by lgalante » Wed Jan 26, 2011 02:55 am
I am the owner of a car in the state of PA. The car is legally parked on the street and unoccupied. At 6:00 AM, another car wrecks into my car. The police are on the scene and submit an accident report basically staing what I just said. The driver of the car is uninsured, but he does not own the car. The owner of the car is insured but she states that she sold the car to the driver back in November. Both parties, the driver and the owner are saying that money has changed hands, however the transaction was never finalized. The owner still has the car in her name and still carries insurance on the car. The insurance company is telling me that because both parties claim that money has changed hands, they are interperating that as a rental condition and denying my claim for money owed me to get my car fixed. Is it within the insurance companies rights to deny paying me if the owner still has a valid and up to date policy on that vehicle?
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 04:01 am Post Subject:
they are interperating that as a rental condition
Gotta love that one! It's _really_ a stretch.Have they sent you a written denial? If not, it's not been denied.
Is it within the insurance companies rights to deny paying me if the owner still has a valid and up to date policy on that vehicle?
They can deny your claim because it's Tuesday... even if it's not Tuesday. They are denying your claim because they are not providing their insured coverage. You will need to seek payment from the driver and owner. If the driver needs to go to court over a citation you should go as well and ask the judge to attach restitution to this person's sentence. You will probably need to file suit against the driver and owner. This will get you a judgement which means that the other person legally owes you money and you can then pursue that money legally.The flip side is that I think the other owner has a pretty good Bad Faith claim against his own carrier. I don't know the details but I don't think the intent was to "rent" the vehicle. I think the person was making payments to buy it... albeit, incorrectly. The other owner is going to make a terrible witness for his insurance company... as he'd want the claim paid. So he probably won't have a problem testifying that he never intended to rent the vehicle and this is not what he was doing. Right now it's his carrier that is twisting the situation in their favor. But put this in court and I think that they would probably loose. The problem is that you'd need to push it there. You might want to ask an attorney if he/she would consider taking the other person's case in a Bad Faith claim against his own company. I have be handling a lot of claims in PA and there is no shortage of attorneys that will take a client as long as they have a heart beat.
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 07:04 am Post Subject:
Before you get an attorney involved, you might want to file a complaint with the PA Dept of Insurance alleging unfair claims practices.
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 05:45 am Post Subject: Auto insurance
My auto INS. Premium came due but I never received the notice and this would have been the first time up for renewal. I got the car 6 months ago. My INS expired 12-08-10. On 1-02-11 my car caught fire and burned up as it was parked in front of my home. They will not pay the claim. With my other car they have always called and I gave them my debit card to pay over the phone. If I was notified in any way it would have been paid as usual. This is so wrong, I feel. Do I have any rights?
Ed
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 05:48 am Post Subject:
Do I have any rights?
Sure. But you don't have a leg to stand on in this case. Your insurance company is under no obligation to follow up with you several times to make sure your bill is paid. I have no doubt that they notified you at least once that you needed to renew the policy. In that you forgot is no ones fault but your own.Also, see my sig.
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 06:04 am Post Subject: Auto claim
6 months ago I bought the new car and moved to a new address and I absolutely did not get any renewal notice as well as other mail one of which is my social security check due to come around the first of Jan. 2011 I am now waiting on the 2nd replacement check. The third time in the 6 months at new address.
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 04:32 pm Post Subject:
Monner6, did you not pay your car payment and other bills either? did lost in the mail work with them? sorry for your loss, it's an expensive lesson for you, but unfortunatley not much you can do, if the policy was not in force at the time of loss, no coverage. please start a new thread since you have a new question. thanks
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 07:57 am Post Subject:
6 months ago I bought the new car and moved to a new address
No one has asked, and you have not said, WHETHER YOU NOTIFIED THE INSURANCE COMPANY OF YOUR CHANGE OF ADDRESS.
Your contract has a provision that requires you to notify the insurance company of any change in address, for two reasons: (1) they need to know how to contact you and (2) your premium is based in part on where you live, and if you move to a higher risk area, they are entitled to charge you a higher premium.
Renewal of your insurance is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY not the insurance company's. When it comes to mailing renewal notices, the ONLY responsibility the insurance company has is to mail the notice to the address of record they have for you. If you move, and the mail is not properly forwarded, that is NOT their problem, it is YOURS.
And in this case, you discovered just how true that is.
tcope's response is 100% accurate. You have no defensible position. The insurance company is 100% within its rights to deny your claim. Your coverage ended on the expiration date you stated. If you knew your insurance was expired, it was up to YOU to contact them to arrange payment.
You obviously have Internet access. As far as I know, all insurance companies now have Internet-based methods of paying premiums so that you don't even have to call and talk to someone. You could have handled your policy renewal in about 5 minutes.
Sorry if you are not getting the kind of "sympathy" or other answers you think you are entitled to. So far, several experienced individuals have all given you correct information. As has your insurance company.
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