What can I do if my insurance company says that my son is not covered under my policy and he was in a car accident?
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What can I do if my insurance company says that my son is not covered under my policy and he was in a car accident?
My son graduated from high school last year and left my home to stay with his sister hoping to attend school near her. Once in a while, I let him borrow my car to run an errand. One day and he was hit from behind at a stop sign. The other driver did not have insurance so my insurance company stated that they would not pay for the damages because my son was not on my insurance. I explained what I stated above and they are now doing an investigation which doesnt look good. The storage fees are enormous and growing, and the car was worth about $3000. What are my options? Who pays for this?
Asked on January 13, 2016 under Accident Law, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
1) If you believe that the insurer should pay you under the terms of your policy--that your son was just an occasional borrower of your car, and not an uncovered regular driver--you could sue the insurer for breach of contract (an insurance policy is a contract) to force them to honor their obligations. To win, you'd have to prove in court that under the facts of the case, as applied to the policy, they should pay.
2) You could also sue the at-fault driver: not having insurance doesn't mean they might not have to pay, it just means they don't have insurance to pay for them. Of course, if they don't have money or assets, they can't pay--even if a court orders them to pay, if there's no money, there is no money.
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