Can auto insurance company sue the policyholder, or hold the policyholder accountable?

[mulkeydw]

I was the driver in an accident in which alcohol may have been a factor (hit a tree). Passengers in my car are going after my insurance company for reimbursement of medical bills and pain & suffering. Since alcohol may have been a factor, is it possible that the insurance company would pay out to the victims but then come back after me (the policyholder)?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state?

 

[mulkeydw]

Missouri

 

[Taxing Matters]

I was the driver in an accident in which alcohol may have been a factor (hit a tree). Passengers in my car are going after my insurance company for reimbursement of medical bills and pain & suffering. Since alcohol may have been a factor, is it possible that the insurance company would pay out to the victims but then come back after me (the policyholder)?

Either your insurance covers the accident or it doesn't. If it does and it pays out damages then you won't be liable for the damages paid, either to the injured parties or your insurance company. That is why you buy insurance. If your passengers have damages greater than your policy limits then your passengers may still sue you for those excess damages, of course.

But while your insurance company would not come after you for the damages it paid, you can expect that either the insurance company will jack up your rates significantly or simply cancel your coverage as a result of the accident.

 

[quincy]

I was the driver in an accident in which alcohol may have been a factor (hit a tree). Passengers in my car are going after my insurance company for reimbursement of medical bills and pain & suffering. Since alcohol may have been a factor, is it possible that the insurance company would pay out to the victims but then come back after me (the policyholder)?

You might want to worry about criminal charges being filed against you if alcohol might have been a factor in the accident. You probably should start looking for a criminal defense attorney.

 

[Litigator22]

I was the driver in an accident in which alcohol may have been a factor (hit a tree). Passengers in my car are going after my insurance company for reimbursement of medical bills and pain & suffering. Since alcohol may have been a factor, is it possible that the insurance company would pay out to the victims but then come back after me (the policyholder)?

No, you cannot be held responsible to pay your liability carrier for any amounts it pays paid third party claimants such as your "passengers". As TM has correctly stated obtaining such coverage is for the very purpose of avoiding or lessening personal liability.

However, this doesn't mean that you cannot be held personally accountable to your passengers should their claims for compensation be proven to exceed the limits of your policy. That possibility seem more likely due to there being multiple third party claimants. A condition that suggests that you may end up on the wrong end of a lawsuit.

In this regard there is an element here that you may wish to be aware of and that has to do with a principle of tort law known as "assumption of risk". Assumption of risk is a defense affecting a claimant's cause of action against a negligent tortfeasor where it can been shown that the claimant knowingly and voluntarily subjected himself to a perilous activity or condition commonly known to have the probability of resulting in the injuries and loss complained of.

Of course pleading such a defense comes with its own risks. (If not a Joseph Heller"s Catch-22, then close.)

 

[adjusterjack]

In this regard there is an element here that you may wish to be aware of and that has to do with a principle of tort law known as "assumption of risk". Assumption of risk is a defense affecting a claimant's cause of action against a negligent tortfeasor where it can been shown that the claimant knowingly and voluntarily subjected himself to a perilous activity or condition commonly known to have the probability of resulting in the injuries and loss complained of.

English translation:

If you and your passengers went out and all got drunk together and they got back in the car with you, they assumed the risk of getting injured if your drunk driving caused an accident.

 

[Taxing Matters]

English translation:

If you and your passengers went out and all got drunk together and they got back in the car with you, they assumed the risk of getting injured if your drunk driving caused an accident.

Better translation: you can argue that they assumed the risk. Whether the court would buy that is another matter.

 

[Litigator22]

English translation:

If you and your passengers went out and all got drunk together (?) and they got back in the car with you, they assumed the risk of getting injured if your drunk driving caused an accident.

Interpret the principle however it suits your quibbling, dilettante disposition, but there is nothing in it requiring that a passenger/claimant be equally or even partially so impaired. In fact that less impaired the more probable is the presence of consent.