So I have a small fender-bender while backing out in a parking lot last week. My left rear bumper. Her right rear bumper. May be at 3 mph.The kind the cops do not show up for. The kind that are settled 50/50 by most insurance companies. So I tell the other passenger we should both get estimates and ideally keep it away from the adminstrivia of the insurance companies.
I should have known better. She was agitated because her car had just come out of the shop from a previous accident. I feel badly for her. But no cops are going to show up. I guess I should have asked for witnesses. But we just exchanged insurance details and drove off.
So what does she do? Files a claim next morning with my insurance company, Progressive.
Progressive calls me, records a statement, takes photos of my car. Does the same with the other driver. Concludes, as I thought, it is a 50/50 responsibility.
In the meantime, defensively, I file a similar claim with her insurance company, State Farm. Their rep calls me and talks casually ("oh, I will call you back for a longer conversation once I have spoken to my insured"). No recorded statement. No photo of my car. 3 days pass. I call to check. The rep goes - "we declined your claim". And mails me an unsigned 2 para form letter which says the same.
I have a call in to the State Farm supervisor. I am burning to see what predictive technology State Farm has that Progressive does not have which allows them to bypass recorded statements and photos. Or may be they have this lie detection technology? I am pretty sure it does not work over a phone line and probably takes more than a one minute casual conversation....
