What to do if my car was stolen but now the insurance company won’t pay?
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What to do if my car was stolen but now the insurance company won’t pay?
The insurance company is saying because the car wasn’t in the person’s name who insuranced it, that it is not liable. I paid insurance on it for almost 2 years (full coverage). It’s just willing to send me a full refund for all the monthly payments I made. It doesn’t want to pay because the car was totaled.
Asked on May 8, 2012 under Insurance Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
An insurance policy is a contract and is enforceable as per its terms. If under the terms of the policy, only the owner (the person in whose name the car was) could insure it, the insurer would have grounds to disclaim coverage. Or if the policy stated that the person insuring it was the one on the title, but that was not the case, that misrepresentation could also provide the insurer grounds to not pay--since a contract is only valid to the extent it is based on accurate information.
However, if under the terms of the policy (and based on the information provided to obtain the policy), the insurer should pay but won't, you could sue the insurance company to enforce their obligations. As stated, an insurance policy is a contract; contracts are enforceable in court. So the key issue is what was represented to the insurer in taking out the policy, and what are the terms of the policy. If correct information was provided to the insurer and on the face of it, the policy requires payment, they you may wish to bring a lawsuit.
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