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My kid had an accident when hit by a car running a stop sign . After 2 weeks they admit fault and want to send him a check for his total loss car BUT first they demand he sign away his rights making them his power of attorney so they can process with DMV that they now own the car. I say thats BS because to transfer the cars title in my state all you do is noterize the title and send it to the buyer and the deals done. The buyer turns in the old title after he fills in his name and thats it. I think the insurance company just wants to make sure he cant get a lawyer if needed. Any advice would help thanks
Then get a lawyer. They are not going to settle if they still have responsiblity after the settlement. At some point they are only going to speak to a lawyer representing you if not settled.
Don't know from your post what state you are in, but the laws about this will vary.
What's most important here is that you do not sign away any of your rights (or your son's) at this time in order to get a claim paid now by the other party's insurance company.
In view of the total loss of your car, there may yet be injuries that your son has sustained that won't show up for a long time. Even if he's OK now and has no obvious problems, there are medical problems that can take awhile to show up. You do not want to sign away any rights to possible claims in this area, and it can take as much as two years after a crash for everything to show up.
It would be best for you to get some professional representation for your damages who is representing your interests. The other party's insurance company is not your friend; they'll want to make their obligations go away as quickly and inexpensively as possible. This may include trying to settle with you at a very low figure for your car. You need to aggressively seek to be made whole from the damages and potential injuries that you and your son have sustained.
My kid had an accident when hit by a car running a stop sign . After 2 weeks they admit fault and want to send him a check for his total loss car BUT first they demand he sign away his rights making them his power of attorney so they can process with DMV that they now own the car. I say thats BS because to transfer the cars title in my state all you do is noterize the title and send it to the buyer and the deals done. The buyer turns in the old title after he fills in his name and thats it. I think the insurance company just wants to make sure he cant get a lawyer if needed. Any advice would help thanks
It's pretty standard to sign a POA giving the insurance company rights to the car and allowing them to do whatever with it. In fact, it will save you a lot of time and grief.
However, that should be the only clause in the POA, turning the car over to them. If there is anything about waiving future damages, rights, or anything like that, don't sign.
And don't be cheap. A few hours of a lawyer's time can make the difference between a nightmare and an easy ride.
Also remember that thier willingness to settle does not mean they accept legal blame. That will be clear if it went to trial. They never accept blame just garee to settle. Blame is always estabilished at a trial in legal terms.
Im in North Carolina. This insurance company has a rep for being very dirty in the ways they avoid paying claims.I guess they want to deal with lawyers.Its a pity they cant settle a simple claim without trying to make it so hard on the person filing a claim. I guess as a general rule to protect yourself anytime you are in an accident other than a very minor fender bender you need to go the hospital and run up several thousand dollers in bills just to be checked and then you have something to sue them over and need a lawyer to do it. If they dont want to deal fairly in a simple case.BE SURE its not one...When the adjuster who was hard to reach for days after the wreck failed to return his call today I advised my son to go ahead and see if he could find a lawyer to help before he says or signs a friggin thing......Anytime you are in a wreck you have the right to go directly to the hospital and start running up a big bill even if you feel you arent hurt. .When you start getting letters from lawyers you know for sure you have a winable case...
Im in North Carolina. This insurance company has a rep for being very dirty in the ways they avoid paying claims.I guess they want to deal with lawyers.Its a pity they cant settle a simple claim without trying to make it so hard on the person filing a claim. I guess as a general rule to protect yourself anytime you are in an accident other than a very minor fender bender you need to go the hospital and run up several thousand in bills just to be checked and then you have something to sue them over and need a lawyer to do it. If they dont want to deal fairly in a simple case.BE SURE its not one...When the adjuster who was hard to reach for days after the wreck failed to return his call today I advised my son to go ahead and see if he could find a lawyer to help before he says or signs a friggin thing......Anytime you are in a wreck you have the right to go directly to the hospital and start running up a big bill even if you feel you arent hurt. .When you start getting letters from lawyers you know for sure you have a solid case and the jerks will be made to pay
One small comment is that the insurance company is in a hurry to settle the case, if you can afford to not be, that would be to your advantage.
Sometimes you can just take the driver to small claims court, you want to document that you have exchanged letters with the insurance company and they have not given you satisfaction, document the details of the crash, particularly if the other driver was cited as being at fault, document any pertinant circumstances like a non-working traffic light, etc. if there are any.
I don't know how much money you can sue for in small claims court in NC. It varies by state.
Seriously, your son should go get checked to determine if he's really not injured, and to document his injuries if such exist.
Good luck.
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