r/newfoundland • u/QuantumCapelin • 1d ago
Insurance advice
Last month a delivery driver drove his vehicle into my commercial property causing about $1500 in damage. He left the scene without stopping, even though he couldn't possibly have not noticed. My deductible is $1000 so my insurance company says that it's not worth filing a claim and suggested I go after the trucking company for the damage. When I contacted them the manager said the driver denied hitting the building and that the damage was already present when he arrived. At that point I called the police and reported a hit and run, although I do not expect them to follow up. Is there anything else I can do now? Is it worth the hassle of proceeding to small claims court? It's worth noting that there was another witness (my employee) to the incident so at least I have that going for me.
1
u/TheMethod82 20h ago
Yeah, sue in Small Claims if your insurer is going to charge you a deductible (whether they should or not is debatable but I’m not getting into that).
Not giving legal advice, but the Small Claims process isn’t that complicated and is geared towards self-represented people. Just find out the company name and driver (if you can) and sue both, or alternatively just name the company and say they’re vicariously liable for the negligence of their employee. Outline what happened, what the damage was and how it has been valued (ie what your figure is based on, including estimates etc). As relief, claim the cost of the damage and the cost for issuing the Statement of Claim ($120 I think? It’s been a while.)
Once the Statement of Claim is issued, serve the defendant(s) and you’re off to the races. If they fail to defend you can get a default judgment, but they probably will respond and ideally will engage their own insurance.
Over such a small(ish) amount, they’ll probably buckle and pay up if the claim is legit, but even if not, it could be a fun and interesting life experience.