Prodaytrader
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I live in Texas, accident took place in Wisconsin
I was rear ended on a rented motorcycle a few weeks ago by another motorcycle. I reported the accident to my insurance to which they started an investigation to determine whether or not I had coverage for rented motorcycles. They claim I do not have coverage for rented motorcycles now and have officially absolved themselves of the incident. Ordinarily I wouldn't be concerned with such things especially given that I was the one up front, but I am concerned about some things and need advice.
First the damage for both bikes is a total loss which should come to around 40k for both bikes. Second the people that hit me weren't wearing helmets so their injuries were quite significant which I estimate to be around 20k or so but I have no way of knowing for sure. Second the accident took place in Wisconsin which apparently has different laws regarding negligence. I was first told about these laws at the accident and it was called the 50/50 law which I later learned is really comparative negligence laws. His agent told me that the insurance companies would sit down, determine comparative negligence and then decided which portions would be handed to which parties. Since I don't have coverage now, this could become problematic for me.
The other caveat that I should mention is that prior to renting the bike I called my agent on the phone and asked them whether or not I had coverage for rented motorcycles. I was told that it was covered under my liability insurance for both damage caused by me to other vehicles as well as any damage that might be caused to the bike I was renting. Their assurances that I was covered, during that phone call, was the determining factor in my decision to not purchase additional rental insurance by the renting party. During that call I was talked into bumping coverages quite significantly for several reasons, but primarily because riding bikes is dangerous. If push comes to shove I will have to sue my insurance because they clearly told me I would be covered when in fact my policy doesn't cover such things. However this is really nothing new as best I can tell since every insurance company that has ever gone to court was because they didn't want to pay for damages beyond the scope of the policy as they saw it. Really I doubt that my agency would allow me to take any suit to a jury given the circumstantial evidence against them in this particular situation, but at this time I really don't have much cause to sue them.
I'm not out of pocket anything at this moment other then some personal gear that was damaged like my leathers and so forth. I wasn't injured, my bike wasn't destroyed since I was renting it, I didn't lose work and so forth. All the damage was caused to other peoples property so really I don't have to pursue this unless others pursue me. My question is this: is there anything I should be doing now that I know my insurance company is not going to pay for any bills that come my way? Exactly how is it that other parties will go about holding me responsible for these bills anyway? As best I can determine this comparative negligence thing only comes into play when the insurance companies are interested in settling the manner outside of court or a jury decides that at least in part I am responsible. I guess I am wondering what is going to happen if the rental company and his insurance decide that I am partially responsible for this accident. They cant just make a decision and say I owe then 20% or something and make that stick can they? They would need a court decision to hold me responsible and since the accident report is so clearly in my favor, I highly doubt they would come after me unless there is something I am overlooking.
I cant sue for damages if nobody holds me responsible for damages, but since I wont have a seat at the table where the insurance companies assign responsibility I am worried that they will determine that I am partially responsible since I am an easy target and then send me the bills. Do I need to be represented during those discussions? My agency will not even sit at the table at this point which I can understand since they wont be likely to agree to anything since they aren't going to pay anything.
Do I need to be proactive to ensure the rental company or his insurance doesn't hold me responsible or do I wait till I am sued before doing anything? I cant sue my insurance company for failure to pay a claim when no claim has been submitted to me. I'm just really confused about this process since my agency is stepping out of the picture and it worries me that secret discussions are transpiring and I have no insurance representation. What's to prevent his insurance company from determining that I am fully responsible despite the accident report and sending me bills or worse refusing to pay my rental company for their bike. The rental company will surely come after me if his insurance fails to pay for their bike given the contract I signed. I haven't read the rental contract but I'm sure it holds me fully responsible if his insurance doesn't pay the claim.
Thoughts?
I live in Texas, accident took place in Wisconsin
I was rear ended on a rented motorcycle a few weeks ago by another motorcycle. I reported the accident to my insurance to which they started an investigation to determine whether or not I had coverage for rented motorcycles. They claim I do not have coverage for rented motorcycles now and have officially absolved themselves of the incident. Ordinarily I wouldn't be concerned with such things especially given that I was the one up front, but I am concerned about some things and need advice.
First the damage for both bikes is a total loss which should come to around 40k for both bikes. Second the people that hit me weren't wearing helmets so their injuries were quite significant which I estimate to be around 20k or so but I have no way of knowing for sure. Second the accident took place in Wisconsin which apparently has different laws regarding negligence. I was first told about these laws at the accident and it was called the 50/50 law which I later learned is really comparative negligence laws. His agent told me that the insurance companies would sit down, determine comparative negligence and then decided which portions would be handed to which parties. Since I don't have coverage now, this could become problematic for me.
The other caveat that I should mention is that prior to renting the bike I called my agent on the phone and asked them whether or not I had coverage for rented motorcycles. I was told that it was covered under my liability insurance for both damage caused by me to other vehicles as well as any damage that might be caused to the bike I was renting. Their assurances that I was covered, during that phone call, was the determining factor in my decision to not purchase additional rental insurance by the renting party. During that call I was talked into bumping coverages quite significantly for several reasons, but primarily because riding bikes is dangerous. If push comes to shove I will have to sue my insurance because they clearly told me I would be covered when in fact my policy doesn't cover such things. However this is really nothing new as best I can tell since every insurance company that has ever gone to court was because they didn't want to pay for damages beyond the scope of the policy as they saw it. Really I doubt that my agency would allow me to take any suit to a jury given the circumstantial evidence against them in this particular situation, but at this time I really don't have much cause to sue them.
I'm not out of pocket anything at this moment other then some personal gear that was damaged like my leathers and so forth. I wasn't injured, my bike wasn't destroyed since I was renting it, I didn't lose work and so forth. All the damage was caused to other peoples property so really I don't have to pursue this unless others pursue me. My question is this: is there anything I should be doing now that I know my insurance company is not going to pay for any bills that come my way? Exactly how is it that other parties will go about holding me responsible for these bills anyway? As best I can determine this comparative negligence thing only comes into play when the insurance companies are interested in settling the manner outside of court or a jury decides that at least in part I am responsible. I guess I am wondering what is going to happen if the rental company and his insurance decide that I am partially responsible for this accident. They cant just make a decision and say I owe then 20% or something and make that stick can they? They would need a court decision to hold me responsible and since the accident report is so clearly in my favor, I highly doubt they would come after me unless there is something I am overlooking.
I cant sue for damages if nobody holds me responsible for damages, but since I wont have a seat at the table where the insurance companies assign responsibility I am worried that they will determine that I am partially responsible since I am an easy target and then send me the bills. Do I need to be represented during those discussions? My agency will not even sit at the table at this point which I can understand since they wont be likely to agree to anything since they aren't going to pay anything.
Do I need to be proactive to ensure the rental company or his insurance doesn't hold me responsible or do I wait till I am sued before doing anything? I cant sue my insurance company for failure to pay a claim when no claim has been submitted to me. I'm just really confused about this process since my agency is stepping out of the picture and it worries me that secret discussions are transpiring and I have no insurance representation. What's to prevent his insurance company from determining that I am fully responsible despite the accident report and sending me bills or worse refusing to pay my rental company for their bike. The rental company will surely come after me if his insurance fails to pay for their bike given the contract I signed. I haven't read the rental contract but I'm sure it holds me fully responsible if his insurance doesn't pay the claim.
Thoughts?