English and you can practice on line. We are all busy people, but the hassle you face without it compared to half a day of your time, just isn’t worth it.

5

I am pretty sure that unless the other party’s insurance specifically includes this kind of cover, then it’s outside of the scope of their policy. You would have to sue to recover all those costs. Count yourself lucky this person even had insurance in the first place. Insurance in general in Taiwan focuses on direct damages. Your broken vehicle and your medical expenses. Getting compensation for loss of income, distress, inconvenience etc. is usually impossible without going through the courts.

One reason I usually let my dealer do any bodywork on insurance is that they often have a car they can let me use while mine is in the shop. Yes it costs a lot more to have them do bodywork as mentioned, but when the other party is paying I don’t see why I should accept a half-assed job to repair damage that wasn’t my fault. The insurance companies are making money hand over fist and I don’t need to help them make more. If that also side-steps the whole argument about a rental, even better.