bad faith insurance

[yjunebug]

I live in So. Ca. and on march 5,2001 my car was parked on the street and totaled by a road rage taxi driver. It has been 2 months and days since the accident and have not received a settlement. I am trying to get my insurance company to let me rent a car but they wont allow it,also they have not even contacted the taxi drivers insurance company. i filed a first claim with them today 5/16/2000. what can i do to get a rental car until i get a settlement or what other recourse do i have can i sue my insurance company for bad faith practices? please help i am at my wits end.

 

[Janrm]

Did you say you had not filed a claim before today even though the accident was two months ago? Also, was a police report completed? Check out the question on this forum by Cindy. My response to her may help you.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I live in So. Ca. and on march 5,2001 my car was parked on the street and totaled by a road rage taxi driver. It has been 2 months and days since the accident and have not received a settlement. I am trying to get my insurance company to let me rent a car but they wont allow it,also they have not even contacted the taxi drivers insurance company. i filed a first claim with them today 5/16/2000. what can i do to get a rental car until i get a settlement or what other recourse do i have can i sue my insurance company for bad faith practices? please help i am at my wits end.

My response:

Unless you have "Rental Car Coverage" on the declaration page of your insurance; i.e., that you are paying for that coverage in your premium payments, you won't be entitled to a rental car from your own insurance company.

If you don't have such coverage, then you have no cause of action for Bad Faith. As a matter of fact, Statutory Insurance "Bad Faith" has been abolished in California.

Therefore, if you have such coverage, but your insurance refuses to pay for a Rental Car pursuant to your policy, then your only recourse is to file a Complaint form with the California Department of Insurance.

Good luck.

IAAL

 

[Janrm]

I agree with IAAL about the fact that you have to have rental coverage on your own policy if your ins. co. is paying the claim. You do not have to file the claim with your ins. co. In fact, I would have filed with the taxi co. instead. They are ultimately responsible and will eventually have to repay your ins. co. If you filed the claim with them you could pursue a rental car and may have gotten a settlement by now. If they had dragged their feet about paying you, you could have called your ins. co. to file a claim at that time and they would have pushed the taxi co. to settle so they would not have to get involved. You need a lawyer now.

 

[yjunebug]

i filed a claim 5/5 2001 and my insurance company didnot contact the road rage cab drivers insurance company. my car was parked on the street and was totaled. they still have not made a settlement with me. they told me on 3/11 that they were going to settle for 8100 for my totaled van and here it is over 2 months later and still no settlement
i have heard that state farm insurance is the worst for bad faith claims. i would think that because they have futzed around for 2 months and i have been carless that they should give me a rental till this is resolved. am i wrong?
thanks

[Edited by yjunebug on 05-17-2001 at 11:55 AM]