What to do about a vehicle that was being towed and got wrecked?
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What to do about a vehicle that was being towed and got wrecked?
A vehicle was purchased but only had liability insurance on it because we had no intention of keeping the vehicle. It was being sold. The vehicle was never titled/tagged in our name. In towing this vehicle home with our truck (that has full coverage insurance on it), the vehicle was wrecked and it and the trailer it was on had to be towed. Our full coverage truck didn’t have to be towed. Our insurer is saying they don’t have to pay for anything, other than the damage on the full coverage vehicle. Is this right? Is there anything we can do since we had 30 days to put any insurance coverage on the new vehicle and we were within that timeframe at the time of the accident?
Asked on November 14, 2014 under Insurance Law, Virginia
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
There are a ton of issues here that you need to speak with a lawyer in person about. First, was it a new purchase and were you waiting for title or registration? Generally you can not insure what is not yours. That may be a reason for the disclaimer of coverage. What you need to do is ask a lawyer about reviewing the policies involved and seeing if a provision would have covered the toed vehicle and then send a letter threatening "declaratory judgement" on the coverage issue. Good luck.
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