What must an insurance company give you if your car was
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What must an insurance company give you if your car was
My car was rear-ended and the driver’s insurance company accepted 100% liability. My car was deemed
Asked on April 24, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Tennessee
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
No, you are incorrect: they do NOT have an obligation to "make you whole" in this way (or rather: paying you what the car was worth is, in the law's eyes, making you whole). The MOST the law holds an at-fault party (and therefore their insurer) liable for is the then-current fair-market value of property: i.e. what it is worth. You are not entitled to more than what the thing damaged or destroyed is worth, since to get more than it is worth is to profit by its loss or damage, which you are not allowed to do. (I.e. getting $12k for a car worth $10k is to profit.) All you can get is what the loss to you was worth.
If you elect to spend more than the thing was worth--i.e. to pay more than its value for repairs--that is your choice; but if you do this, you bear the additional cost(s) yourself.
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