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Report: #132093

Report: The Hartford Insurance Company

Reported By: (Burbank California)

The Hartford Insurance Company Ripoff Hit & Run Driver Uninsured & At Fault For Collision Somehow Wins Phoenix Arizona

... I was in this situation

2Author 5Consumer 0Employee

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The Hartford Insurance Company

POBox 2905
Phoenix Arizona 85062-2905
U.S.A.
Phone: 800-811-4832
Web Address:

Category: Car Insurance

Submitted: Sunday, February 20, 2005

Last posting: Sunday, July 20, 2008

Two lanes from different directions merge together before entering the freeway. Neither lane has Yield or Stop or Merge signs so whoever merges onto the single lane first has right of way. I was there first going about 45 MPH when this other driver I could see in my rear view mirror comming up to me real fast. He stears around me driving up on the imbankment and then back onto the lane but clipping my front fender as he passes. But instead of pulling over he takes off faster than the speed limit with me honking my horn & flashing my head lights to get him to stop.

He was diffenately trying to get away but couldn't due to the volume of traffic. Finally I got him to stop and he was really pissed, it seemed like he was going to get violent but calmly I asked for his drivers license and insurance information as I was giving him mine. He kept screaming that he has just purchased his SUV and that he had the right of way. There was very little damage to either vehical. He gave me his drivers license but said that I would have to call his finance company to get his insurance info. When I did I was told that he was not insured at all. I then contacted my insurance company to tell them exactly what had happened. I then got my vehical repaired after paying the deductable figuring I would be reimbursed.

Three months goes by then I get a letter from my insurance company saying since the other driver was not insured I could not get my deductable back. Oh well, I then thought that would be the end of it but another month later I was due to renew my policy and I see my rate has more than doubled! Come to find out that my insurance company had determined that I was at fault for the accident and that there decision was final. They refused to re-investigate, refused to reconsider, refused to allow me to defend myself. Obviously I wasn't getting the protection I was paying for. I then cancelled my policy and went to another company who wanted to charge me almost as much due to this accident on my driving record.

I made a complaint to the Calif.
Dept. of Insurance but they didn't do a damn thing. What can I do about this, the accident was not my fault. The other driver was a "Hit & Runner" and he was uninsured. How did I get blamed for the accident? The other driver hit me, obviously he was at fault. I think I was charged for the accident because I was insured and the other guy wasn't. This can't be legal. What can I do about this?

William
Burbank, California
U.S.A.

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:

2Author 5Consumer 0Employee

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Calif. Dept. Of Insurance, What Good Are They?

William - Burbank (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Thursday, March 03, 2005 POSTED: Thursday, March 03, 2005

After writing a second letter to get them to re-investgate what is obviously a major injustice to me, That I was blamed for an accident where the other driver had hit me and then tried to make a run for it,. And then I find out that he is not insured at all, how can my insurance company see it as my fault? And they refuse to reconsider, Their decision is final. So I get this accident put on my driving record and my rates are more than doubled. What the hell good is the Dept. of Insurance. It's just another waste of taxpayers money. I think I would have been better off not being insured. I can't even get an explanation of why or how they determined that I was at fault. Obviously the insurance system is corrupt. You think you are protected, you always pay your policy on time, your the ideal client until you put in a claim for a very minor fender bender that was not your fault and because you are the only one insured, your insurance company makes the uninsured, hit & run driver the winner. I should have kept my mouth shut, paid the $200. to polish out the smudge. But I had to do the right thing and it's costing me thousands of dollars in high rates. No matter what company I go to, I have that accident on my record so they insist on high rates.I am no longer considered a safe driver even though that was the only accident I have ever had. The system is corrupt.
Can somebody tell me what I can do about this?

Consumer Suggestion

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Use a Police Report

Trevor - Anchorage (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Sunday, October 02, 2005 POSTED: Sunday, October 02, 2005

Insurance companies are not corrupt; they're actually heavily regulated. Nowhere in your rant did you mention that you called the police, nor did you explain what reason the company (or the DOI) gave for finding you at fault. If you called the police, there should be a police report, and if the accident happened the way you described, I doubt the insurance company or the DOI would find you at-fault.

However, if you did not call the police, the insurance company is going to assume that you were at-fault, because anyone who drove into a parked car could say they were the victim of a hit-and-run.

Saying that you were charged simply because you had insurance is ludicrous.

Consumer Comment

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Front Fender damage

Susan - Phoenix (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Friday, August 31, 2007 POSTED: Saturday, September 01, 2007

....Clearly if the other driver fled he was afraid of something...most likely the fact that he didn't have insurance. But that doesn't mean he was at fault. In most jurisdictions, in the absence of a police report, fault is determined by location of damage on your vehicle. If you had front fender damage, depending on the location, this might indicate that you had ample opportunity to stop and did not do so. Any direct or mostly direct front damage can be taken as a "rear ending"....and it would be the "rear" driver at fault no matter what the circumstance. Damage has to be significantly to the "side" of the front of the vehicle before other possibilities are considered....like a sideswipe, a "cutoff" in traffic, etc. See this:

front of veh

-----XXX

s |

|

i |

|

d |

|

e |

|

---------

If the damage is where the Xs are, for example, you might be assumed to be at fault because this implies that he was already completely in front of you. Even this may be considered your fault:

front of veh

-----XXX

s |

X

i |

|

d |

|

e |

|

---------

But if the damage looked more like this:

front of veh

---------

s |

x

i |

x

d |

|

e |

|

---------

Then you might be considered not at fault.

Additionally, some states determine fault differently. Some consider that even if you are only 10% at fault, you are "surchargeable" (that's what makes rates skyrocket). Some say if you are 51% at fault, you are "surchargeable". And some say if you are <50% at fault you are not at fault. I don't know what sort Cali is....but that is another possibility for your situation.

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Sue the insurance company for Bad Faith Insurance, Slander and Libel

Johnbrosnanusa - Pleasant Hill (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Sunday, July 20, 2008 POSTED: Sunday, July 20, 2008

It sounds like the classic insurance company position of the Three D's which are Delay, Deny, Defend technique. Contact me if you want to go after the insurance company and the other party.

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No witness & no police report

Friendly Help - Anderson (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Sunday, July 20, 2008 POSTED: Sunday, July 20, 2008

You might have been better off to pull over & call police. But then 'prior damage' might be argued, so- Next time, simply pull over as far as you can & let the dolt pass. Chasing him down could have gotten you charged with "engaging in a speed contest".

I had a deer run into a previous car c1979 in CT, rather than my running into the deer, and when I drove to the insurance adjuster's office, walked in, and told him my tale of woe, I could tell he was quite skeptical. Until he saw that the SIDE of the front fender was caved in.

I met someone who was hotrodding his new Ford SUV around in 4WD one very bad snowy night in NY. He blew a stop sign, raced around a right turn, lost control, & slid sideways downhill into the front of my F150. Then he moved his vehicle to obscure the site, and he was friends with the local police who responded. Darned weasel tried to blame it on me the next day, but I had collected the name, address, & phone number of the woman driving behind me.

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I was in this situation

Charles - Phenix City (U.S.A.)

SUBMITTED: Sunday, July 20, 2008 POSTED: Sunday, July 20, 2008

I was in this situation almost 3 years ago. I can't control how other drivers drive or if they decide to hit you I was stopped & the other driver turned & struck my vehicle.

There was a great injustice done to me the other driver was a good liar & somehow convinced the police I didn't stop & hit him. But he was citied twice given two tickets 1 for (no insurance) & he falsified plates.

My insurance company progressive blamed me right away they just wanted to pick on me your not alone alot of people have been wrongfully blamed for accidents they did not cause.

Filing a complaint with the department of insurance will do no good they are run buy the crooked insurance companies & they are crooked themselves. The police just wanted to pick on me to.

I guess all department of insurance is the same in every state but I have moved on & I don't care if they blame me anymore. I reported the injustice progressive did to me on this website is all I can do.

So far almost 3 years after this accident I have not had one sense 2006. You can't even drive anymore today without some idiots hitting you & not taking the blame for it.

There is nothing you can do about this I know from personal experince Its hard being blamed for something you didn't do & the guilty driver gets away with it. Why even have a department of insurance if they are not going to make sure we are treated fairly.

I got fed up & started fighting back insurance companies do not like this If you are being blamed for for an accident you didn't cause you have a right to fight back.