Aren’t I Eligible For An Injury Claim If My Vehicle Is Covered By The Driver Who Hit Me Insurance Co.?
It was the other driver’s fault. Her insurance co. assumed %100 liability. Her ins. co. said since I didn’t have proof of ins. at the time of the accident that I cannot file an injury claim. Yet they are paying me $5,400 for my motorcycle repairs.
May 10th, 2010 at 1:25 am
Ignore the first answer.
Now, since it’s highly unlikely this is just for “not having proof of insurance”, ie, not having your card on you, I’m assuming you’re uninsured.
I’m guessing one of two things is happening here, and liability has nothing to do with it:
1) Your state forbids uninsured drivers from being eligible for injury claims, as a penalty for being uninsured
- or -
2) Your injuries are only soft tissue/road rash type injuries that will resolve in time, and are not permanent, disfiguring, and/or severe. In most states that have a tort law (meaning, in a nutshell, you pay extra on your insurance policy for the right to sue for injuries), an uninsured driver automatically gets classified as the LOWEST/cheapest/most restrictive sort of option, because you weren’t paying into the system. Again, this is a penalty for being uninsured. If that’s the case, they again only owe you the bike damages.
Ask for a denial letter from the insurance company with regard to your injury claim – they’ll spell out the reason why they won’t pay, and then you’re welcome to check it out with your state’s Insurance Department to see if their denial is legit.
Good luck.
May 10th, 2010 at 3:13 am
Ok, well the company isnt just lying to you for the fun of it so your question should be “why isit denied” not “should it be denied”. You must live in a state where you cannot make an injury claim unless you have insurance of your own. Which i think is completely fair. What if you had caused the accident? The other person would not have been able to collect anything.. why should you? I hope you learned a lesson here…
May 10th, 2010 at 3:26 am
Knowing where the accident happened might help. If you are in the U.S. I have handled claims in many states and have never heard of denying a liability claim to somebody who was uninsured. The adjuster may be stupid or lying. Either way you need to request a “denial” letter from them explaining what law or court case they are basing this decision on.
Once that is received, I would suggest that you then contact your State Insurance Commissioners Office or an attorney to either confirm what the company told you or to tell you that the company is wrong.
If you have a legit claim don’t give up. Their position sounds absurd.
May 10th, 2010 at 9:22 am
If they assume liability, they are trying to play you into not filing a claim.. By claiming responsibility, they would HAVE to pay on the medical (which is an undetermined amount) Your insurance doesnt matter when they have already assumed responsibility. If you file it anyway, and they dont respond (keep records), or if they prevent you from filing (get names, this is prob illegal) then you can fall back to your ins. (assuming all you were missing was proof) and file it, they will get it from the other. If you didnt have any (and its required) you may just have to file for it in small claims….
May 10th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Depends on your state…some states prohibit you from recovering for bodily injury if you are driving without valid insurance.
May 10th, 2010 at 11:15 am
You should be able to claim for your injuries but many states have past laws that you cannot collect any “pain and suffering” if you were uninsured at time of loss.