Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 2/25/2010

Question
how do you make a loss of use claim on a hire vehicle - i have 4vehicles - 2 where on hire at the time and the 3rd was involved in a RTA on-route to a client the 4th was provided to that client but we lost money - what is utilization rates / loss of utilization case, what documents need to show to the insurer.

Answer
Hi Manni,

Insurance companies do not like to pay claims for loss of use on commercial for hire vehicles. They will likely make you jump through many hoops. What they will likely require is proof that all of the vehicles in your fleet were rented and as a result of this vehicle being down that you had to actually turn away business. So you will need to show rental logs as well as the fact that you actually lost money during this time.

You should start by contacting the insurer to inform them of your intent to pursue this type of claim and ask them to provide you in writing exactly what they will require to proceed.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh