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Hit and Run in Texas

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E

estephen

Guest
I am checking to see if I have any sort of ground here. I was involved
in an accident on a motorcycle. I was on a two-lane road and was about
to enter a left had curve in the road. A truck coming the opposite way
was going too fast for the turn (right hander for him) and he cam all
the way into my lane. I ended up off the road (not upright of course).
The bike suffered major damage and I suffered minor scrapes and bruises.
The truck never stopped. My insurance company (who I have
uninsured/underinsured coverage with) tells me that since there was no
contact, that I cannot collect on my policy. I had a witness to the
accident, and I filed a police report. My friend had a similar accident
where the other motorist did not stop, but he had witnesses on the
police report. His insurance had to cover it even though there was no
contact made. Is this the law or did he just have a good insurance
company.
 


I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
estephen said:
I am checking to see if I have any sort of ground here. I was involved
in an accident on a motorcycle. I was on a two-lane road and was about
to enter a left had curve in the road. A truck coming the opposite way
was going too fast for the turn (right hander for him) and he cam all
the way into my lane. I ended up off the road (not upright of course).
The bike suffered major damage and I suffered minor scrapes and bruises.
The truck never stopped. My insurance company (who I have
uninsured/underinsured coverage with) tells me that since there was no
contact, that I cannot collect on my policy. I had a witness to the
accident, and I filed a police report. My friend had a similar accident
where the other motorist did not stop, but he had witnesses on the
police report. His insurance had to cover it even though there was no
contact made. Is this the law or did he just have a good insurance
company.
My response:

I can't give you an answer about your friend's accident and a comparison of that accident with yours. What may seem similar to you may, in fact, be quite different under the law - - and the investigation that occurred later.

However, the law concerning U.M. accidents, in general, and with your accident in particular, is that there must be some sort of "contact" for coverage to take place - - a dent, a paint scraping, something.

But, without some sort of physical contact, there's no proof of distance between vehicles or other factors to cause such an accident. It could be argued, that you panicked and caused your own accident.

These rules, and their attendant laws, are there and created to reduce fraudulent claims. Let's look at your potential claim from the point of view of the insurance company for just a moment . . .

Let's say you damaged your bike on your own, and you don't have the money to pay for it. Then, you come up with the idea of inventing an accident where you're cut off by a "phantom truck". You think it's a good claim, and it's a way to get your bike fixed.

But, to the insurance company, a claim like yours is potentially fraudulent because lots of people, years ago, used to make claims like yours in order to have their vehicles fixed.

Then, the State legislatures got complaints from insurance companies, hearings were held, and new laws were passed. Those laws, among others, require that some sort of contact between an insured vehicle occurs with a phantom vehicle. Then, and only then, can an Uninsured Motorist claim be made and paid, because there was "proof of contact".

Now, I am not suggesting at all that you are making a fraudulent claim. What I am saying is that some sort of "safeguards" against fraudulent claims had to be made because insurance companies need some sort of proof that a covered accident should be paid.

IAAL
 

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