Expert: Anne - 4/22/2009

Question
I was a passenger in a friend's vehicle. He was driving his brother's car and lost control. Insurance on the vehicle had lapsed at midnight the day before. He had permission to drive it, and is not in the same household. The accident occurred in Iowa and all persons reside in Iowa. My injuries required emergency surgery and have thusfar caused 1 month of missed work, with another month expected to be missed. The driver's policy is claiming that insurance follows the vehicle, and will not pay anything. His policy includes 100k/300k uninsured underinsured coverage. Can they do this?

Answer
Hello Darin,

Something does not add up here. The insurance follows the car is usually correct. However, the exception is usually your situation. If the driver is using a car with permission (and if the vehicle is not available for the regular use of that driver) for whatever reason the driver is not insured (the insurance of the car does not apply), the driver's insurance company will quick in.

The insurance company of the driver usually becomes secondary to the insurance of the car. If the policy of the car fails, the insurance of the driver follows. See this article:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Additional-Insurance-Clause.html

You really need to talk to a lawyer. Really, this might be big fight and you are losing wages. Talk to a lawyer, usually the first consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose there. You can always decline their help if you do not understand or like what they say.

To find a lawyer near you visit:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/find-a-lawyer.html

Good Luck
Anne
http://www.QuirogaLawOffice.com