Raleigh, NC asked in Insurance Bad Faith for North Carolina

Q: Would it be a good idea to get a lawyer involved?

I have an insurance claim through the person that hit my car while it was parked in a parking lot. The insurance company paid for a rental car but is only giving me the rental car for 4 days and then want it returned. My car is currently not drive able, and the local shops around my car are booked out until January for them to work on my car. The insurance company says that they will not provide me a car until then. So i would be without a car unless i were to pay for a rental car out of pocket. I was able to find a body shop/ mechanic shop that could get me in quick but it was 100+ miles from where it is parked right now. Which they will not pay for it to be towed more than 50 miles. The only way they would extend my rental car would be if my car was actively getting repaired, which is not currently possible with the shops in the area.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
Answered
  • Insurance Claims Lawyer
  • Little Neck, NY

A: A North Carolina attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for a while. In most jurisdictions, the answer would be no, unless that same lawyer happens to be handling your bodily injury case. Insurance carriers generally allow rentals until their property damage adjustor submits their final report, or the repairs are completed, or certain milestones in between, depending on the carrier's practices. Unless liability is a contentious issue, there usually isn't too much to argue about in terms of rental allowance. You could check with a local attorney to get another opinion on how they see things. Good luck

Tim Akpinar

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