I was involved in a minor accident recently. I claimed it was the other party’s fault. The other party claimed it was my fault. The police report assigned no fault to either party…
What happens if my insurance company also does not assign fault to either driver? Does this mean that my insurance will not have to pay for the other’s damages?
I live in NY
it means that your ins. will pay f/ your damages, and theirs will pay for their damages.
Insurance companies NEVER just dont assign fault to any parties. I repeat- this NEVER happens. Someone is ALWAYS at fault.
Liability is not based solely on police reports. The insurance companies will do their own investigation and determine liability.
If your company feels hes at fault.. and his company feels you at fault.. you both have no choice but to go through your own carriers. Then they will get a third party involved who hears both sides and decides who is at fault… the not at fault insurance company will then get reimbursed for what they piad out.
Point of the story.. sorry.. if they find you at fault.. no way are you going through his policy
As a sub-question to this, I’d like to know if your insurance rate is likely to go up if you are involved in a no-fault accident
You didn’t give the circumstances of the accident which would make this a bit easier. But, insurance companies always assign fault (all “no fault” means is that your medical bills are paid no matter who is at fault – it has NOTHING to do with damages to vehicles). They will look at the accident, where the damage is to each car, look at the place where it happened, get a copy of the police report and speak to any & all witnesses. Independent witnesses are the best (someone that knows neither party). Once that takes place, if your company feels your are not at fault (& they paid money to you for your damages), they will subrogate against the other carrier. If the other insurance company feels their insured is not at fault, they will deny the subrogation. If this happens it will got to binding arbitration (a 3rd party agreed upon by both insurance companies will decide who is at fault)/ Sometimes accidents are deemed 50/50 meaning both parties are equally at fault (for example, both parties are backing & backed into each other or a red light/green light situation where both parties say they had the green light & there is no way to prove either one had a red light – by independent witness or some sort of surveillance camera that may have caught the accident). I hope this helps you.
trust me, someone will be assigned fault.