B
Bill James
Guest
What is the name of your state?
Ohio
While driving a rented truck, I hit a parked vehicle on the rental company's private parking lot, breaking the taillight and perhaps marring one or two body panels of the vehicle I struck. I believed the insurance coverage I purchased from the renter at the time I rented the truck would take care of the matter, but when I received a letter from the insurance company of the owner of the car I hit, I found out I may be liable after all. The letter said: "We have received a claim [from the renter's insurance company] for the loss [to the vehicle I struck]. If you carried auto insurance at the time of the accident, your insurance would be Primary and will handle this for you. Please fill in the...information below...[including] Insurance Company...." I called the insurance company that sent the letter and asked if they could explain why they sent it, when the rental company's insurer should have paid the claim. That company rep's answer was vague, so without identifying myself, I then called and spoke with the rental firm's insurance company. I asked them if there were any reason why they might not ordinarily cover a minor accident such as the one I was involved in, if I had purchased the insurance at the time I rented, and why they would submit a claim to the company insuring the owner of the vehicle that I struck. I did not give them the specifics of the accident so they could answer only in generalities, but they said that under the circumstances I related to them, they cover damages to claimants' vehicles up to the limit required in Ohio, which is a high enough limit to cover damages such as those this claimant's company wants to seek through my own auto insurance company; they also said they had no idea why they themselves might have submitted the claim referred to in the letter I received, unless the claimant is somehow liable. Is it possible the claimant's company is trying to satisfy him by seeking damages or payment through me because the claimant refused to accept the estimate agreeable to the rental firm's insurance company? If so, might that explain why they have decided to go through my company or me for the money? My own auto policy is $1,000 deductible and the amount of the claim is $843.79, so my policy will not cover the damages sought by the claimant's insurer, and I'm concerned that ultimately I'll have to pay that amount. What might be a wise course to follow to avoid paying? Thank you for any comments.
Ohio
While driving a rented truck, I hit a parked vehicle on the rental company's private parking lot, breaking the taillight and perhaps marring one or two body panels of the vehicle I struck. I believed the insurance coverage I purchased from the renter at the time I rented the truck would take care of the matter, but when I received a letter from the insurance company of the owner of the car I hit, I found out I may be liable after all. The letter said: "We have received a claim [from the renter's insurance company] for the loss [to the vehicle I struck]. If you carried auto insurance at the time of the accident, your insurance would be Primary and will handle this for you. Please fill in the...information below...[including] Insurance Company...." I called the insurance company that sent the letter and asked if they could explain why they sent it, when the rental company's insurer should have paid the claim. That company rep's answer was vague, so without identifying myself, I then called and spoke with the rental firm's insurance company. I asked them if there were any reason why they might not ordinarily cover a minor accident such as the one I was involved in, if I had purchased the insurance at the time I rented, and why they would submit a claim to the company insuring the owner of the vehicle that I struck. I did not give them the specifics of the accident so they could answer only in generalities, but they said that under the circumstances I related to them, they cover damages to claimants' vehicles up to the limit required in Ohio, which is a high enough limit to cover damages such as those this claimant's company wants to seek through my own auto insurance company; they also said they had no idea why they themselves might have submitted the claim referred to in the letter I received, unless the claimant is somehow liable. Is it possible the claimant's company is trying to satisfy him by seeking damages or payment through me because the claimant refused to accept the estimate agreeable to the rental firm's insurance company? If so, might that explain why they have decided to go through my company or me for the money? My own auto policy is $1,000 deductible and the amount of the claim is $843.79, so my policy will not cover the damages sought by the claimant's insurer, and I'm concerned that ultimately I'll have to pay that amount. What might be a wise course to follow to avoid paying? Thank you for any comments.