Robot hit!

Best you talk to your agent. Probably your insurer will pursue the city's insurer. That way you avoid any personal animosity between you and city employees.

Mark Mayer, post: 446512, member: 424 wrote: Best you talk to your agent. Probably your insurer will pursue the city's insurer. That way you avoid any personal animosity between you and city employees.

Thanks! That sounds like a good approach.

I hope you took pics, at the scene.
It can help.

Nate The Surveyor, post: 446515, member: 291 wrote: I hope you took pics, at the scene.
It can help.

Yep, got plenty of pics

Yep, I've dealt with similar situations before and it is best to give all the information to your agent, and they will contact the City's insurance company to work out all the details.

I've had 3 guns knocked over in the past the hard part was convincing the ins co that the accuracy could never be obtained with a repair.
my dealer in each case would write up the repair for a new gun (I use trimble 1-2" guns)
with persistence I DID get a replacement via insurance

Astonishing to me how many times people have fallen over the traffic cones I set out. How can you not see bright orange traffic cones. Yes, I know, you can't really see anything when you have tunnel vision because of the phone glued to your ear or in front of your eyes.

There is more than one reason for cones being made of flexible material.

Holy Cow, post: 446532, member: 50 wrote: There is more than one reason for cones being made of flexible material.

I always wanted to patent a traffic cone that explodes like a huge paintball when it gets hits. A lot less folks would avoid them if they made a big mess.

When I worked at Bethlehem Steel Company I drove my car in the plant as I did business in various areas. I had a new car about a year old and was driving in parking lot aisle within the plant when another BSC pulled out a parking space into my driver's side door. My insurance company sought to enter the plant to review the accident scene and were refused entry. Before that was settled I was not driving my car and got to watch a BSC plant railroad company loader back into the front of my same car within sight of where the first accident was. My insurance company covered both claims. I then did what most other plant employees did who had to drive inside the plant and buy a well used beater car for work only. Never had another accident either.

Paul in PA

I agree to speak to your insurance agent and explain. It should be fastest and the least antagonistic. Then let your insurance and their legal/claims department haggle with the City's insurer to get them to pay out for what their employee did to damage your equipment.

Speaking to your agent initially won't cost you anything. You're gonna want to get a replacement ASAP so any potential problems with the City/Insurance would be better handled on the back end after you're back to work as usual.

My .02 cents.

D Bendell, post: 446540, member: 12975 wrote: Speaking to your agent initially won't cost you anything.

Maybe, maybe not. As soon as the insurer learns of a potential claim, they may flag the account as a higher risk, which can result in higher premiums. In this case I'd still contact my insurer due to the magnitude of the damage, but in general I avoid doing anything that gives my insurers the impression that I might actually cost them money.

For what it's worth, the cities in my county belong to a county-wide risk pool (basically, they're self-insured) and deny all claims as a matter of policy. You have to file suit to get them to pay.

Jim Frame, post: 446541, member: 10 wrote: Maybe, maybe not. As soon as the insurer learns of a potential claim, they may flag the account as a higher risk, which can result in higher premiums. In this case I'd still contact my insurer due to the magnitude of the damage, but in general I avoid doing anything that gives my insurers the impression that I might actually cost them money.

For what it's worth, the cities in my county belong to a county-wide risk pool (basically, they're self-insured) and deny all claims as a matter of policy. You have to file suit to get them to pay.

I was thinking along the same lines and going to suggest prepare for the worst, e.g a rebuttal that your warning equipment did not meet legal requirements leading up to a counter claim that your robot damaged their vehicle.

If I were afraid to make a claim cause my premiums may increase then why have insurance? If it comes down to a necessary suit to get reimbursed then isn't that a case better handled through the legal department of your insurer.

When I was in the insurance business it was called subjugation and insurance companies did it all the time when fault could be proven against another insured party. That way your injury or property damage could be taken care of knowing the other insurance company would try to deny responsibility. In the end your insurance company could recoup their cost from the insured party who caused said injury or damage.

I have never heard of an agent charging anything to discuss a potential claim. That would have been against the law in MN where I was licensed.

Not trying to sound argumentative, just an opinion.

paden cash, post: 446534, member: 20 wrote: I always wanted to patent a traffic cone that explodes like a huge paintball when it gets hits. A lot less folks would avoid them if they made a big mess.

The boss stopped me, but I was going to fill a couple of traffic cones with cement and set them along our road closure one time. I was tired of watching people aim for the cones!

D Bendell, post: 446573, member: 12975 wrote: If I were afraid to make a claim cause my premiums may increase then why have insurance?

As noted above, in this instance I would turn it over to my insurer due to the size of the claim. But the rationale behind not submitting a claim for smaller matters is to retain coverage for future claims more substantial in size. An insurer who pays out on a $30k claim is going to look very hard at the risk/reward ratio and is likely either to raise premiums or drop coverage. And my understanding is that insurers share claim information, which means you can't just move down the street and start fresh with another insurer.

Monte, post: 446575, member: 11913 wrote: The boss stopped me, but I was going to fill a couple of traffic cones with cement and set them along our road closure one time. I was tired of watching people aim for the cones!

Many years ago I heard someone doing this during construction of either I-405 or I-90 when they had significant problems with one driver knocking over their cones with an open car door around lunch time. One day they filled the front cone with cement, and just like clockwork the guy came through with his open door... however, THIS time he was in for a BIG surprise...WHAM!!!

No more issues after that.

SellmanA, post: 446583, member: 8564 wrote: One day they filled the front cone with cement, and just like clockwork the guy came through with his open door...

Was told a story of a construction crew driving a rod into the road surface and getting it stuck while it was still up more than a foot. They put a cone over it. Naturally someone came along shortly thereafter and tore out their oil pan.

Monte, post: 446575, member: 11913 wrote: I was going to fill a couple of traffic cones with cement and set them along our road closure one time.

Fill them with gravel. Most of the damage with far less evidence left.

Jim Frame, post: 446541, member: 10 wrote: Maybe, maybe not. As soon as the insurer learns of a potential claim, they may flag the account as a higher risk, which can result in higher premiums.

That can happen. But I think that a person can talk to their agent without risk.