California Insurance Legal Questions

Yes.  You have a duty to cooperate in an insurance claim investigation that requires you to provide any information the insurer reasonably requests.  Financial information is commonly requested in cases of suspected insurance fraud.  Unless there is a very pressing reason to resist the demand, you risk losing your coverage if you refuse to comply.  As far as phone records go, again, unless there is a very good reason to resist it, you will need to turn them over. ... Read More

You should ask your insurance company to provide you with a copy of your insurance policy and ask them to specifically point out which clause they are relying on for denial.  It could be that your brother is listed as an excluded driver or maybe your policy only provides coverage for you.   Most policies, however, cover other drivers as long as they had express or implied permission to drive your car.   Get the specifics from the insurance company and if you disagree, consult a local attorney.   Best of luck!  NOTE: This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response.... Read More

I'm sorry to hear about this.   Since your policy expired months ago, you likely cannot make a claim on your former insurance.   However, since you were not at fault, you should be able to make a claim under the other person's insurance - the person who caused the accident.   Their contact information and insurance information should be listed on the accident report.   Contact them and make a claim for the damage to your car.  If they do not have car insurance, then you are likely out of luck since you didn't have insurance either.   Best of luck. NOTE:  This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.   No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response. ... Read More

I am sorry to hear about this.  While I do not have a referral for you to an attorney in your area, I wanted to point you to some information on how to file a complaint for a HIPPA violation.  For more information, please visit:   http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/index.html#nopackage NOTE:  This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response. ... Read More

You should consult your insurance policy and with your insurance agent.  Your uninsured motorist coverage might be able to provide coverage to you for this. In addition, many policies have coverage for "hit and run" accidents.  Finally, you may have coverage for the property damage to your vehicle as well.  I can't say what your insurance covers without having more facts and seeing your insurance policy. But you should read the policy yourself and then consult with your insurance agent. I hope there is some coverage for you.  Best of luck! NOTE: This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response. ... Read More

I think this is a decision for you to make.  It would depend on how much pain you were in and how much your medical bills were, how much insurance coverage is available, etc.   I believe that this is a decision that you should make on your own (and/or with your family and friends).  Best of luck! NOTE:  This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response. ... Read More

I am sorry to hear about your vehicle being stolen.  It is often common for insurance companies to request phone records.  They are likely trying to determine if any fraud was involved.  Of course you don't have to give them the records, however, they may not proceed any further with the claim without the records.  However, you should also note that some states and/or phone carrier will not release this information without a court order or subpoena.  So you should call your carrier and see how you can obtain the records and how much it would cost.  If it will cost a significant amount of money, you can request that the insurance company pay for them or reimburse you.  Also if they are requesting the records for a long period of time, you can maybe ask the insurance company to cut back on the period of time they are requesting the records for.  Hopefully this will cut down on some of the time, effort and cost related to this.   Like I said, they are not necessarily required but it seems like they are still trying to decide whether or not your claim is payable and they may be considering the issue of fraud.  Thus, if there is nothing to hide and it isn't too expensive, I'd go ahead and get them the records they are requesting so you can go ahead and have the claim moved along.  Best of luck! NOTE:  This response is general in nature and should not be considered legal advice.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this response.... Read More

Your first step is understand why they denied coverage.  If there is a formal letter denying coverage, read the part of the policy that the insurance company is relying on.  Does that language apply to your claim?  Or not?  If the insurance company is wrong based on the "plain language' of the policy, that is the first thing to determine.  If you have any questions, then talk to your agent who sold you the policy.  If he or she thinks the insurance company is wrong, then they might be able to get them to change their mind.  If the loss is valuable enough, and you don't think that the policy properly insured you, you may need to see a lawyer.... Read More

Your friend would need to provide a bit more information, but this sounds more like an employment issue than an insurance one. Insurance as part of an employment benefit package is conceptually like compensation.  The employer must be even handed and non-discriminatory, and can't reduce your pay without telling you.  The tricky thing here is that the company merged and therefore likely became a new company.  I would suspect that there were some flyers describing the benefits that were sent and those should be reviewed.  HOWEVER, mistakes do happen, and perhaps she should have been covered but it was a paperwork mistake by the HR department.  There could be liability on the employer for negligently handling the benefits program that could be pursued.  ... Read More

This is a serious issue.  The carrier has a duty to defend the insured if there is any potential that the claimant could recover damages (any damages) that would be covered by the lawsuit.  Evidence outside of the complaint can be used by the insurance company, but it must eliminate the potential for coverage.  The supreme court has said that evidence that may tend to show that there is no coverage but do not eliminate it, is legally irrelevant. Many carriers today are using manuscripted policies, not industry standard forms, so there may be several reasons for non-coverage.  However, getting carriers involved early increases the chances of a settlement.   In answer to your specific questions, there is a school of thought that because the duty to defend is continuous, there is no duty to bring a lawsuit until 4 years (the statute of limitations for breach of contract) from the date that the case is resolved (and the defense costs stop). However, if you have been given a firm denial of coverage, I would be more conservative and use the date of the denial of coverage.  Also, in California, there is a claim that can be made for bad faith denial of coverage, which may have only a two year statute of limitations, though that question is currently open to debate whether it is 2 years or 4 years.  THEREFORE, to be safe, I would use 2 years from the date of the denial of coverage as the date you should either file a lawsuit or settle the action if plan to pursue it.  ... Read More