Got rear ended. Now the insurance company saga.

I was stopped in traffic on I-55 minding my own business when BAM!  A young lady ran into the back of my car with her car.  After shaking off the shock, I got out of the car to assess the damage.  The bumper is bashed in and a large dent in the trunk.

The young lady says to me, “Is it bad?”.

I said, “We’ll there is damage.” as I reached for my phone.

She says, “Please don’t call the police.  I don’t have a driver’s license. I’ll give you my insurance information.”

Hmmm. No. “I’m sorry you hit me and that you don’t have a driver’s license.  However, I don’t know you nor do I know your insurance company.  There was an accident that caused damage on a public highway.  We need to call the police.”

I called the police and they arrived 30 minutes later.  The trooper took the report and sent me on my way.

The next day, I look at the information exchange form that the trooper gave me.  The young lady doesn’t own the vehicle.  However, the vehicle is insured by the “Unique Insurance Company” here is Illinois outside of Chicago.  After a quick search on Google I find that they have many many complaints and an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau.  On the web, I find horror story after horror story about this company.  I contact my Allstate insurance agent who suggests I file the claim through Allstate.  Within a couple of days, I saw a claims adjuster who estimated the damage and wrote my a check, minus the $600 collision deductible.  However, they will try to recover the loss from Unique Insurance Company and send me a check from my deductible.  Way to go Allstate.

Now, I’m waiting for Unique Insurance Company to pay Allstate so I can recover the deductible.  The Allstate claim agent called me today to that Unique Insurance Company made an offer to settle, but it was way too low of an amount.

So far, I’m very happy with Allstate.  I switched to them a little over a year ago and have had a really good experience.  My agent, Nathan Dean in Northlake IL, has been great.  If you need insurance, please give him a call.

Sebestin – Dean Agency – Allstate