Blame game

by Garry
(Thunder Bay, Ontario)

I was driving west on a 4 lane road. Traffic flow was extreamly light. I was in the left lane preparing to make a left turn. I had my signal on and there was a solid yellow line. Just as I was making my turn the vehicle behind me accelerated and decided to pass me on the left and I struck her. The other driver was charged with unsafe passing. My insurance company tells me that in a situation like this it is a 25/75 % blame split with me being 25% at fault and have to pay 25% on my deductable. Is this "normal" or is my insurance company 'trying to hose' me. Who determines this 25/75% split as I cannot see how I could have avoided the accident as I was already into the turn when the other vehicle struck my left front fender.
The other drivers comments were "I saw your signal was on and you were driving slow but I did not know what you were going to do! I quess I should have passed you on the right!"

Accident while Being Passed on Left

Hi Garry,
that's a frustrating situation. A quick scan of the fualt determination rules suggests your insurer is correct ... but it feels wrong ... I looked at this under:

Regulation 668 under the Insurance Act
(R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 668)
Fault Determination Rules

I agree with how you feel. Under a related section you could have been found 50% at fault! And your rates would have gone up as a result.

Please be sure to discuss this further with a licensed insurance representative. Oh, and by the way, are your rates too high? Check here:

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