DUI - Accident - Claim time frame

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:57 am Post Subject:

I think you mean time limit. Yes there is, whatever the Statute of Limitations is for 3rd party liability claims in your state.

Did you drive down the entire side of the fence or is it made of some prized element? I can't think of any good reason why it would take almost 2 years for them to seek recovery. Also, it sounds like they may be trying to get you to pay for a much larger section of the fence then was damaged. In otherwords, the entire amount might not be owed.

Your asking if your carrier would provide coverage for a DIU... like you have not reported this claim from almost 2 years ago. I hope this is not the case! You should have reported it when it happened! If you did not, how do you expect your carrier to confirm the damages if this happen so long ago and it's probably already been repaired.

Lastly, if the DUI does not earn a cancellation, a delay of reporting the accident and DUI for this long will. So you may want to start shopping for another carrier.

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 01:21 am Post Subject:

I would not think that they would cover it after all this time, as tscope said there are statute of limitations that the insurance companies have in place in your state to protect themselves and to protect you.

That is one expensive fence, was it lined with gold? Who is bringing this up now, you or the person who owns the property? Why now after all this time. I would say that if it is them, then they waited way to long and you could argue that the damage they are seeking was not caused by the accident that you had, unless they have pictures that were dated for that time frame. If they do, then they MAY be able to seek a civil suit against you for the damage, but I doubt after all this time they would have a leg to stand on either for a civil suit.

As far as the insurance company, think the time is well past, you could list your state here and someone could possibly look up the statute of limitations for your state for you or better yet call your insurance company and ask them, they will be able to tell you very quickly. goodluck.

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 01:53 am Post Subject:

My only question is, why did you wait so long to pursue this? Could you please explain more?

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 02:14 am Post Subject:

I had originally planned on paying it so it wouldn't go against me. That is most likely what will end up happening. They didn't cancel me for the DUI.

It's a chain linked fence owned by the city. The estimate they were given was around $6,000. I couldn't believe it, and the judge ordered me to pay that amount. I really wish I knew someone in the fencing business, but I just don't. That estimate blew my mind.

With my current financial situation, finding a new carrier would be much better for me if I could get it covered, but I realize thats slim to none of happening. I have the police report along with the estimate for what thats worth.

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 02:25 am Post Subject:

Oh, and I guess I got around 15 poles which are about 5ft apart. Surely they could splice in new fence with the old that is still standing. I hope I'm not paying for a whole new fence, because the fence is LOOONG.

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 02:33 am Post Subject:

How in gods name did you wipe out that many, could you not pull out of it? Did you pass out at the wheel? They will more than likely put a judgement on you.

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 02:38 am Post Subject:

A piece of the fence caught under the hood and just kept pulling them up before the car got stopped. It's a probation term to have it paid.

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 06:31 am Post Subject:

Your carrier has not non-renewed your policy as they have not pulled a motor vehicle report yet. They will do this and most likely once they see the DUI, will non-renew your policy. You could not file the claim and roll the dice to see if for some reason they don't find out. It might be worth it as any other carrier _is_ going to know you had the DUI.

But $6k is a lot of money and I wonder even with the higher rates how long it would take to break even... higher premiums vs paying $6k for the fence.

$6k sounds about right for 15 poles and fence. Not much you can do with the old fence once it is bend up. Easier (cheaper) just to replace it.

This is one expensive DUI! I'm sure it cost about $3k just to settle up all the fines, etc.

There is a very good chance (almost 100%) that your carrier would still cover this loss if you wanted to report the claim. They would not be happy about it but with everything else going on, I don't think that would affect you much.

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 01:04 pm Post Subject:

Well they weren't aware of the DUI but they are now, as I had to have some special kind of insurance to get my license back. However, I did not tell them I had an accident during the DUI. They had to transfer me to another department who had to approve me, which they did.

Either way its a bad deal. Having them pay the claim would help me tremendously at the moment. Years and years ago I had a claim for $8000 for my vehicle plus $4000 to another vehicle, which didnt much affect me. Thats long gone though.

It definitely was an expensive lesson. So tcope, you believe they would pay the claim then?

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 03:35 pm Post Subject:

I think they would. The first reaction would be the one over the time frame and why the claim was not reported but bottom line, the loss has been well documented and there should be coverage under the policy.