by tvirgen » Sat Jan 24, 2009 08:41 am
I got in an accident on Jan. 8, 2009. I was driving my wifes car that is under her name, and I am excluded from her coverage. I dont drive her car usually, but the axle on my car broke the day before. I took my wifes car the next morning without her consent. I do have liability insurance in my own car for me and my wife. Her insurance is not going to cover me. She signed a paper excluding me from coverage. My insurance said they will not cover me. Can they do that? Do they not have to pay for anything. The girl I hit wants me to pay $7,000 for the damage and for the rent a car, or she will suit me. She will only take the car to her uncles shop. I told her I would pay for the damages. The estimate her uncle gave sounded pretty high for the damage I done. I told She will not let me get any other estimates, either at the dealership or any where else. Do I have to let her get it fixed at her uncles shop? Do I have to pay out of pocket? Do I have any rights to protect myself in any way?
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:12 pm Post Subject:
I was driving my wifes car that is under her name, and I am excluded from her coverage.
Oh dude, you guys have got yourself into a big ole mess now..Her insurance is not going to cover me.
Correct...She signed a paper excluding me from coverage.
Yes, and you knew about it, but chose to risk it anyway...My insurance said they will not cover me.
correct...Can they do that?
you bet..they can..Do they not have to pay for anything.
no they don't not in this case..The girl I hit wants me to pay $7,000 for the damage and for the rent a car, or she will suit me. She will only take the car to her uncles shop.
It's totally her choice where she wants it repaired, if your uncle owned a body shop wouldn't you go to him too?I told her I would pay for the damages. The estimate her uncle gave sounded pretty high for the damage I done. I told She will not let me get any other estimates, either at the dealership or any where else. Do I have to let her get it fixed at her uncles shop?
You my friend are NOT in a good place to negotiate anything...be glad she's not claiming a 100k injury to boot!Do I have to pay out of pocket?
Unless you also have a rich uncle that owns a body shop ( :wink: ) then yeah...who would think would pay it other than you? You are the one that 'chose' to put both you and your wife/family at (financial) risk...what you couldn't ask your wife to drive you? :roll:Do I have any rights to protect myself in any way?
Sure you do let her sue you and let a judge decide...you may not like the outcome...did the police respond..how much is the damage to the car...and where is the damage to the car, what state are you in and what are the facts of loss? you are very very very fortunate she isn't claiming a crazy amount of injurys too...get the cost of repair also the year make and model (mileage too if you can) so we can help you make sure totalling it won't be cheaper...in the meanwhile if her car is non-driveable you need to start paying for her rental...if it is driveable you only owe for rental while it is under repair, we can help you too with that figure out how long it should take .... what is the damage to your poor wifes car? is it driveable?p.s. is your wife about to kill you dude? has she quit throwing things at your head and moved on to just not talking to you at all? :wink: how long do you reakon she'll keep you on the couch? :wink:
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 03:21 pm Post Subject: insurance
Here's a serious question, though. If the husband had insurance on HIS car, why wouldn't SOME of that coverage HIM while driving SOMEONE ELSE'S car? I don't know if that's possible, however.
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 03:33 pm Post Subject:
I'll hazard a guess at these for ya' s.d.
Why wouldn't you WANT to tell you wife your were going to drive her car??
Because she would've said , 'no you're excluded remember!? I'm sorry your axle broke, but you can't drive that car!" (IF she truly didn't know he was driving it)And if you KNEW you weren't covered, then why do it?
I would bet my next paycheck that this is not the first time, and he had gotten away with it before...There had to be some reason why you were 'excluded' from her coverage..ya know?
Two or three reasons are possible...1/ her carrier would not insure HER unless HE was excluded...2/the rates with him as a driver on her policy were crazy high 3/he has to maintain an sr22 and it's much cheaper on a vehicle that has only liablility...but he got caught this time, and will owe both all the damages to the person he hit, as well as fixing his wifes car.Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 03:36 pm Post Subject:
Here's a serious question, though. If the husband had insurance on HIS car, why wouldn't SOME of that coverage HIM while driving SOMEONE ELSE'S car?
It would just not on her car, because he is SPECFICALLY excluded from driving HER car...if you loaned him his car, then yes, his policy would pick up secondary to yours or if you were uninsured his policy would come into play, but never ever on her (exluded vehicle) car.Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 05:20 pm Post Subject:
an sr22 is a form that is filed by the insurance company with the state guaranteeing in effect that they will be covering this person for whatever the period is usually 3 yrs or better...it's kind of the states way of making sure this driver is insured...if they do not pay their premiums the ins company cancels the policy and immediately notifys the state...(no one EVER gets an sr22 on their own, or because the want to, they are generally court ordered)..it's a high risk rider, and is NOT cheap...
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 06:34 pm Post Subject:
Her insurance is not going to cover me. She signed a paper excluding me from coverage. My insurance said they will not cover me. Can they do that? Do they not have to pay for anything.
Either your state allows the driver and owner to be liable or they only allow the driver to be liable. I'm going to guess that it's only the driver as otherwise I can't see a carrier writing a policy with such an exclusion (husband and wife). Liability is not an issue, you are liable for the other person's loss. You'd obtain coverage from a policy where your considered an insured. You're wife's policy _specifically_ excludes providing you liability coverage per the exclusion. They have a contract with your wife and only your wife. She agreed that the policy would not extend coverage if you were the driver. Your policy won't provide you coverage as your were driving a vehicle not listed on the policy and it's available for your regular use. You could press this issue but you'd probably need to file suit against your carrier in order to have them reconsider. There is a chance they would then extend coverage but as mentioned, it would probably take an attorney and/or suit to change their minds.The estimate her uncle gave sounded pretty high for the damage I done. I told She will not let me get any other estimates, either at the dealership or any where else. Do I have to let her get it fixed at her uncles shop? Do I have to pay out of pocket? Do I have any rights to protect myself in any way?
Well of course it sounds high, as the money is coming out of your pocket. She has no obligation to obtain a second estimate. If you want, you'd be 100% within your rights to send someone out to inspect the damages to her vehicle. She may initially refuse and file suit but then you could file a motion to have your own inspector look at the damages and you could use that expects information in court. Basically what I'm saying is that you don't have much room to complain about the situation. _This_ is why people pay for insurance! You are entitled to the best defense your money can buy.My recommendation... bend over backwards to see if the other person will take her vehicle into another shop for an estimate. Perhaps you might want to pay her a few bucks for her time. But in the end, you either need to provide yourself a defense or pay her for her loss.
You also need to figure out a better way to insure you and your wife's vehicle's. I don't know all the details of the situation but from a coverage standpoint, your in a _very_ bad situation. I'd have to question the person who thought insuring you and your wife in this way was a a good way to go. You probably want to sit down with a _good_ agent and figure out a better way to insure the vehicles. My guess is that your wife's carrier would not continue the policy with you listed. But perhaps your best bet would have been to find a carrier that would. You may also want to reconsider your driving habits. You seem to be less then desirable to insure (I'm sure for good reasons), you then take your wife's car without her knowing and when _you_ knew you should not be driving and then on this one and only day your driving it, you cause an accident. These _really_ bad decisions are going to cost you well in excess of $7000.
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 07:44 pm Post Subject:
I may have my policies/terms/states jumbled, but the last time I had to deal with a similar situation (in Ga roughly 2004) we agreed to pay the clmt damages and subrogate our insured since there was an SR22 filing. It seems like the SR22 was our guarantee to the State that we would provide liability coverage for the policy holder. Granted in this case if coverage was provided the OP would have to pay the money to his carrier, but at least he could have someone one his side possibly helping to mitigate the damages.
Anyone thinkOP may be better off to front the clmt their deductible and have them file through her carrier and pay the ins co back? Guess it's hard to say without knowing if there were injuries and the extent of the damages.
Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 02:25 am Post Subject: insurance
So..........an SR22 is for High Risk drivers ( DUI's, bad driving records, etc)? Am I understanding this correctly?
Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 02:43 am Post Subject:
How about if I tell my insurance that me and my wife have been seperated for about a year, that is when she registered her car. That is why it is not on my policy. What proof will they want? I could say I've been living with my parents, and got dropped off at my wifes place to pick up her car for work, with out her know abouts.
The girl I hit has a 2006 Scion XB. The one that looks like a little van. I hit her rear bumber, rear passenger fender, rear hatch door, and she said her exhaust. Dont know the millage. How do I get someone to give me a estamite on her car? Who do I call?
Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 07:18 am Post Subject: excluded
Many situations provide complicated coverage questions, but an excluded driver claim is the easiest and quickest claim to deny.
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