Comments on: Auto Insurance Claims

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:37:06 +0000

Toni S,
The situation you provided was that both cars were uninsured at the time of the accident.

The insurance company seems to have been acting in good faith based on assumed coverage to have the truck sent to the action/salvage yard and then after further review determined that coverage did not exist on the truck at the time of the accident. Their towing fees and storage fees may be legitimate.

Now, can the insurance company suspend your drivers license because you did not pay them? Texas is a state that allows the DMV to suspend a drivers license if a vehicle is not insured or if you don’t have proof of insurance. The likely arrangement your insurance company has with the DMV is to submit reports of lapsed and canceled insurance to the DMV on a periodic basis.

Whether or not you pay the $300 to the insurance company does not appear related to their obligation to submit your lapsed insurance to the DMV. Since 6 months time has elapsed since the accident, the information about your insurance and the truck may not be timely for the DMV to act upon.

The insurance company can ask you to pay this because it is related to their expenses related to your vehicle. Since you relinquished the truck to the finance company, it may be the finance company’s expense but that is merely speculation.

The insurance company can attempt to get your husband’s license suspended but it is not certain they will be successful since 6 months has passed. However, I don’t know if the $300 is worth the risk of them being successful.

(Perhaps others can provide more information because this involves the DMV, legal issues, and practices of insurance company’s specific to Texas.)

By: Toni S

Toni S — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:33:57 +0000

My husband was hit by an uninsured driver that ran a red light back in feb. apparently because our insurance companies records had not been updated, our payment had not been posted to our account yet so they denied our claim. (payment posted 10 mins after police report time of incident). our truck was deemed totalled and the insurance co told us our options. we told them we wanted to voluntarily relinquish the truck to the finance co., we also notified the finance co of this AND the auction/salvage yard where the ins. co. sent the truck. now SEVERAL months later we are being contacted by OUR ins. co. stating that they had to pay $300.00 in storage fees to the auction/storage place and if we do not pay them back with in 15 days that they will suspend my husbands drivers lic. we live in texas…is this legal? can they charge us for this?

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:19:11 +0000

Gap insurance is there to cover any “gap” in the value of the vehicle and what is owed for it. It only seems reasonable that the SUV is worth less now than when he purchased it because vehicles generally depreciate over time. The gap insurance is there to pay the difference between a vehicle’s value and the loan amount. From what you’ve indicated, the situation appears to be exactly what it should be.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:13:26 +0000

Teresa,
That is pretty much what the insurance company owes you. Perhaps you can work out an arrangement with the body shop so they can locate a used (and faded) fender flare for exchange for the new one that was placed on your jeep. Of course, both the new one and the old one will be used and there will be a cost for the used fender well and the labor to swap it. Good luck.

By: Patty

Patty — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:19:22 +0000

My son hit a deer while driving 2004 SUV that was in my name with a $10,000 loan balance and 117,000 miles on it. He thought he had insurance on it as the dealer said he was covered when he left the lot. I never received a request from Wells Fargo for proof of insurance. He’s had the car for over 2 yrs. He did have ‘gap’ insurance, but they are stating that the car is worth $700 less than when I purchased it. Do I have any recourse ?

By: Teresa

Teresa — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:14:22 +0000

Hello, my neighbor backed into my car and damaged my driver side fender. I have a jeep that has fender flares (made of plastic) on it. The insurance company put a new fender on, however it does not match the other three. The new one is black and the others are gray due to sun fading. This is blatantly obvious and even the guys at the shop said it looked really bad. I was looking at trading in my jeep for a new car and am pretty certain this will affect the value. I feel that the insurance company should be responsible for ensuring that my car essentially be in the same condition as before it was hit (ie all fenders matching), however they said are only responsible for replacing a damaged part although it does not match the other three on the vehicle. I am a grad student and can’t afford the $580 it was estimated to fix the other fenders so that they match. Is there anything I can do (besides complaining to people on the phone who don’t seem to care)? Thanks for your help.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:17:54 +0000

I agree with admin that we are here to help people with our experience and knowledge that can be valuable to some that don’t have the experience or knowledge concerning insurance and claim help. I am here to provide information to those that have questions about insurance, claims, and who need a little guidance. I am not posting on this forum to inform people about my AIC, ARM, AIS, how many parts of CPCU completed, finance degree, Masters, or in which area of the insurance industry I may or may not practice. I won’t confirm my education or experience but hope my information helps people who need it because I personally believe my input is reliable and timely.

In summary, thanks to everybody for your comments.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:33:09 +0000

To all commentators,

We are all trying to help our visitors here to the best of our knowledge, right or wrong. We don’t need to berate each other. We should be on constant guard to protect this website from flame wars …

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:47:35 +0000

Iren

I have never in my entire life heard of a liability insurance carrier limiting the amount of its payment to below policy limits. Unless you live in a state where the minimum liability limits are $5k and you bought those limits? If the answer to that question is yes then YOU are SCREWED!

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:39:25 +0000

Jillian,

I disagree and agree with Jason’s opinion. I only agree with Jason under these circumstances: If the cousin of the insured is a resident of the insured’s household and if the insured stated that all licensed drivers in the household have been listed on the policy then you are SCREWED.

I am not going to go into a 30 minute typing explanation cause I am not earning $$$.

If a family member, friend or complete stranger is visiting my home and I loan my family member my car and they get into an accident then VICARIOUS LIABILITY occurs and the victim will be compensated.

GOOGLE Vicarious Liability.

Unlike Jason, I have my Associate In Claims designation from the Insurance Institute of America and I have sold insurance for 15 years as well as having been an underwriter and adjuster.