Tuesday’s Storm Could Cost Upwards of $2.5 Million in Claims

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Patrick Sargent, GoLocal Worcester Contributor

On Tuesday, the city of Worcester reported 178 car accidents due to the long morning mix of rain and ice. According to Verisk Analytics, in 2012, the average car accident claim for property damage was was more than $3,000. The average car accident claim for bodily injury was more than $14,000.

Just in the city of Worcester yesterday, the average total claim cost of these accidents would cost between $534,000 to nearly $2.5 million.

Who is to Blame?

Paul Wasgatt, of AllState Insurance in Worcester, said "The city isn't responsible. Mother Nature is."

On Tuesday night, City Manager Ed Augustus released a response to answer the many questions Worcester residents were asking. According to the response, the DPW sent out 15 out of the city’s total 35 trucks at 1 a.m. The remaining 20 trucks were sent out “shortly thereafter.”

The DPW is responsible for 500 miles of streets in the city. Therefore, for an unknown amount of time, 15 city trucks were responsible for 33 miles each of city streets. Later on in the morning, after the additional 20 trucks were released, each truck was responsible for 14 miles of city streets.

In the statement, Augustus notes that the major issue for the city was the number of car accidents that occurred during the morning commute. The report states, “A few involved injuries, though none of the injuries was considered serious. At one point, a majority of the salt and sand trucks on the road were deployed to assist emergency vehicles.”

The questions that still remains is whether or not these accidents, or at least a smaller amount would have occurred if the DPW had sent out all 35 trucks right at the start of the morning. Why did they keep the 20 trucks behind?

“The main routes, which are crucial for public safety, were treated first overnight,” the statement read. “Then trucks go to work on the hilly side streets. Because the weather did not warm up as quickly as forecasted, the main streets re-froze and trucks had to go back and treat them a second time, as the rain had washed away much of the initial salt.”

"Sanding and salting the roads are a courtesy. And so is snow plowing and leaf pick-up. All the services we get, which are over and above basic services, are basically courtesies to the citizens of the city. People have to remember, when it's ice, it doesn't matter how big you are, you're going to slide. If they send a sanding truck down a steep street, it's not going to happen, the truck is going to hit ten cars on the way down." said Wasgatt.

Insurance Costs After Yesterday's Accidents

According to local insurance companies, these accidents can initially cost each individual upwards of $700 and could potentially cost each individual a total of $4,200.

"For an average consumer, in each accident you need to figure a $500 deductible. If they were surcharged, the major accident surcharge is anywhere between $400 to $700 annually with a minimum of three years and a maximum of six years," said Paul Cantiani, Jr. of Cantiani Insurance in Worcester.

Wasgatt referenced this video, posted on Facebook by Joel Vega Rivera, as an example: Accident in Worcester. The video depicts a black SUV sliding down a hill in Worcester. The vehicle crashes into a parked car. The parked car then slides all the way down the hill into another person's driveway, crashing into a third car.

Wasgatt said, "The guy in the black vehicle is going to be responsible for the damage he did to the car he hit, that then went down the street, and hit the other car in the driveway. So he's going to be responsible for his car after his deductible, he will responsible for the damage in the back of the parked car and then the damage in the front of the parked car where it hit the car at the bottom of the hill. He's also going to be responsible for the third car and whatever damage was done to that car or even if there was damage done to the house."

"That gentlemen is going to get surcharged a major surcharge because it's going to be over $2500. He's going to get four points on his driving record for that accident. He's then going to appeal it to the appeal board, the appeal board is going to find him not at fault due to weather," said Wasgatt. "99.9% of the time he will be found not at fault."

Under the appeals hearing, individuals in accidents on days like Tuesday, would pay the surcharge initially. Once the appeal goes through, the surcharges would be removed and the individual would be credited whatever they had already paid towards the surcharge, and any points added to the driving record would also be removed. The appeal could take up to a year, which would leave the initial payment out of pocket to the individual. Individuals are not responsible for their surcharge until they renew their policy. However, if they need to renew their policy within the next two weeks, they will be paying their surcharge out before Christmas, which could be a cash strapped time for many people.

"Basically, from the consumer's stand point, on the cost of insurance, if someone slides into a parked car for example, and they have to fix their vehicle, they pay the deductible, which on average is $500 out of pocket. As far as the surcharge goes, they would initially get surcharged from the Commonwealth, but nine out of 10 instances, if they appeal, and it was weather related with the ice, normally the surcharge would get thrown out in court. That means they wouldn't have any additional increase in their insurance premium," said Cantiani.

Cantiani said, "If a car slides into another car, the property damage of the person that slid into the car pays for the other person's vehicle. Once a surcharge exceeds $500 it's considered a major accident, regardless. It wouldn't change the deductible or the point that you would receive on your driving record. If the surcharge is removed, they simply pay their deductible. If they don't have collision and they slide into a car, they are paying all the damage out of pocket with a body shop."