Lawrenceville, GA asked in Car Accidents and Insurance Defense for Georgia

Q: My daughter was hit by another driver while in a rental through my car insurance. Now rental company billing me

The police officer failed to do her due diligence on report and lost information that was valid to report and was calling my daughter harassing her about information she (officer) needed. The rental company stated that they would have someone call me so that I could show them the pictures of the accident, as well as allow them to speak to my daughter, as I was not the one driving. Now insurance company is sending me a bill claiming I am responsible with no investigation whatsoever. If you have any assistance you can offer me, please do. Thank you kindly in advance for your help.

1 Lawyer Answer
Zachary Taylor Beck
Zachary Taylor Beck
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Rome, GA
  • Licensed in Georgia

A: Look to your liability insurance policy/contract. Your insurer may have denied coverage because your liability policy does not cover your daughter driving a rental car. This could be for many reasons: daughter is an excluded driver under your policy, your policy does not cover rental cars driven by your daughter, etc. Usually when you make a claim with your insurance company they will investigate and send you a letter whether they have denied coverage or not, and why.

If your daughter was not at fault, then the rental company should make a property damage claim against the at fault driver's liability insurer. Of course, it is normal for rental companies to make property claims against the rental driver's insurance and the other driver's insurance because the rental companies do not likely know who was at fault at such an early stage. However, your situation may merely be that the rental company is notifying your insurance company and you, the insured, personally to make sure there will not be any notice defense(s) raised if their claim proceeds to litigation. Call your liability insurance agent or the claims adjuster assigned to your claim.

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