Dealing with Honover/Citizens auto insurance

Superman22x

Superman22x

Forum Member
Has anyone dealt with Hanover/Citizens insurance? Good or bad experience? Anyway, I'm an IL driver (we don't have the no fault system) and I recently got rear ended by a Michigan driver. She has Citizen's insurance. I put in a claim a week ago, and the lady covered is not answering her phone apparently. The insurance company told me the most they would cover is $500 of my deductible. And since I don't have comprehensive, the most I can get is $500 for the minitort. The damage she did is just over $1000 to my car. And she said if the lady doesn't answer her phone to respond to my claim, I would have to take her to small claims court.

So, does all this seem normal for you Michigan insured drivers? In IL, she would be covering all of my damages and there would be no need to even mention it to my insurance company. Or am I just dealing with a person who has a terrible policy?
 
I have Citizens insurance. I had to make one claim due to getting hit in a parking lot. I was very pleased with how they handled it.
 
Where did the accident occur? MICH? IL? Was there a police report made? If not, go file one today.
Are you sure she had a valid insurance policy at the time of the accident, if not, sue her for all your damages.
 
It was in Mich. I was hoping I wouldn't have to file a police report, but I did call the local dept. and they said I could come in and file one anytime. If the lady isn't answering phone calls from her own insurance company (I put the claim in) should I have to take her to court though? It seems like the insurance company should be coughing up the money without forcing me to take time off work and go to court and all.

Luckily, this is only on 96 Ford Ranger that isn't worth too much. If I had a valuable car, I would definitely have comprehensive, haha.
 
Public road. Line of cars stopped for a stop light and she wasn't paying attention and rear ended me. It was raining out as well.

Upon further research, it looks like $500 is the max I can get because of Michigan's Mini-tort law.
 
Superman22x said:
Public road. Line of cars stopped for a stop light and she wasn't paying attention and rear ended me. It was raining out as well.

Upon further research, it looks like $500 is the max I can get because of Michigan's Mini-tort law.
Click to expand...

That is not entirely correct. If the other lady did not have valid insurance at the time of the accident, you can sue her for everything, including, missed work, repairs, pain and suffering etc... Just because she may have had a proof of insurance, doesn't mean that the insurance was cancelled at the time of the accident. call her insurance company and make a claim. Find out if she had valid insurance or not on that date.
Also, make sure you know the exact time of the accident. Some people immediately after an accident go to the insurance company and get insurance.

1. MAKE A POLICE REPORT - make certain you put the time of the day down.
2. FIND out if she had valid insurance.
 
Last edited:
I have made a claim, the insurance company didn't say if she was uninsured at the time of the accident, but I would assume she was insured. She had a nice new car and a few kids (probably coming back from soccer practice). She just didn't seem like the type to be uninsured. But who knows really.
I'm going to go make a police report tomorrow.

If she was insured at the time, the max I can get is the $500 from the minitort correct?
 
If in Michigan, then your prol looking at a max of $500.And dont expect it to happen right away.You will have to submit a estimate to her insurance and after reviewing the police report and determining fault, they issue a check.I have had customers say it took a week and have had some wait 4 weeks+ for the check.Good luck man.
 
I'm just glad I was in my truck and wasn't riding the motorcycle that was in the bed of my truck. I was planning on selling this truck in the next few weeks too, haha. I'll have to head down and get a police report after work tomorrow. 3 hours out of my evening. Fun stuff.
 
Get the police report and an estimate of the damages, also find your dec page for your policy they will want these pieces of info. Gotta love no fault
 
Make the police report and get a copy. Don't bother with the estimate unless they ask you to get one. Most companies will have an adjuster look at your truck and they will write their own estimate. You will need your declaration certificate from your insurance company showing you don't have collision. The auto adjusters at Citizens carry their own book of checks so they could write you a check if they write the estimate. If the twat isn't returning calls Citizens can still take the claim without her input with a police report.
 
For those interested, I have an update now. I contacted my insurance company, and they thought maybe I could get the other $500 to cover the rest of the damage through underinsured/no insurance motorists coverage. But since I am only legally entitled to $500 in the state of Michigan, I can't be covered by the under insured coverage. I did get a police report, the cop pretty much told me I was stupid for not getting one before thought (it's true, haha).

So what I learned from this experience:
1) Don't get in an accident.
2) Get a police report, license plate number, note time and date, get insurance info, get DL number all from the other driver.
3) No Fault insurance sucks.

Glad I learned all this in a small accident like this and that my truck is still drivable, otherwise I'd be screwed, haha.
 
No-Fault isn't that big a deal if you know how it works. For the year I lived in Missouri, I kept my Michigan insurance so I could play either game in an accident. I only had to use comp when I was there.
 
Do you know any auto insurance company that has cheaper rates but with full coverage and great deals? They should have insurance term for classic cars also. If possible within the vicinity of Florida only. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top