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.
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.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.