What do I do if my insurance does not want to cover my car?

Question

I was in a car accident on tuesday night! When me and my fiance when to put our claim in with our insurance they said that we were not insured with them anymore. That they had dropped us in October!

We never knew we did not have insurance, they never gave us a warning a bill or anything saying that we would no longer have insurance past October.

Now we have a 2007 yaris totaled and still owe over $11,500....

WHAT DO I DO?!

Answer 1

You get a second job to pay off that loan.  

You can't tell me you didn't "notice" that you hadn't made any insurance payment for the past six months.  I don't believe it.

You don't get free insurance.  You can't collect on the lottery unless you buy a ticket, and you can't collect on insurance unless you buy a policy.  It's not free.

Worse, you're indicating that possibly YOU are at fault.  So you'll ALSO have to pay for the damages to the other car.  BOTH of you need second jobs.

Answer 2

so were u still paying your rates

Answer 3

If you hadn't gotten any bills -- i.e., hadn't been paying for the service -- it's hard to imagine that you should think you should still have the service.  If they chose to cut you off, then they should have sent you a notification letter, though, yes.  

The best I could suggest is contacting a lawyer to see what rights you may have.  The amount involved is likely larger than you could sue for simply in small claims court, but a lawyer would be better able to assess your chances of either shaking service out of them with threat to sue, or by directly suing (and if you're lucky, your court and lawyer fees declared to be paid by the insurance company also).  Good luck.

Answer 4

there is no a easy solution for your question.however,it is not solvable though.here is the good resource i have been referring.

http://insurance.online-assistant.info

Answer 5

You might find some answers if you call the insurance board or talk to the main office of your insurance company, but it is unlikely that you can do much.  When it comes to fighting an insurance company, they hold all the cards and can out send you in any lawsuit you might try to bring.  I think it is awful that you did not get a notice...did they claim they send one out?  Did they explain why they dropped you?  Try talking to someone at those free legal nights most counties and cities have, or maybe see a personal injury attorney.  They would know the best way to handle it if you have a chance or holding the insurance company at fault.  Still, I wouldn't count on it.

Answer 6

If they dropped you - you should have a letter from them which should have been sent with some kind of return receipt or signature required.

Have you moved?

I think you need to consult an attorney.

Answer 7

write a complaint to them saying that you never received notification that they had dropped you. if they decide to cover your car, then stay with them if you want. if they still won't, then switch insurance companies. i know switching won't pay for the car, but if something like this happens again then you will most likely have an insurance company that will cover your car

Answer 8

have you been sending them payments? did they ever send money back to you?

Answer 9

Bummer.  Were you continuing to pay on your policy past the expiration date?

Since you owe 5 figures, it's certainly worth consulting with an attorney.

Here's the thing, though:  If your policy was for a certain period and a new one wasn't issued, you were pretty dumb.

Answer 10

Take some responsibility.  How could you not know?  You had to have been paying premiums up until they canceled you?. If you didn't get new insurance cards, you should have contacted them back then.

Answer 11

Hey! You look just like me!

Anyway, if you can prove that your auto insurance premiums were paid in full through that time period and you had full coverage on your vehicle, they have to pay you.

Get a lawyer and go after them!

And good luck to you, sweetie.

Answer 12

Did you get gap insurance when you bought the car at the dealership? Because if you did, then gap insurance will pay off the remaining balance on your car.  I would call the dealership and make sure.  Did you still pay your insurance and they cashed your checks while you were dropped? Because if they did, then legally that is them saying that they will provide the service for you during that month. If you werent paying for it, then I don't know what to say.

Answer 13

It is your responsibility to make sure your coverage is current and paid for. If you have been doing this and payment has continued to be accepted you have an argument. It is not the insurance companies job to track you down.

Answer 14

I would move on to another insurance. there are plenty of other insurance companies out there that want your business.  You never know they might have better rates.

Answer 15

The answerers, above, offer good advice.

Contact your state's commissioner for insurance.  Call them Monday morning.  

Have your ducks in order.  You will create havoc in the insurance company.  If you create a problem for them and you make a false accusation, your problems may be more than financial.

Answer 16

When you got dropped they would have sent a letter to your last known address.  The one on the policy. They send you 1 letter. That is all they are required to do.

You probably got the letter and just never read it. Or you moved and did not update your address with the insurance company.

The insurance company sends 1 letter. They do not hunt you down and beat you about the head to pay them.

The insurance company will be able to provide a copy of the letter and usually proof of mailing.

You can still file the claim and the adjuster will do a coverage investigation. Most likely there will not be coverage for the accident but you can try and see what happens. The only thing filing the claim would cost you is time.

I have done a lot of these type of coverage investigations over the years. I can't think of one where someone claimed to not get the notice and no notice was sent out. Usually the notice goes out and the person had moved and not updated their address or did not read it.

Sometimes mistakes happen and the insurance company will investigate it and if appropriate back date coverage. But those mistakes are usually not of this type.

If your car is financed, the finance company would have gotten a letter as well. Usually they get forced coverage for the vehicle to cover their interest.

Answer 17

i really wish i could answer that ?   my gap ins. screwed me... bunch of b******s

Answer 18

src50 is right. Every 6 months you should get a bill. Along with that bill you should get an insurance card. If you didn't get a bill and a card you should have called your agent. If you got a bill and didn't pay it, they non-renewed your policy for non-payment of premium. What was the effective dates of your policy? When did you make your last premium payment? You should be able to figure out from that if you should have been covered or not.

Answer 19

I would search that out, get a laywer, trace paperwork get with your loan co, they have to be notified when ins. change/drop you.