Michigan Auto Accident

[newimges]

My husband was in an accident in Michigan last month. He was in the right lane and the other driver was in the left lane and just came over into the right lane without any warning and hit our van causing $2800 in damage. The police came and gave the other driver a ticket for Failing to Yield. I contacted our insurance company the next day and made the claim. I also have a copy of the police report. We already had the vehicle fixed and had to pay our $550 deductible.

It turns out that the owner of the other vehicle is a business in Ohio. I am aware of the Mini Tort in Michigan that we can recover $500. My insurance company advised me to send the other insurance company a copy of the Police Report, Declaration, and Estimate of Repairs along with a request for the $500. The other insurance company contacted us directly and told us that the Mini Tort was not covered under the business' insurance policy. My insurance company told me to send the request anyway and ask for their denial in writing.

My question is who do I go after for the $500? The driver of the vehicle or the business that owns the vehicle?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[lwpat]

You can go after both. I fail to understand how it cannot be covered. Follow the advice of your insurance company.

[jk]

but realize that if they do not pay willingly, he will need to sue in a Michigan small claims court, which at the defendants discretion, can be moved to a higher court.

and who cares if the mini-tort was not covered under their insurance. That does not remove the driver and/or owner of the liability for the $500. That just means it has to come out of their pocket rather than their insurance companies pocket.

[newimges]

Thanks for your responses.

I faxed a letter requesting the mini-tort to the insurance company along with the Police Report, Declaration and Estimate of Repairs. I will wait and hear from them.

If they do reject the claim, I will send a certified letter to the Company and the individual requesting payment of the $500 and see what happens. If I don't receive a response - I will take them to small claims court. Hopefully it won't come to that. The company appears to be fairly large with branches in several states so I am hoping they will just pay the $500 and not want to deal with any law suit.

I will keep you posted.