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Jimmy Said:

my car was hit last april and was totalled...my insurance company did not cover it...?

We Answered:

Two aspects of insurance policies come into play here. First is the part called uninsured/underinsured clauses. These cover the loses caused by unisured/underinsured drivers when they damage your car. More important, though is the second aspect: most policies will not cover a vehicle that is hit by another car while parked at home. Read your policy - you will be shocked by some of the exclusions.

Jack Said:

If a car has been declared totalled by an insurance company, yet still drivable with option of buy back...???

We Answered:

Well, all I can tell you is what happened to me. Some years ago, a van backed into the front quarter of my old pick-up. My truck was 15 years old. The guy's insurance company said my truck was a total, as it wasn't worth fixing. They only wanted to give me $500, even though it couldn't have been replaced for under $1000.

After going round and round with these folks, they finally agreed to give me the $500 and let me keep the truck. I never took the truck off the policy. I pounded out the fender and pulled the frame straight with a come-a-long.

Since there was no unusual wear on the front tires, I drove the truck for another 18 months. I did switch to a new insurance company when my policy with the old company expired, as they gave me no help in getting a fair settlement. I sold the truck for $500 about a year later.

Since the truck never left my ownership, it was not re-titled as salvage, so I needed no certification.

Good Luck

xx

Sally Said:

My parked car was hit by a drunk driver which completely ruined it, is there anything I can do?

We Answered:

buy a bicycle and Sue the hell outta of the lush

Daisy Said:

Lady friend totaled my car... How will my insurance go about covering things?

We Answered:

Since she was intoxicated, and injured on the scene the police may have forgone on site testing and left it up to the hospital. If the hospital reports that she was intoxicated at admission she may well later receive a DUI and it would likely be reported. If it is, expect your insurance company to pay the claim, but later cancel your policy. You don't say which company you use, but many "cheap" insurance companies will cover only those people named on the policy for the full purchased coverage, and otherwise will provide only state required coverages. So, if you were in Indiana and carrying 100/300/100 and your friend had an accident, the company would only pay a maximum of 25/50/10. I don't know what the required limits are for Florida. Check with your agent/company to find out exactly what your policy is going to cover.

You don't need to worry most likely, they will most likely cover the damages, but even if the intoxication isn't reported you can expect your rates to go through the roof since you have a $10,000+ claim on your record now (I'm assuming since you say your car is valued at $8k and totaled plus $2k for the other car) - your current company may even drop you.

Isaac Said:

Insurance and PIP/Uninsured Motorist Washington Legal Advice?

We Answered:

OK, the absolute FIRST place you should go for state specific insurance advice, is YOUR AGENT, who's licensed in your state, and knows how it works, in your state.

PIP coverage, covers medical bills and lost wages. Uninsured motorist, covers those, plus pain & suffering.

Does she have any HEALTH insurance? If he HAS PIP, but no uninsured motorist, PIP should still apply. Maybe he deleted PIP AND Uninsured motorist, in which case, there's flat out no coverage under this auto insurance, she's on her own, unless she has health insurance. But if he HAS PIP, it shouldn't matter who was at fault in the accident. Dad needs to talk to dad's agent. Maybe he's misunderstanding something. Or maybe WA is really, really weird in that way, but I doubt it.

Many, many people cancel uninsured motorist with new cars. They think, "oh, insurance is required in my state, so everyone's going to have insurance," or "oh, I'm not going to get in an accident, and if I do, I have health insurance (or pip coverage)." There's no such thing as "full coverage". And it's very common for people with new cars to NOT carry any coverages they aren't REQUIRED to carry - and in WA, you are NOT required to carry pip or uninsured motorist coverage.

Dad has no case against his policy regarding the uninsured motorist, heck, he SIGNED the form, DELETING coverage. He needs to put his money where is mouth is, and add that coverage back on, effective today, so NEXT time, the same thing doesn't happen again. The reason why you can't get a lawyer to take this on a no win, no fee basis, is because there's no case against dad's insurance, and the other guy probably doesn't have any money, either. Even if you win, no one is going to actually see any MONEY.