by lgalante » Tue Jan 25, 2011 01:05 am
A driver hit my legally parked car in PA. The driver is uninsured but the owner of the car is insured. The owner's insurance company is denying the claim stating that the car was rented by the owner to the driver. Who is responsible for the damage to my car?
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 01:28 am Post Subject:
typically the owner. regardless if he has insurance coverage or if he has gaps that make him uninsured, the owner of the vehicle is responsible. is it a rental car company or individual renting out his vehicle for cash? most personal auto policies exclude coverage for business use...if it's an individual renting out his car, the insurance company could deny, but the owner is still responsible. I would check the laws in your state to confirm. Call the PA dept of insurance and ask them. You may find yourself in small claims court to get satisfaction. Do you have uninsured motorist coverage? File a claim w/ your carrier and let them collect from the guy.
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 02:20 am Post Subject:
Has the owners insurance company sent you a written denial? If not, then the claim has not been denied. Depending on the type of policy, the owners policy could be worded in such a way they they would deny coverage unless a listed driver is operating the vehicle but they is extremely rare. Normally a policy would consider any permissive user an insured. Even if it did not, it would probably still provide coverage to the owner... and in PA, the owner is responsible for the use of the vehicle. So the owner is "legally liable". Usually the policy states it will pay when an "insured" (owner) is "legally liable.
The other carrier may not want to cover the loss due to the "rental" (business) of the vehicle. Typically a policy will exclude coverage for "livery" but that does not seem to be the case here. But it may simply exclude coverage if the vehicle is being used in a business, which in this case it was. An insurance company is not going to collect a premium on one person... only to insure the vehicle being rented out to any and everyone. There is a slightly different risk involved there.
Do you have collision coverage? If you do, file under your own policy and have them seek recovery. If not, you may need to collect (file suit perhaps) against the owner _and_ driver.
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 09:36 am Post Subject:
It is always the at-fault party's responsibility to pay for the damage they cause in an accident. Insurance is a transfer of risk from the driver to the insurance company.
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:47 am Post Subject:
Depending on the type of policy, the owners policy could be worded in such a way they they would deny coverage unless a listed driver is operating the vehicle but they is extremely rare. Normally a policy would consider any permissive user an insured.
That's why I guess it becomes so important for us to go through the policy paperwork when they get mailed to us following a sign-up. It's true that the permissive user is covered on most occasions.
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 02:05 pm Post Subject:
You should assert your claim against the car owner. His renting of his car to another guy should mean that he knows the risks involved for doing so.
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 02:07 pm Post Subject:
You should assert your claim against the car owner. His renting of his car to another guy should mean that he knows the risks involved for doing so.
Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 07:11 pm Post Subject:
who's name is on the title? that's the owner, regardless of insurance coverage, he is responsible. if his insurance denies coverage (for what ever reason), either your uninsured motorist coverage would pay or you will have to sue him in small claims court to recover your losses.
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