Ok so here's the story here.

I was driving down a three lane road (6 lanes if you include the oncoming lanes). I was in the far left lane, and was the only car heading in the same direction for at least a hundred yards or more both behind and in front of me. As I was crossing an intersection, another car was turning on to the road I was on from the intersection. He crossed all lanes of traffic in to my lane causing me to slam on my brakes, and I had to swerve on to the center median to avoid collission. I have already had it inspected by a mechanic and have been told that I will need a new tire, rim, and strut. Estimating around $1100.

I have already filed a claim with the other drivers insurance company. I spoke with the adjuster, and they have gathered witness statements as well as the police report that was filed. The only thing they haven't been able to do is get a hold of their insured driver that caused the accident. The adjuster even said that everything is pointing to their insured driver being at fault. I am in desperate need of rental vehicle to get to work. I have been relying on rides from co-workers, but I won't be able to do that for much longer. The adjuster told me they can't make any payments until they get a hold of their insured driver which they have 7 days to do. Is this correct? I was under the assumption that they are required to provide me with transportation until the matter is resolved.

FYI this happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thanks for taking the time to answer this question.

Oklahoma is a fault insurance state which means the other guy pays. However, you can claim with your company, get a free rental and they go after the other guy. I think your adjuster is wrong or maybe there was misunderstanding between the two of you. I would rent the car now and save your receipts because one of the insurance companies will be picking up the tab. Call your agent and ask for advise.

Have you spoken with your own insurance company about this? Remember you must report any accident that you are involved with to your own carrier, even though you are not at fault. And then they can bring pressure on the other guy's insurance company to act quickly. They may also be able to cover the replacement rental, and then later use reimbursement from the other company to pay that back. As long as you are not at fault, working through your own insurance company will not increase your rates, so take advantage of it.

Yes I have let my insurance company know about the accident. They said that I can file a claim with them even though I was not at fault. The only problem is I will have to pay the deductible ($500), but I would get a rental car immediately if I go this route. They said this would be refunded to me once the other insurance company pays out, but I don't really have $500 to drop at the moment. I may have to end up borrowing the money from a family member as there is no way in hell this accident could be determined my fault.

"no way in hell this accident could be determined my fault." don't be too sure of that. Unless the guy admits it or they have several witnesses it could be your word againist his. He could easily say you over reacted and caused your own accident when you were not really in danger. File with your company, the $500 is not now, it comes when the car is finished. Get your rental now, your insirance will pick that up.

The other driver did admit fault to both me and his insurance company. Also the adjuster said that right now everything is pointing to their insured driver being at fault, and that was on a recorded phone call. I also have two witness statements saying it was the other drivers fault as well. In hindsight I kind of wish I had just plowed in to the guy instead of trying to avoid the collision. I know that's terrible to say, but I have a feeling I'm going to get effed around here. But yes you are right I just need to have my insurance company take care of this for me or I'm going to say something to the adjuster that I will regret.

If you had rear ended him then you would likely have been charged with failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle. Devil is in the details and is not as cut and dry as you think. If he already completed his merge onto the road... you were supposed to be looking ahead and anticipating and making appropriate responses like slowing down etc. But like I said.. devil is in the details and a lot of things happen quick. Depending on the timing and order for everything... it can easily go either way.

And admitting it isn't a cast in stone, Can't ever recant confession. They can always change their mind. Lot of people change their minds after being able to sit down and recall things. And why its always better to admit nothing on the scene, cuts down on the ensuing battle when hey realize they said it before they had time to think it out. That's why they have investigations, evidence is objective... not subjective.

How easy this mess proceeds depends a lot on the quality and level of service of your own insurance company and less on theirs, even at times where the other parties insurance ends up footing the bill. If you have full coverage they will take care of it up front, then collect from them...if you only carry liability and minimal coverage at that....your insurance won't cover anything until an investigation determines actual fault and liability.

Rim tire and strut shouldn't take more than 2 days to complete on average depending on where they have to source a rim out from (longer if you are out in the sticks). Parts ordered one day, and not more than an hour or two labor including an alignment the next day when parts arrive and its worked into the schedule for the day.

As farva noted, the $500 is not paid out until you have your car repaired. In the meantime you can be using the rental.

I had a similar situation happen to me a few years ago, and went the route you describe. In my case I was driving in the left lane past a line of cars stopped in the right lane that were all waiting to turn right onto a highway on-ramp, when a car came out of a side street on the right attempting to turn left across both lanes of traffic. I T-boned her at about 25 MPH. Entirely her fault, but because she didn't receive a ticket my insurance company and hers took about a month to haggle it out. Meanwhile I proceeded to get my car fixed, so my insurance covered the initial cost under my collision coverage, less the deductible, which I had to pay upon completion of the repairs to my car. It took about eight weeks before my insurance company was fully reimbursed by the other driver's company, and then my insurance company reimbursed me for the deductible. As noted previously my rates did not go up, as it was 100% her fault. So yes, you may have some up-front costs that you will have to cover, but when all is said and done you should be made whole. As for a replacement vehicle while yours is in the shop - check your policy for what they actually cover, because it may just be a flat rate per day rather than the full cost of an actual rental.

I didn't make contact with the other car at all. Don't want to toot my own horn here, but because of my quick reaction to the situation I was able to avoid a possible total loss on both vehicles, and also more than likely personal injury. It would have been a very different scene if I had collided with the vehicle instead of the median. I'm not asking for anything special here. I just want my vehicle repaired, and a rental vehicle for the time I am without mine.

Also another note here. Not sure if it makes a difference or not, but the person on the insurance policy wasn't the driver at the time of the incident. It was his son.

Doesn't matter... the owner was insured and their policy would cover it for all authorized operators..

I'm guessing you only have liability coverage, correct? Since they didn't give you a rental right away pending the final investigation results for fault, liability. (Because of the chance they may rule against you because then you wouldn't be entitled to it from your own policy if you see the point)

If you had full coverage they should have given it to you right away.

Not pointing fingers either way....I see a possibility of a grey area and its not black and white. You very well might prevail in the end.
I've been in a similar situation in the past.. I had liability and wasn't going to get a free rental until fault was established because of that liability only coverage. I eventually got it..but not up front at first.

I have full coverage yes, but I don't know about the other driver. If the other driver has liability that should cover all my losses if I'm not mistaken. My insurance company recommended I file a claim with the other drivers insurance company (which I have). They said I could also file a claim with them under my collision coverage, but I would be responsible for the deductible until the case was settled. I'm probably going to go that route, and just let my insurance company hash everything out.

Thanks for everyone's responses to this. It has been of much help.

OK... they (your insurance) should not be giving you a hassle (unless your policy does not allow for a rental vehicle). With full coverage they would pay for your own vehicle even if you was at fault. For the other person.. liability would pay for everything that would happen to you up until the policy limits if they were at fault, full coverage pays for your own vehicle if you was at fault. Both types pay for the other driver if you are at fault.

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Originally Posted by farvaknowsbest

Ok so here's the story here.

I was driving down a three lane road (6 lanes if you include the oncoming lanes). I was in the far left lane, and was the only car heading in the same direction for at least a hundred yards or more both behind and in front of me. As I was crossing an intersection, another car was turning on to the road I was on from the intersection. He crossed all lanes of traffic in to my lane causing me to slam on my brakes, and I had to swerve on to the center median to avoid collission. I have already had it inspected by a mechanic and have been told that I will need a new tire, rim, and strut. Estimating around $1100.

I have already filed a claim with the other drivers insurance company. I spoke with the adjuster, and they have gathered witness statements as well as the police report that was filed. The only thing they haven't been able to do is get a hold of their insured driver that caused the accident. The adjuster even said that everything is pointing to their insured driver being at fault. I am in desperate need of rental vehicle to get to work. I have been relying on rides from co-workers, but I won't be able to do that for much longer. The adjuster told me they can't make any payments until they get a hold of their insured driver which they have 7 days to do. Is this correct? I was under the assumption that they are required to provide me with transportation until the matter is resolved.

FYI this happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thanks for taking the time to answer this question.

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No, you don't get anything until the claim is settled.

One more bit of advice: if filing a claim against the other insurance company, find out if they have certified repair shops, and try to get your car repaired at one of them if possible. Reason is that their adjuster may otherwise start arguing that certain items used in the repair weren't really necessary - things like new bushings or bolts. It will save you a lot of hassle to use a certified shop.

Also, the other driver may change his story, the other driver may not answer them back, or they may take 2 months to review the claim before they pay you. Or decide to pay you less.

There are dozens of way, you lose in this case. If they are not ready to give you a rental car, you may have no choice but to go ahead with your own insurance company, if you can not merely pay this out of your pocket and get car fixed and then wait to settle

I will relate 2 accidents I was involved was.

Accident 1) I was 2 blocks from home during a freak snowstorm. I went out shopping and there was clear skies, by the time I left the store (maybe an hour) there was a couple of inches of snow. As I was making a turn onto the street before mine, another car was coming around the curve towards me. I felt he was going too fast and was going to lose it so I pulled over to the curb and stopped. Sure enough he lost control and sideswiped me. Clearly and admittedly his fault. I put in a claim to his insurer and they took care of everything. Took the car to an authorized shop and they covered a rental.

Accident 2) I was stopped for a light and a car was coming up the road behind me. He hit an ice patch (that I had also hit) and lost control and rear ended me. Again totally his fault. However, in this instance his insurer was a pain. So I filed a claim with my insurer who provided a rental. I did have to layout the deductible, but his insurer finally came through (less than a month later) and I was reimbursed in full.

Lucky for you but the police could have taken the position that you were driving too fast for conditons. I would not agree with then but have seen it happen. The other guy could say you swerved left causing the accident but could have just as easily swerved right and avoid the problem.Again, I would not agree but he could make this claim to his insurance company. Its then up to them if they want to fight about it.