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

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

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.