Expert: Charlie Barone - 1/9/2010

Question
QUESTION: My wife's MB GL450 '08 experienced liquid (water, coffee, ??) on the interior floor getting to the SAM electronics box ,etc..., Is this covered under "accident"? Cost of repair $2,000. +. Please advise,  Thank you, Emil Braun

ANSWER: It should be covered under your comprehensive coverage, which applies to damage caused by sources other than collision. Call your agent or insurer.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I agree, Allstate denies, I called broker who in turn reached out to his contacts for an opinion, surprise, surprise they say "not covered" , so I guess my choice is to say "screwed by insurance claim again" or proceed to file complaint w/ NYS Ins Dept which will not receive attention for forseeable future and probably give Allstate cause to not renew. It is time for a revolution to end the tyranny of Ins Co slug lawyers!!!

Answer
Not sure how to answer this,  but there is a mechanism in the policy that is known as the appraisal clause, however it usually applies to cases in which the insured and insurer disagree on the amount of the claim, as opposed to coverage. Go ahead and file the complaint with the state regulator and see what happens.

Get Allstate's reply in writing, if you haven't done so already so you can build a file against them in case of legal action. You might want to take this issue to an attorney with specialty in policyholders' rights.