[HarryH93]

My fiance was rear-ended about a month ago when she yielded to pedestrians crossing the street. Prior to this accident, the car had never been in an accident. She got it in 2010 and it was about a year old.

A couple weeks later, the insurance company of the guy who hit her called and said there was frame damage and they were not convinced that this accident alone caused that much damage. They used an appraiser and claimed he found existing damage and glass in the trunk. She argued that it had never been in any accident and the glass could have been from one or both times her back windows were smashed in (car was vandalized twice).

Because the appraiser found "existing damage," the amount they offered to pay her decreased by about 75%. She is barely even able to purchase a replacement car with the amount they offered her.

She does not have collision coverage but because she's not at fault, her insurance company claimed she would not be penalized for filing a claim and getting an adjuster.

Is there anything we should be aware of during this process? Neither of us have ever dealt with insurance for car accidents. This is pretty frustrating; the original offer we felt was fair. Can we negotiate or play hard-ball with the guy's insurance company? I'm not sure how they could have found existing damage in the same spot he hit her (back right bumper). He hit her pretty hard and she was in pain for a couple of days afterwards.

Thanks CP!