by Guest » Mon Nov 23, 2009 07:50 pm
My stepson has a valid auto insurance policy in NC. A few weeks ago, he was in an accident while going straight through stoplights. Another party turned in front of him and she was ticketed by the police for failing to clear the intersection. Her insurance company has denied his claim due to 1% contributary negligence. The problem with his own insurance is, collision was taken off of his policy in March of 08 by the insurance co. as he did not have a NC drivers license. Being young and stupid, he didn't note all that. Now his car is totalled and he owes $11,000 on it. His agents says that he was never made aware that there was a financing company involved. That is not true, as the agent actually drove to the dealership to pick up my stepson, because the finance company would not let him leave with his newly purchased car until he had obtained insurance. This agent arranged all his insurance for him. My gut tells me the agent dropped the ball in not adding the finance company to the policy and is now trying to cover himself. Can stepson sue the other party & insurance company for the collision or is there recourse against his agent? Thanks for any help you can provide.
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 08:52 pm Post Subject:
Your step son can file suit against the at fault party but an $11,000 loss might be out of the reach of small claims court. If it was, he could either file in District Court or in Small Claims for their limit. But he needs to be able to prove that he was 0% at fault. if the court found that he was 1% or more at fault then he cannot recover from the other party.
He could file suit against the agent but he'd need to prove that the agent was negligent in some way and that this caused his damage. It seems like the insurance company correctly removed collision insurance since your step son could not legally drive (I'm betting they informed him of this). If they knew about a lien holder they should have informed the lien holder of this as well. Did your son give all the insurance information to the lien holder? If he did, why did the lien holder not inform the insurance company of their lien on the vehicle?
Sorry... but anyone who drives a vehicle with a drivers licenses is not the most believable person out there.
Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 09:26 pm Post Subject:
He actually was licensed, his license was from MD, not NC where he was living at the time. And yes, he was advised that collision was dropped by the insurance co., but did not take note of that on his renewal (stupid, I agree). It seems the insurance company did not know about the lienholder as the agent never put it on the application. I will look into whether he advised the lienholder of the insurance information. He has definitely made his mistakes in this whole mess, but there are some other dropped balls here too. Thanks for your help.
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 06:10 am Post Subject:
I really don't see anyone dropping the ball but your son. The insurance company dropped his coverage and informed your son they did this. Your son did not get the coverage he needed and was in an accident.
He has two choices, pay the loan off or attempt to recover from the other driver.
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 10:31 am Post Subject:
Doctrines across a majority of the US jurisdictions have been changed to comparative negligence. It's unfortunate that NC still retains contributary negligence. I'm still wondering how the other party's insurance may prove contributary negligence when he was moving straight and the police report also supports the other party's failure to clear.
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:36 am Post Subject:
It seems the insurance company did not know about the lienholder as the agent never put it on the application
It's hard to believe that his his lein holder hasn't already slapped (very expensive) collision and comp on his vehicle.Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 01:58 pm Post Subject:
The insurance company just confirmed that the lienholder was never shown on the policy, since inception. I'm surprised the finance company didn't follow up either. Imho, the agent forgot to put them on the application, although he knows a finance company was involved. However, that's tough to prove.
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 02:05 pm Post Subject:
BUT, the lein holder (all i know of anyway) require a copy of that dec. page...
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 06:26 pm Post Subject:
Imho, the agent forgot to put them on the application, although he knows a finance company was involved. However, that's tough to prove.
I'm failing to see why it matters that the lien holder was not listed on the policy. Yes, I am sure the lien holder would care, but I don't see how it matters to this claim.
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 07:18 pm Post Subject:
Lienholder, after being notified collision was dropped, would've added collision on at an exorbitant rate etc. etc. Just a shot in the dark.
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:05 pm Post Subject:
That's my point...you might want to make sure that they didn't do this...although you would have to pay the premium (that they would've tacked on to the note), atleast there would be coverage for the loss
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