‘Not my fault’

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March 25, 2012

Dear Claudienne:

My motor vehicle was in an accident and I am yet to get any redress whatsoever. On Thursday January 20, 2011, my partner (driver) and his friend were travelling in my Toyota Corolla car in a westward direction on the Rose Hall main road towards Flankers, in the left lane of the dual carriageway. On approaching the traffic light at the intersection, in the vicinity of the soldier camp, and travelling at about 15 kilometers per hour, he slowed down and put on the indicator in an attempt to turn left. Upon doing so, a sharp jolt of the vehicle was felt. He held firmly to the steering wheel and stopped in the bus bay. A National Water Commission (NWC) Nissan Urvan, driven by a NWC worker, was travelling directly behind the car at a considerable speed. As such, he did not have sufficient response time to swerve from the left lane into the right lane. Upon swerving, he hit the back right section of the car which caused the back tyre to blow out. In doing so, he damaged the front left section of the van. The accident was reported to the Coral Gardens Police Station. The accident report, along with all of the documents requested, were submitted to National Property General Insurance Broker within a week. The information was directed to Advantage General (insurer of the Toyota Corolla) and communication was made with General Accident (third party insurance company). Subsequently, General Accident denied liability, saying that the Corolla driver was wrong and they needed a police report. After months of request for the report, I finally got it.

It reads as follows:

"The police theorised that both vehicles were proceeding in the same direction along the Flankers main road along the dual carriageway from Trelawny to Montego Bay.The Corolla motor car was travelling in the extreme left lane in front of the motor truck. On approaching the juction of Flankers, which is controlled by traffic lights, the driver of the Corolla motor car indicated to turn left into Flankers and slowed down. The driver of the Nissan motor truck collided into the rear section of the Corolla motor car. Both vehicles were damaged as a result of the collision."

After submitting the police report and waiting for more than a month, General Accident still determined that the third party was not liable. I could lose my no-claim discount as a result of this decision. They could also require me to absorb 40-50 per cent of the damages as a measure of compensation.

How is it that a vehicle rear-ended my vehicle and they are not liable? I also believe that my insurance company and broker are not doing enough on my behalf. I am extremely dissatisfied with the way they have dealt with my case.

Could you please investigate this matter as it is almost one year to the date of the accident

MC

Dear MC

Advantage General has advised Tell Claudienne that you had a third party policy with them. On March 1, 2011, Advantage said that they requested General Accident to deal directly with you or your broker as they had no financial interest in the matter.

As both General Accident and Advantage General denied liability in the matter, based on statements provided by their respective insured, Advantage said that they requested a police report.

When they received the report, they forwarded it to General Accident on December 14, 2011.

Advantage said that they received a response from General Accident on March 5, 2012 that included comments from the third party (NWC). The NWC representative indicated that they were standing by the statement provided by the driver of the NWC vehicle at the time of the accident.

General Accident then proposed settlement on a 50/50 contributory basis in light of the statement from NWC, and their view that 'the police report in this instance does not favour either party as their account of the accident apparently is completely different from what is reported by both drivers.

General Advantage said that they did not agree with General Accident, and have formally requested them to settle your claim. Their claims manager has also requested the General Accident claims supervisor to review the file.

If there is no positive outcome from this review, General Advantage has suggested that you litigate the matter through a Resident Magistrate's Court.

You could pursue this option yourself at minimal cost.

"She could go to the court and speak with the clerk of the courts who would advise her of the process," Advantage General said.

Good luck.

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Dear Claudienne

I am living in the United States. I constantly read the online Observer and see your column regarding issues that people have and need your help to rectify.

I am a Jamaican born and bred. While I worked at various jobs in Jamaica between 1974 to 1979, when I migrated I paid NHT contributions.

I have never received a loan or refunds. However a few months ago I read that the NHT was flooded with unclaimed funds that were unlikely to be reclaimed.

Since I read this, I have written to the NHT, but they have not responded. I would also like to get my NIS number so that I can apply for a refund.

Could you please look into this matter for me.

MW

Dear MW

Tell Claudienne spoke to the NHT and they said that your NIS number could not be disclosed to anyone. We note that they have phoned you and have e-mailed you and advised you what to do to get the refund.

Good luck