No ID hit and run while parked, Uninsured Motorist Claim?

[Kyuusei]

My car got nailed bigtime by what I assume to be an incredibly drunk driver.The car got pushed up on the sidewalk a good 3 feet. Anyways, does anyone know whether or not Uninsured Motorist Property Coverage is applicable in NJ if the other party can not be IDed? My isn. co. is Geico and after an initial email regarding UIMP where they confirmed I would be covered, I set up a claim and gave them a call. They again confirmed that I would be covered and was told to set up an appointment with an examiner to have my vehicle inspected. I called back to set the appointment after googling up a location nearby just to have another guy close my claim and deny that I would be covered under UIMP because the other party couldn't be IDed.

From what I've researched online an unidentified vehicle/driver in a hit and run is considered an uninsured driver and therefore covered under UIMP.

[Dattebayo]

You still have to pay your deductible, but it should be taken care of. I had a similar thing happen to me last thanksgiving eve, there was snow on the ground and the plow came by and slammed into the passenger side of my Sentra with it's wheel.

I took a check from them minus the deductible last time and did some work myself...

[PapaSmurf2k3]

^I agree with Davemeister.
Every time I've ever heard of this happening, its been covered by uninsured motorist. Let it be known that if they don't cover it, they will lose your business.

[frapjap]

My car got nailed bigtime by what I assume to be an incredibly drunk driver.The car got pushed up on the sidewalk a good 3 feet. Anyways, does anyone know whether or not Uninsured Motorist Property Coverage is applicable in NJ if the other party can not be IDed? My isn. co. is Geico and after an initial email regarding UIMP where they confirmed I would be covered, I set up a claim and gave them a call. They again confirmed that I would be covered and was told to set up an appointment with an examiner to have my vehicle inspected. I called back to set the appointment after googling up a location nearby just to have another guy close my claim and deny that I would be covered under UIMP because the other party couldn't be IDed.

From what I've researched online an unidentified vehicle/driver in a hit and run is considered an uninsured driver and therefore covered under UIMP.

Thats pretty standard SOP for Geico; tell the customer there is nothing they can do.

You need to call and skip past the first two people they put on the line with you (somewhat politely) until you get to someone who is going to treat the situation correctly. There is NO reason you shouldn't be covered.

[marlin29311]

Do you have collision coverage on your vehicle?

[Kyuusei]

Do you have collision coverage on your vehicle?

No I do not, hence the attempts to get this covered under uninsured motorist. Is there any statute or law I can refer to when arguing my case? Because ultimately if they say no, there isn't much I can do without having any solid backing.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

...you can tell them to shove it up their a** and take your business elsewhere.

[darylzero]

Here is some info from your State.

http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/ins_ombudsman/wysk3.htm

This one doesn't look good, http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/ins_ombudsman/wysk3.htm#5

5. My car was struck by a vehicle that was cut-off by a phantom (unknown) vehicle which fled the scene of the accident. Can I file an uninsured motorist claim?

No. In order to file an Uninsured Motorist claim for property damage you must identify the vehicle and be able to demonstrate that the vehicle was either not insured under a policy of insurance or that there was no coverage provided under a policy of insurance at the time of the loss. Under these circumstances you may want to consider filing a first party claim if you have collision coverage or pursuing a third party claim against the driver of the vehicle which actually struck you to try to recover at least some of your damages based on that driver's degree of negligence.

[Dattebayo]

Do you have collision coverage on your vehicle?

No I do not, hence the attempts to get this covered under uninsured motorist. Is there any statute or law I can refer to when arguing my case? Because ultimately if they say no, there isn't much I can do without having any solid backing.

Oh, that changes everything. You have to have the collision coverage for it to work.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Oh, that changes everything. You have to have the collision coverage for it to work.

I'm not sure about that, I've definitely heard of hit and runs being covered under uninsured motorist.

At the end of the day though, they probably wouldn't give you very much for the car.

[marlin29311]

Oh, that changes everything. You have to have the collision coverage for it to work.

I'm not sure about that, I've definitely heard of hit and runs being covered under uninsured motorist.

At the end of the day though, they probably wouldn't give you very much for the car.

In the state of NJ, that's how it works for better or worse...each state has it's own Insurance laws and regulations...in this case, the OP would need to have collision coverage in order to make a claim in NJ.

Sorry Probably not what you want to hear...

[Kyuusei]

How about NY state laws on Uninsured Motorist Property? I've heard that your insurance has to cover the minimums set by the state in which the accident took place vs those where the policy originates from. And while my car is registered in NJ, the incident took place in NY.

[C-Kwik]

Oh, that changes everything. You have to have the collision coverage for it to work.

I'm not sure about that, I've definitely heard of hit and runs being covered under uninsured motorist.

At the end of the day though, they probably wouldn't give you very much for the car.

It actually varies by state. This portion of the policy tends to be dictated by stae law. CA does not cover hit and runs under UMPD. Some other states do. The reasoning behind this is that some states have a high incidence of fraud with this so limiting UMPD coverage to vehicles/drivers that can be identified tends to reduce this type of fraud. I can't speak for other states that do this, but in CA, this only applies to UMPD and not UMBI.

As for your comment about taking business elsewhere for not covering a loss, the insurance industry is one in which this type of threat is useless. Why? Simple. Bad Faith. All it would take for a company to expose themselves to a Bad Faith Lawsuit loss is to pay one of these and deny another. If the person who is denied files a suit and under subpoena the attorney discovers the claim that is paid under the same circumstance in which his client was denied, then there is a good chance that the insurance company will lose the suit. The potential exposure in such a loss is not necessarily limited to damages incurred. Its not unheard of for such a case to be awarded in the millions for a case that was nowhere near that. So what insurance companies do is look at their policy language and apply it to the particular claim that is being presented. When I was a claims adjuster, regardless of how well I knew my companies' policy language, I always read it over every time there was any doubt about this.

That said, even if this wasn't an issue, your policy with your insurance company is a contract. Its all there in black and white and you should read your policy before a loss occurs. Hell, I read the policy language before I even purchase a policy. A close family friend is my agent and she thought it odd that I requested a copy of the policy before I was willing to give her my business. Which leads me to conclude that people don't do this nearly enough.