by cece7799 » Sun Jul 26, 2009 03:01 pm
Hello Everyone:
I have a situation. I was hit by a hit and run driver. Three adults and my minor child was in the car. I got the license plate so the police was able to find the owner of the vehicle and the driver, after 2 weeks.
The driver at the time had a suspended license so the owners insurance company wouldn't pay the claim. I had a lawyer at the time but got dropped because they couldn't recover anything for the insurance company. I have liability insurance with uninsured motorist coverage. In December o9 it will be 2 years.
Since I can't find the owner or driver now can I sue my insure company?
If so do I need to file suit with the owner or driver using the address on the police report 1st?
Do I need to press negligent charges on the owner or driver since a minor was in the car?
I have a situation. I was hit by a hit and run driver. Three adults and my minor child was in the car. I got the license plate so the police was able to find the owner of the vehicle and the driver, after 2 weeks.
The driver at the time had a suspended license so the owners insurance company wouldn't pay the claim. I had a lawyer at the time but got dropped because they couldn't recover anything for the insurance company. I have liability insurance with uninsured motorist coverage. In December o9 it will be 2 years.
Since I can't find the owner or driver now can I sue my insure company?
If so do I need to file suit with the owner or driver using the address on the police report 1st?
Do I need to press negligent charges on the owner or driver since a minor was in the car?
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 04:37 pm Post Subject:
Let's back up....
There were no injuries... only property damage in this accident? If so, there was no money to be made by the attorney anyway. So why would an attorney take the case if their was no money to be made? You state that he dropped the case once the other carrier was not going to pay as their was no money. If there were no injuries do you have Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (not Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury)?
If there were injuries and you have Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury to address them, the attorney should have known this and kept on your claim. If the attorney did not think to review this then your attorney was doing a piss poor job in representing you.
If this happened 2 years ago and all of this information was known 2 weeks after the accident, why are you just now realizing that you have coverage under your policy?
The Statute of Limitations is 4 years in Georgia.
You don't "sue" your insurance company... you file a claim first.
I also need to back up and ask about the denial the other carrier sent to you. Why did they deny the claim? They should have sent you a letter explaining why. What was the _specific_ reason? They have a duty to protect their _named insured_. Their named insured's drivers licenses was no suspended so why are they not providing coverage to this person? But beyond that, policies usually don't exclude coverage even if the drivers licenses is suspended.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 05:16 am Post Subject:
Tcope, the driver had a suspended license at the time of the accident. As per Cece's post,
The driver at the time had a suspended license so the owners insurance company wouldn't pay the claim.
Anyway Cece, why haven't you contacted your insurer in all these time when you have uninsured motorists coverage?
There is no need to sue the insurer first. Just contact them and file the claim.
Do you have both the property damage and bodily injury protection under the UM coverage?
If so do I need to file suit with the owner or driver using the address on the police report 1st?
Nope, but anyway, which state are you from?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 05:49 am Post Subject:
Tcope, the driver had a suspended license at the time of the accident. As per Cece's post
I've never seen a policy that excludes coverage for this... especially to the named insured who was not driving with a suspended license. Have you ever let someone else drive your vehicle? Did you check with the DMV to see if their license was valid? It's against the interest of the named insured to exclude him/her coverage for the actions of the driver.Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 07:28 am Post Subject:
Okay, if the driver wasn't the owner of the vehicle then it's a different issue. Then the question arises whether or not the driver has the permission of the owner to drive the car. What does the denial letter state Cece?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 07:47 am Post Subject:
Non-permissive use would allow for a denial of coverage for the driver, not the named insured.
But it's still possible that some exclusion for a non-licensed driver may exist... I'm just doubting it.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 06:05 pm Post Subject:
The lawyer I had stated
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 06:14 pm Post Subject:
The lawyer stated the insurance company wasn't willing to give me more than what was ask (aka more that my uninsured motorist-property damage-bodily injure) because she was in default some type of was.
The are medical bills. I have never been in this situation so I did know what to do. Me and all the people that was in car got medical attention. One of the medical personnel referred me to that lawyer.
The case was with the lawyer all this time which is way it has been so long. I was told by the lawyer the other drivers company didn't know about the accident until the lawyers contacted them.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 06:20 pm Post Subject:
so the owners insurance company wouldn't pay the claim
The lawyer stated the insurance company wasn't willing to give me more than what was ask
Now I'm more confused. Did the owners carrier deny the claim (no payment) or did they issue payment? I sounds like now that they may have issued up to their policy limits. If they issued payment, they did not deny the claim.If you had an attorney they will almost always also pursue your own underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage. Do you have UIMBI?
Please explain.
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