If my car caught on fire do to a recall can I collect money from both insurance company and car company car company is obligated to pay for car burning down and that’s what I pay 400.00 a moth for full covdrage

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If my car caught on fire do to a recall can I collect money from both insurance company and car company car company is obligated to pay for car burning down and that’s what I pay 400.00 a moth for full covdrage

The recall on my 04 Pontiac Grand Prix
was for a head gasket leaking oil on
exhaust and catching on fire well my
car caught on fire because of this and
now wondering if I can collect from
insurance and car company

Asked on May 27, 2016 under Accident Law, Kansas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

You can collect from both, but only up to the then-current value of the car (its blue book value, at the time of the fire), plus any other reasonable, direct out of pocket costs you incurred (e.g. towing; renting a replacement vehicle while buying or leasng another car). It does matter what the car is worth to you--your personal valuation is irrelevant legally. All that matters--all the law would require your insurer and/or the manufacturer to pay--is the value of the destroyed property and your other economic costs or losses. 
The law also doesn't let you "double dip": no matter how many pay, you still can only get the same total amount of money. So, if the car was worth, say, $5,000 at the time, you can get $5k from the insurer, or $5k from the manufacturer, or $2.5k from each, or $4k from one and $1k from the other, etc.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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