Salem, OR asked in Consumer Law, Insurance Bad Faith and Insurance Defense for Oregon

Q: Farmers insurance allowed someone to call n cancel my auto insurance without my permission. Do I have legal recourse?

I was at a car dealer 50+ miles from home to buy a car when I found out it was canceled. I drve not know I was uninsured. I was at risk legally n physically had I had an accident. They said someone called n canceled it but it wasn't me. They had the phone number. Not mine or my wife's.

1 Lawyer Answer

A: An Oregon attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for a week. Depending on how defined by the consumer laws of your state, your situation could be a privacy breach - a local attorney should advise on available remedies there. But from a practical standpoint, the standard for compensatory damages is generally "actual damages" suffered, not damages that "might have been" in the event of an accident. The more important issue might be how someone managed to make changes to your policy - either they might have your personal information, or there could be a need for greater safeguards. Carriers will generally request callers to verify their policy no., date of birth, or social security information, etc. - it could be worth looking into what happened here for future security. Good luck

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