Q: Do insurance companies have to pay for a rental vehicle or compensation if they fail to respond to a claim for 4 months?
I was in an auto accident 4 months ago.. The other man was at fault, but did not file a claim (I was just informed of this) for 4 months I have not had a reliable vehicle, nor have repairs been made by our insurance due to no collision policy. Our insurance did send the adverse carrier 4 demand letters with no response. Does the adverse carrier legally have to pay for a rental vehicle until damages are fixed? Can they be taken to court for compensation on each month a vehicle was not supplied? My car is sitting in a tow yard with flat tires and now a dead battery that I just bought 5 months ago. Tires were not flat at the time of the incident, only minor frontal damage. I have missed multiple days of work due to this inconvenience and have 3 small children to care for. I have been consistently calling both insurances with no luck on getting this figured out. At this point, I am very frustrated with both carriers and need a little guidance on what to do. Thank you in advance!
A:
Auto insurance is tricky. You don't have a claim against his insurance company. You have a claim against him. He has a claim against his insurance company if they refuse to pay you on his behalf. Your insurance company has no claim against anyone, because you did not have collision coverage.
It sounds like you may have to bring suit against the other driver. Once you do, his insurance company will likely assign an attorney who will attempt to resolve the issue with you.
Your total damages are likely going to be limited to whatever the cost to repair the car is or fair market value.
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