Expert: Anne - 2/14/2008

Question
i was hit by a drunk driver while i was waiting for a train,then the driver took off and ran but they fond him in 30 min. and still was over 3 times the amount.He has no insurance <go figure> i racke up 13000 in hospital bills, plus lost my car worth only about 5000, and lost days of work, i have uninsured motorist and underinsured motoriset,of a 100,000. can i sue my insurance company to pay for these bills and would i be dropped even thought i pay for this service in my policy

Answer
The normal (by that I mean, your policy might be different) process is your insurance company settles with you for all your damages "as if that person had insurance." However,

They are really not the party adverse to you. "They did not cause the damage or injuries" so technically, you cannot sue them directly. You would have to sue the drunk driver and try to bound the insurance company to that judgment --- be very very careful, you must talk to an attorney before this happens. Some insurance policies will void all coverage if you go after the person that hit you, so you really need to know what is going on.

Can you sue the company? You have breach of contract action against them if they do not pay, but again, you need talk to an attorney about what cause of action you have.

Can you be dropped from the policy. Probably not. You pay for this service and you were not at fault for this accident. This is the exact service you pay for. Most insurance companies follow this, but depending on your driving history, claim history, and over variables like that one (credit score if the insurance company looks at this).

I hope this clears up some confusion,

Good Luck,
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com