CBS4 Exclusive: Hit-&-Run Victim Says Insurance Company Denied Claim Despite Police Report From Incident

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A Miami resident involved in a hit-and-run crash turned CBS4 after a seven-month battle with her insurance company.

Christina Brooks says the entire time she was left without transportation.

CBS4's Bobeth Yates caught up with her at a local dealership as she attempted to replace her vehicle without any assistance from her insurance company.

"Wow, lookie here! It is nice and this is me," said Brooks, sitting in the car she just tested drove.

But the smile on her face was seven months in the making.

"All of a sudden I heard this loud noise out of nowhere, it was a big jerk, like somebody had just snatched me back. Then it went boom. I looked in the mirror and I was like, 'Oh my God.' A gray car hooked on to the back of my car," Brooks said as she described the hit-and-run accident that took place back in November 2020.

According the police report, Brooks was driving on 95 North, when the car came up from behind and rear ended her. But they didn't stop, luckily she did get their tag number before she says the driver speed off, leaving her struggling in pain.

"As I reached for the door I couldn't. From my head down to my toe it's like it was numb," she added.

But her injuries from the hit-and-run aren't the worst part of the story. Brooks says it's the fact that her insurance company Infinity/Kemper for 7 months had not processed not her claim.

"They told me they have to reach out and question the person. Then they told me that the person is not responding to them," she explained. "And what I told them was, 'If I did a hit-and-run, which is a felony, I would hide to.'"

CBS4 also tried to find the driver, going to his home, but no one answered. So CBS4 reached out Infinity/Kemper and they sent the following statement:

"Due to privacy laws, we aren't able to share specific information about our policyholders. We always strive to resolve claims in a timely matter once all the information necessary to do so is received."

Then Brooks received the official denial for her claim.

So CBS4 reached out to attorney David Weinstein to see how this is possible.

"Most insurance companies live up to their coverage. However, there are instances where companies will try and toe the line and look to the letter of your policy and not necessarily give you the coverage you're expecting but rather the coverage they're willing to provide," said Weinstein.

But without the details of Brooks insurance policy, Weinstein couldn't comment directly on her claim. He did say to ensure you're not in a similar situation, you have to read the fine print of your policy and verify coverage.

"You want to make sure you're paying for the coverage that you think you're getting. There are times when insurance will be offered to you and it's not going to contain perhaps provisions covering a collision insurance or comprehensive damage for the vehicle as well as limits to your liability," said Weinstein.

As for Brooks, she says her experience has left her emotional scared.

"To my insurance company, where was the help? I paid them, I looked for help, it wasn't my fault. I would tell anybody if that was the insurance you want, please don't go to that one. No one deserves to be treated so unfairly," said Brooks.

After the seven-month battle, Brooks was finally able to save enough money to buy herself a new car.