The Shoulder
The Shoulder
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Insurancequick-tern-063

At-fault driver's insurance is completely ghosting us — is this even legal?

I don't even know where to start with this because it's been the most frustrating experience of my life.

Back in the spring, a driver blew through a stop sign and slammed into the passenger side of my car. There was a police report, witnesses, the whole thing. The other driver even told the officer it was his fault right there on the scene. Open and shut, right? Yeah, no.

His insurance company has been completely unreachable. I'm talking weeks of phone tag, voicemails that go nowhere, emails with no response. My own insurance carrier tried reaching them. Same wall of silence. Not a denial, not a "we're investigating," not even a form letter saying they received the claim. Just... nothing.

The other thing that's making this complicated is that the at-fault driver seems to have changed addresses since the accident. The info on the police report doesn't match where he apparently lives now, so even tracking him down directly has been a headache.

I've been working with a PI attorney but I'm still anxious because I keep reading about statutes of limitations and I don't want some technicality to blow up my case.

Has anyone else hit a wall like this? Where an insurance company doesn't deny coverage but also refuses to engage with anyone? What ended up happening in your situation? I feel like I'm just waiting for something that's never going to come and it's messing with my head on top of already dealing with physical therapy twice a week.

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12 replies

  • 20
    bold-sparrow-808

    A couple of things worth knowing: most states have bad faith insurance statutes that penalize carriers for failing to respond to claims in a reasonable timeframe. If the insurer keeps stonewalling, your attorney may be able to pursue a bad faith claim on top of the underlying accident claim — and those can carry additional damages. Also, filing a complaint with your state's insurance commissioner creates an official record and usually forces a response. It's not legal advice, just stuff I've seen move the needle in situations like yours.

  • 19
    brave-kestrel-522

    File the department of insurance complaint today, not next week. It takes maybe 20 minutes online and it's one of the few things that actually gets insurance companies to pick up the phone. Your attorney probably already knows this but if they haven't done it yet, ask them why.

    • 7
      swift-marmot-602

      Quick question — did you confirm the policy was actually active on the date of the accident? Sometimes carriers go silent specifically because they're building a case to deny on a lapse, and they'd rather not tip you off. Has your attorney been able to get any written confirmation that a policy exists at all?

  • 15
    tidy-elk-256

    They are 100% doing this on purpose. Silence is a strategy. They're hoping you get frustrated, make a mistake, miss a deadline, or just give up. Do not let them outlast you. Keep every voicemail confirmation number, every email receipt, everything.

    • 7
      steady-survivor991

      Curious whether you did this on your own or had help with it.

    • 0
      weathered-offramp354

      This thread is gold. Thanks everyone.

  • 14
    quick-marmot-118

    Oh wow, this is almost exactly what happened to me two years ago. The other driver's insurer just went radio silent for months. What eventually broke the logjam was my attorney filing a complaint with our state's department of insurance. Apparently insurers are required by law to acknowledge and respond to claims within a certain window, and a formal complaint gets their attention real fast. Worth asking your attorney if that's an option in your state.

    • 0
      patient-walker856

      Wish I had seen this a month ago — would have saved me a lot of stress.

  • 13
    steady-elk-825

    I used to work claims and I'll tell you — complete silence from a carrier is unusual and usually means one of a few things: the policy had lapsed and they're stalling while they figure out how to handle it, there's some internal dispute about coverage, or honestly sometimes files just fall through the cracks when adjusters leave or territories get reshuffled. None of those are your problem to solve, but your attorney should be documenting every single contact attempt with timestamps. That paper trail matters a lot if this ends up in litigation.

  • 10
    brave-swan-187

    This sounds absolutely exhausting, especially on top of doing physical therapy. I'm sorry you're dealing with all of this at once. Please make sure you're not putting your recovery on the back burner while you stress about the legal stuff — both matter.

  • 10
    daring-grouse-164

    Two PT sessions a week while managing this kind of stress is a lot. Just want to gently flag that stress genuinely slows physical recovery — it affects inflammation, sleep, all of it. I know you can't just turn the legal anxiety off, but try to protect your appointments and don't let the insurance drama become a reason to skip them. Your health outcome matters as much as the legal one.

  • 7
    calm-beaver-531

    Not legal advice, but the statute of limitations concern you mentioned is the right instinct to have. If you can't get the carrier to engage, your attorney may need to file suit against the driver directly before that window closes — even if serving him is complicated. Filing preserves your rights while the service issues get sorted out. Make sure your attorney is tracking that deadline closely. The insurance company's silence doesn't pause the clock.