Is an auto insurance deductible suppose to be reimbursed if you appeal the

[Chris R]

surcharge, and win? I had an accident that I felt I was not at fault but the insurance company thought otherwise. I paid my deductible of $1000 and appealed the surcharge in court. I went to court nearly a year later and told my story exactly how i told it to the insurance company and won the appeal hearing. the surcharge was waived but I was told that the deductible is still my responsibility to pay. I believe it should not be because if the accident was deemed a no fault accident at the time it happened then my deductible would have been waived. Is there anything legally i can do to get this money reimbursed?

 

[mbrcatz17]

NO. The deductible only gets reimbursed, if someone ELSE is at fault for the accident, AND the insurance company gets reimbursement from their insurance company.

Every accident has SOMEONE at fault. So, appealing a surcharge is MUCH easier. Just because you won the appeal, does NOT mean that the OTHER guy caused the accident. For a one vehicle collision, there IS no other guy to cause the accident - but you frequently can get a surcharge waived, particularly if you skidded on an icy road.

Your deductible is ALWAYS your responsibility. There's no "waiver" of your deductible, if you are not at fault. You can only get a "waiver" - sometimes, in some states, if someone ELSE is at fault, AND they have coverage. Sorry.

 

[Fred C]

You are confusing the insurance rating and the driver record rating. They are not necessarily the same, and an insurance company can assign their own point system independent of driver licence. A decision to reverse the surcharge on the driver licence is not binding upon the insurance company, and, indeed, has no relevance to the insurance company. Your deductible is your share of any claim that cannot be claimed from anybody else.