Can an insurance company deny a claim after totaling a vehicle and taking it?
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Can an insurance company deny a claim after totaling a vehicle and taking it?
My fiance borrowed my vehicle and had an accident. The accident was her fault but she was a licensed driver. The insurance company adjuster came out and totaled the vehicle and the insurance
company had the car picked up. Almost 6 months later they denied my claim.
Asked on April 18, 2018 under Insurance Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
They can, if they discover that there was some reason that your policy was not in fact in effect at the time (e.g. you had not paid your premiums); or that you had committed fraud (which can be used to void coverage), whether on the initial application, in not reporting to them a driver (your fiance) who should have been covered under the policy, or in lying about the circumstances of the accident. In the first case, if you did not have coverage at the time, they clearly do not have to pay you as if you had coverage; and in the second case, as stated, fraud--or lying about something material, or important--provides a basis to void contracts, and an insurance policy is a contract.
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