Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

My husband was in an accident a month ago. He has full coverage insurance. They are not paying for a rental car and they sent our car to a body shop over an hour away from our home. We have had to pay out of our own pocket for a rental car, and drive back and forth to the auto body shop to sign papers. We have not been able to get ahold of the insurance adjuster for our claim since the first week. They will not answer our calls or emails and we have now been informed that the car has not been wo is kn at all and they are only going o fix the damage to one side of the car even though it's a new car and had no prior damages to it. They are claiming they will not fix the right side because it was "in a prior accident unrelated to this one" we have the police report and witnesses that say otherwise. Can we sue them for the money we have been paying in rental cars for the past month ? About 1200 + dollars so far...


Asked on 8/24/16, 2:50 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Although you don't make it clear, it sounds like you are dealing with the other party's insurance. You cannot sue the other party's insurance company. Under California law they owe you nothing at all. Because it is generally simpler, the at-fault driver's insurance company usually just deals with the repairs, etc., but technically they could tell you to blow off. Their only obligation is to indemnify their insured and/or defend them in a law suit. So if they are not covering anything, your remedy is to sue the other driver. That will trigger a duty to pay or defend. A far simpler path, however, is to make a claim to YOUR insurance company if you have collision coverage. YOUR insurance company is obligated to YOU to make the repairs if you are covered. Once they do, they automatically step into your shoes and will deal with the other insurance carrier and/or sue the other driver for reimbursement. If you don't have collision coverage, and/or loss of use coverage under your policy, however, your only right is to sue the other driver.

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Answered on 8/24/16, 3:13 pm
Armen Tashjian Law Offices of Armen M. Tashjian

The reason why you and your husband are getting pushed around is due to your lack of legal representation. You should take control of the situation by hiring a lawyer or at least talking to one to get your options explained.

These types of consultations are almost always free, so take advantage of it.

Lastly, you are free to take your car to the body shop of your choice, not insurance company's.

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Answered on 8/25/16, 5:02 am


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