Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 10/6/2010

Question
Hello, I had a major accident Tuesday morning. I called my insurance company to file a claim and they told me that my insurance has been stripped to liability only. My car is financed so I HAVE to have full coverage on my car. The reason my insurance was stripped was a photo inspection that I had explained I could not make to and they said they would send someone out. Now a year later they are telling me that I have only had liability this whole time. I have received no notice of it being stripped even though this company is saying they did give me notice. I've never heard of this happening before..... is there anything i can do?

Answer
Hi Sam,

Each insurance company is free to set its own requirements for eligability for their programs. You state that the insurance company said they would send someone out but did you ever follow up to be sure thay had? I do not think there will be anything you can do, but you should demand that they provide you with proof of mailing of their notice to you. You can also file a complaint with your state insurance commissioners office, who will require that the insurance company show all correspondence. If the company can not prove they that they notified you then you may have a chance of getting coverage. Also, if you have any photos of your car, that may help as well.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh