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California Insurance Defense Questions & Answers
2 Answers | Asked in Car Accidents and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: If I get into an accident while driving a company car while doing job duties will my personal insurance be affected?

I work for a self driving car company in the Bay Area and I got into an accident today where I was parking the company car during my shift and I accidentally backed up into a parked car. All collision procedures took place and I left a note on the car. There wasn’t much damage to either of the... View More

Dale S. Gribow
Dale S. Gribow
answered on Jun 13, 2021

Remember that insurance follows the car.....so the insurance for the car you were driving in, should control.

there is no law that you have to report the accident to your insurance co.

when it comes up for renewal, unless they ask, I would NOT volunteer the info.

if your ins...
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1 Answer | Asked in Insurance Bad Faith, Insurance Defense and Medical Malpractice for California on
Q: is there a whistleblower reward available for reporting insurance fraud in california?

a business is allowing a doctors office to “recruit” patients on its premises. one of the managers is receiving a referral bonus (cash) for every employee that goes and has any procedure (bonus is from the dr office not from the employer). on top of that the doctors office offering new... View More

William John Light
William John Light
answered on Apr 22, 2021

Insurance fraud is a crime, so contact the police. You can also contact the Medical Board, which licenses and disciplines physicians. dca.ca.gov/consumers/complaints/medbd.shtml

You can also retain an attorney to file your own lawsuit against the medical providers under the Insurance...
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3 Answers | Asked in Car Accidents, Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: Car insurance said that they will not be responsible to cover my at fault collision. Are they able to refuse?

They called me 4 days after I reported that I was in a collision and informing them that I was at fault. They said that they will cancel my policy and will not cover the accident because I did not report my 15 yr old brother as a household member and he was in the vehicle at the time of the... View More

Dale S. Gribow
Dale S. Gribow
answered on Mar 16, 2021

YOU NEED TO MAKE AN APPT WITH A LOCAL PI LAWYER TO DISCUSS THE MERITS OF A BAD FAITH ACTION AGAINST THEM. HAVE YOUR POLICY READY FOR THE LAWYER TO READ.

INS CO'S WILL LOOK FOR ANY REASON TO NOT PAY AND CLAIM YOU LIED OR DID NOT DISCLOSE ALL NECESSARY INFO REQUESTED.

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1 Answer | Asked in Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: Is a nursing home allowed to make changes to a residents insurance to meet the needs of the facility without consent?

A nursing home has made changes to my mom's insurance. My mom had Medicaid through the state of CA which was Health plan of San Joaquin. As of April 2020 , HPSJ was dropped and now she only has Straight Medicaid. I only found out after receiving bills from her Doctors telling me She owed for... View More

William John Light
William John Light
answered on Feb 8, 2021

Any answer to this question would require a lot more information: medical records of your mom's condition in April 2020, documents showing the Home's authority to act on your mom's behalf, documents from HPSJ showing how the change in service was accomplished, research showing... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Contracts, Car Accidents and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: can an auto dealer be held liable for reporting new car purchase to buyer's insurance?
Yelena Gurevich
Yelena Gurevich
answered on Dec 14, 2020

liable for what? why wouldn't the dealer report the purchase to insurance to protect their interest?

3 Answers | Asked in Car Accidents, Insurance Defense and Small Claims for California on
Q: Should I sue or threaten to sue a company that is dragging their feet in an accident related insurance claim?

To summarize - I am a CA resident. On a trip to Wisconsin, my rental car was hit (while parked and unoccupied) by a driver for Loomis Armored. The company admitted fault and said they would reimburse the rental car company. I do not have collision insurance or insurance with the rental car company.... View More

William John Light
William John Light
answered on Dec 1, 2020

Your credit card company may offer free rental car insurance as part of your cardholder benefits. Find out and make a claim if possible.

Why would Loomis pay the rental car company? The rental car company was already paid by you. If Loomis owes anyone, it's you.

You have a...
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2 Answers | Asked in Insurance Defense for California on
Q: I had a dui in a vehicle that I was financing last year but my insurance company has the wrong date of the accident.

What can I do. I still owe 15 grand on it

Maurice Mandel II
Maurice Mandel II
answered on Nov 3, 2020

Your question "What can I do?" is not very clear. Seems like you have already done enough, drove while under influence and got into an accident. Not clear what additional advice you want. Don't drink and drive, is one thing you can do for the future, but you already messed up the... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Civil Litigation, Contracts, Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: My dentist refuses to abide to the insurance in-network contract and has charged me more than the allowance for braces.

The insurance has already called them more than once to inform them that there is an allowance but still they are overcharging me. A financial agreement was signed and the dentists stated on the agreement that those were the allowed insurance and treatment charges but it was all a lie and fraud. My... View More

Maurice Mandel II
Maurice Mandel II
answered on Sep 28, 2020

You could file such a lawsuit, but IMO what you really have is a run of the mill breach of contract suit against the dentist. This really is not something to be excited about, and it is not going to go to the Supreme Court. You should write a calm and polite letter to the dentist with a copy of... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: Do I have to release personal text messages to my insurance company for a claim?
William John Light
William John Light
answered on Sep 12, 2020

You have a duty to cooperate in your claim. What that entails depends on the nature of the claim and what they are asking you to release. If this is an auto claim and they want to know if you were texting and driving, it would make sense for the insurer to ask about text messages. In that case,... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Insurance Defense for California on
Q: statue of limitations in California for auto insurance fraud
Maurice Mandel II
Maurice Mandel II
answered on Aug 6, 2020

The standard fraud SOL is three years.

Justia disclaimers below, incorporated herein.

5 Answers | Asked in Car Accidents, Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: I WAS IN A accident and their insurance is take full responibililty, do i let repair or take check and repair myself?

the insurance company gave me 2 opitions . take to their repair shop - get a rental , est and repair. only get rental if i take to their shop and get repaired there. 2nd opition is take my jeep to get est. - no rental and they issue me a check . that was all that was said please heplp

Louis George Fazzi
Louis George Fazzi
answered on Jul 28, 2020

Are you aware that you are asking this question of California attorneys? Most lawyers admitted to practice in the state of California may not be licensed to practice in Colorado, and consequently should not offer you advice based on California law.

Secondly, you did not indicate where the...
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3 Answers | Asked in Insurance Defense and Personal Injury for California on
Q: in need of a lawyer that can help me with my case involving auto insurance that has not taken my claim into account.

I was involved in a car accident that i was not at fault. However, my auto insurance has not taken responsibility of my claim. It has been a while and I've tried contacting them but thus far i haven't gotten a response. I want them to pay for my totaled car and my ignored injuries. They... View More

William John Light
William John Light
answered on Jul 13, 2020

You will have to call PI attorneys, or email them, directly. Attorneys are not allowed to contact you or solicit your business. If anyone responds to your post in this manner, run in the other direction. You do not want attorneys who break rules representing you.

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1 Answer | Asked in Health Care Law, Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: In the state of CA can you change a last name but not get officially married to avoid increased health insurance cost?
Kevin Christopher Murphy
Kevin Christopher Murphy
answered on Jun 30, 2020

Yes, you can change your name without getting married. However, you should consult with a Family Law attorney to get the best advice before making any decisions. Good luck!

6 Answers | Asked in Car Accidents, Insurance Defense and Personal Injury for California on
Q: I sold a vehicle on Craigslist, was negligent, & now I owe an insurance company 20k in damages?

I sold the vehicle, I had them sign their name and everything necessary on the pink slip, as well as my signature to release it, but forgot to remove and take the release of liability. The person has caused damages worth 20k yet I am liable. I have records of the conversation leading up to the... View More

Tyler Young
Tyler Young
answered on Jun 11, 2020

Although insurance follows a vehicle, the driver is typically the person who is "responsible" and will be the named defendant in any lawsuit. Said another way, unless there are independent allegations against you (like you sold a defective vehicle etc...) you shouldn't be a party to... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Car Accidents, DUI / DWI and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: If you get a dui at 17 with no license or insurance and get in a crash what will happen

could you go to court alone if you are turning 18 before the court date ?

Mr. Richard Orville Middlebrook
PREMIUM
Mr. Richard Orville Middlebrook
answered on May 22, 2020

There are so many variables in this it’s hard to answer. The case will be handled in the juvenile courts. There certainly will be some very stiff punishments and more so if someone was injured. There will a significant license suspension of at least a year. Likely to be charged with multiple... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Personal Injury, Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: does an insurance company have to defend the boat owner even though he is not listed as an insured on the policy?

The boat owner gave it to his son, who ended up getting insurance for the boat. The title for the boat was never changed.

William John Light
William John Light
answered on May 19, 2020

Potentially, since the title never changed. An attorney will need to review the policy and do a coverage analysis.

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1 Answer | Asked in Insurance Defense for California on
Q: Am I liable to neighbors insurance co. from fire in my condo?

I got a letter from my neighbors insurance co recently saying, basically, "You owe us $6543 for damage you caused to our policyholder." First, they know no details about the fire but say I caused the damages. It was caused by a soundbar in my bedroom that caught on fire with no warning... View More

Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
answered on Apr 4, 2020

Unfortunately, there is no "quick fix" type of response here that would address your issue. Handling the matter would likely require an investigation (since none was conducted) to assess the level of damages. Left to run its own course, one possibility is that the carrier could ultimately... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Insurance Defense for California on
Q: If my parents passed away and there was no wheel and they had insurance

If my parents passed away and there was no wheel and they had insurance And my older brother kept all the money and he was supposed to split it between all of his brothers and sisters But he didn’t do that if he kept it off I need to see what I can do about that

Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
answered on Dec 29, 2019

I hope that doesn't happen. It looks like you're asking about a will, and your question remains open for a while. You could try reposting in the Probate and Estate Planning sections. Hopefully, your question would have a better chance of being picked up by one of the attorneys there who... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Collections, Health Care Law, Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: I have been wrongfully charged twice for medical visits and it has caused me a world of trouble, what to do?

I have now been wrongfully charged by a medical department through county services claiming I did not have adequate insurance coverage at the time to cover the expenses incurred.

I have tried unsuccessfully, now this second time around, to explain to them that I did in fact have coverage... View More

William John Light
William John Light
answered on Nov 25, 2019

You may have claims for violations of the California Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. Contact an attorney to evaluate your potential claims.

1 Answer | Asked in Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for California on
Q: Insurance company revoked my contract after a small accident, what can i do? More details below.

I had a small car accident a few weeks after getting car insurance. When i did the claim my insurance decided to revoke my contract and cancel my policy. Therefore making it seem like i was uninsured. Me and the other driver agreed for me to pay half of her deductible ($250) to settle it. But now... View More

Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
answered on Nov 21, 2019

Without seeing your insurance company's correspondence, your application, accident documentation, one can only guess what is happening here. It might be that the other driver wanted to be nice and handle the matter as a first-party claim, after which her carrier's subrogation department... View More

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