Not wanting to involve my insurance company in the process of "making me whole", i.e., repairing the damage to my car (~$1100 of damage), I decided to work with GEICO, the other driver's insurance company. He was at fault. He admitted it.
GEICO contacted me and, after a bit of running around (to visit an assessor and drop the car off at a body shop), the car was repaired. I have it back. Done deal, right?
Wrong. GEICO has called and wants my SS#. "Before I can be paid", they need to do a "credit check and lien search on my vehicle". Obviously, I am loath to give my SS# to a third party. I have not sued the other driver. The insurance company is not paying me anything. The body shop dealt directly with GEICO.
Is GEICO's a legit request?
Christian K. Lassen IIPersonal Injury LawyerPhiladelphia, PA ·
It is always a bad idea not to inform your insurance company of an accident, as insurance companies by the terms of your insurance policy require you to report all accidents to them. Every car accident case I handle requires me to get the client's social security number. If the accident was not your fault, in addition to getting your car repaired, you can get compensation for your pain and suffering, as most people have at least sore neck/sore back injuries, thus, it would be a good idea to have a personal injury lawyer represent you.
My practical answer: I probably would not give my social security number. I would then wait to see whether GEICO or the body shop presses the issue. I doubt they will.
Robert H FlynnPersonal Injury LawyerFramingham, MA ·
Your policy of insurance almost certainly requires reasonably prompt notification of an accident; iyour insurer would appraise the damage at no cost to you and let you get it repaired. In Mass if the accident was the other driver's fault, it would likely waive the deductible and it is unlikely to go as a negative on your rates in the future. Geico has little need for your SS and if you ignore them for a while on that issue it probably will go away and if raised again simply tell them you are reluctant to provide based upon the SS laws and the Mass privacy laws. You actually probably now have a binding contract for the settlment amount with Geico which you could file as a small claims action and Geico would have to pay the judgment on the breach of contract without any right to a SS nymber. I doubt that it conditioned the settlement you made with it on you divulging your SS.
