Woman’s car stuck between driver’s insurance company and stonewall

New Hampshire Union Leader

Jan. 19--MANCHESTER -- Almost three weeks after a driver smashed into her parked car, Manchester resident Amber Connolly finally got the driver's insurance company to do something about it.

In the meantime, the single mother of two said she had been nearly stranded in her apartment and had to rely on friends to drive her to doctor appointments and other tasks.

"This is horrible," Connolly, 34, said last week. "They're rude to me when I talk to them. At this point, I'm tired of fighting."

Connolly is not the only New Hampshire resident with gripes about automobile insurance. Over the last three years, the New Hampshire Insurance Department received 975 complaints about automobile insurance and recovered nearly $1.32 million from insurers, according to the Insurance Department.

This past weekend, Connolly's 2007 Honda Civic was towed from her landlord's property off Second Street.

It had remained there since the evening of Dec. 27, when a Honda Pilot left the street and plowed into the rear of her car, sandwiching it between a retaining wall and his car.

A Manchester police accident form lists the driver as Daniel Tiberio, 28, of Manchester.

On Friday, Manchester police Lt. Brian O'Keefe said the matter is under investigation and it remains an open case.

Connolly said a back-and-forth has lasted nearly three weeks with insurance company reps.

They told her an investigator is involved and the company won't have to pay if a crime is involved, she said. They have told her she will have to get a lawyer and sue, she said.

They said she should have had insurance on her car. And until this weekend, they did not provide a rental car.

A spokesman for the driver's insurance company -- USAA -- said the company is working on the claim.

"While we understand any claim can be stressful, coverage is based on the specific circumstances of each claim, and in this instance, we are still investigating the facts of the loss," wrote Lindsey Ruiz on behalf of USAA last week. "We will continue to work with all parties involved to assist in any way possible."

Connolly said she is the mother of a 13-year-old and a 2-year-old. She receives $600 in cash assistance and is in the middle of a claim for disability benefits because of spinal degeneration, she said.

She said the car was new when she bought it, and she just paid it off last year.

"I'm barely hanging on," she said. Without her car, she has missed doctor appointments. On Friday, the insurance representative asked her to get a copy of the police report for him, she said.

"I've been in accidents before. Next day I'm in a rental and everything's taken care of," she said.

Connolly said she's called lawyers and government officials about her situation.

Over the last three years, the Insurance Department recorded 57 complaints filed against USAA and its four sister companies. The Insurance Department recovered $48,000 from the USAA companies.

The New Hampshire Insurance Department said it maintains a Consumer Services Division, and anyone with a complaint against an insurance carrier should contact them either through the Internet or their toll-free number, 1-800-852-3416.

"She should get in touch with our consumer services department as soon as she can and file a complaint. We have staff who can assist in looking into this," said spokesman Danielle Krock Barrick.

[email protected]

___

Visit The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.) at www.unionleader.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.