Expert: Bennie719 - 8/4/2009

Question
About 6 months ago I hit a steel curb and it caused damage to my frame. Unfortunatly I had made an insurance claim two weeks prior to that because my car had been broken into.  I was told making claims that close to eachother would cause my insurance to "drop" me.  Well now it has become unsafe for me to drive my car, due to the alignment damage.  How long do I have after the incident to make my claim? I now live in Georgia, but my inurance is through Missouri.

Answer
Hi Adam,
Under normal conditions, you are expected to file a claim immediately.  If you are unable
to do so, you have an obligation to the insurance company to protect the car from further
damage (example: if you have a broken side window, you are expected to protect the car from rain damage) or in your particular case protect the steering mechanism, ball joints, idler arms,
tires etc., from future damage.
The insurance will reduce it's payment to you by whatever amount that a certified mechanic
can verify that you damaged by continuing to drive the car, since this will be considered
intentional damage.

The standard legal wording of an insurance policy simply states that all claims for car
damage must be "promptly" reported to the insurance company.

Hope this helps.  Your feedback by rating my response will be appreciated.

Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area