AboutRichard Expertise I have been the no-fault insurance administrator and arbitration specialist for 18 years working for a plaintiffs` law firm. I have a copy of and am familiar with the newest Reg.68 of the New York State insurance law and have sucessfully represented over 300 applicants at hearings and have guided more than 1,500 more that didn`t need to actually go to a hearing.
I recently rented a car in Missouri and got in a wreck. The car was not "totaled" by definition, so when the rental car company decided to total it out, my insurance company would only pay for the amount that it would have cost to repair the vehicle. The rental car company is now asking that I pay the difference between the what my insurance company paid and the total value of the vehicle. Should I be paying this? Should my insurance company?
Answer Hi Mike, this request on the part of the rental company is somewhat akin to what they commonly call "down time". Down time is the amount of time that the damaged vehicle has to be in the shop and thus not on the road earning money for the rental company. This type of coverage is sometimes afforded by the credit card company that a person uses when they rent or lease a vehicle. I suggest that you carefully read the rental agreement to see if they have any right to expect anything more than the cost of repairs on the rented vehicle in the language of the contract and also call yur insurance company to determine if you should be legally responsible for the difference between the repair cost and the value of the vehicle. Obviously the rental company would never be able to rent that particular vehicle again after such an accident and so their claim has some amount of validity to it. Whether you or your isurance company are responsible for paying it might be up to a Judge if the matter goes that far. Right now I would do nothing as far as paying it since the rental company has not served anyone with a summons as of yet.
