Cedric Stephens, Contributor

Question: A 'hit and run' taxi struck my car by the Three Miles intersection on June 2, 2007 at about 8:45 p.m. I got its licence number.

The matter was reported immediately to the Hunts Bay Police. They gave me a letter to The Collector of Taxes where I obtained information about the owner. I also reported the accident to my brokers.

The police gave me information about a week later that the taxi and my car were insured with the same company. In August, my insurers said that they would write off the vehicle.

I surrendered my comprehensive policy and decided to retain the salvage. Nothing happened for almost two months. In October, a claims officer told me that the claim would be settled under my policy.

There was no coverage under the other policy. I am now faced with bills in excess of $80,000 plus the costs to fix my car. Can you please help?

- E.J., Kingston 2

Answer: I sent a copy of your letter and posed a number of questions to the president and CEO of Advantage General Insurance Company, Mark A. Thompson, about your claim. Here are the answers that he supplied:

Question: What were the reasons for the delay in the settlement of the claim?

Response: "Given our original course of action, the claim in question, which was reported in June 2007, would have been settled by August 2007. The particulars of the sequence of events are as follows.

"We received an accident report on June 18 via the brokers along with the damage estimate. We appointed an assessor on July 12, and their report was received on July 23.

"On August 27, the broker was informed that the vehicle was a total loss based on the assessor's findings and that it was our intention to offer settlement under the insured's policy.

"After we had begun processing the claim under that policy, the insured advised that he wished to pursue the claim under the third party's. Having not had a report from the third party, we made contact with him.

"An accident report was received from him on July 23. This excluded a copy of the driver's licence for the alleged driver. We tried to ascertain this information from the third party and the tax collectorate, without success. The third party did not have a copy and advised that he did not know of the whereabouts of the driver. The collectorate was unable to confirm that a driver's licence had been issued to the driver."

Questions: Why was settlement not offered under the third party's policy? On what grounds was liability being denied?

Response: "We have not denied liability under the third party's policy; however, we are unable to settle under (that person's) policy since he has not satisfied the policy condition as it relates to whether the person driving was permitted to do so in accordance with the licensing law."

Question: How was the offer of settlement calculated?

Response: "Our preliminary offer of settlement is outlined below:

Sum insured $110,000

Less salvage $55,000

Less excess $20,000

Net figure $35,000

"In further reviewing the file, we have identified that the salvage value was overstated by $15,000; and we are prepared to offer a revised settlement of $50,000."

Question: What measures are being put into place by the new management to reduce the delays in the settlement of claims?

Response: "While we recognise that our settlement time is not at an optimal level, over the last six months, we have restructured the claims department, which has resulted in significant improvement in the settlement process.

"In addition, a comprehensive claims review is currently under way. We expect that at the end of this exercise, we will be in a better position to offer our clients and stakeholders a more superior customer-service experience."

I recommend that you accept the revised offer with on It should be increased to include the wrecking fees. These costs should form part of your claim.

You are a victim of the taxi owner's stupidity, carelessness and greed. He entered into an arrangement with a 'driver' to operate a vehicle without making sure that he had a valid permit. As a result of those actions and the negligence of the 'driver', you will end up paying the price without recourse from them.

Cedric E. Stephens provides independent information and advice about risk and insurance. For free information or counsel, email Mr. Stephens: aegis@cwjamaica.com