Auto hire excess insurance

by Guest » Mon Sep 06, 2010 07:24 am
Guest

I've checked the quotes with a couple of insurers and stepped into this refundable excess option. It doesn't say much but that I need to pay a deposit to the local suppliers for covering damages. Should I really go for this deposit option?

Total Comments: 10

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:47 am Post Subject:

In life insurance, they call it a "dividend" -- when the company has a profit, it refunds excess premiums to policy holders.

In other forms of insurance it may just be called a refundable excess or surplus. Just make sure the policy does not have language that would require you to pay additional money (usually called an "assessment") at the end of the policy term in the event the insurer has a loss for the year. You might not like that surprise.

Should I really go for this deposit option?



Not really sure what you're referring to here. All insurance requires that you pay a premium. It's known as "consideration", and without it, there can be no contract of insurance.

Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 06:41 am Post Subject:

All I can tell about car hire excess policies is that such policies are aimed at claims excesses that lower payment liability of the insured. You'll often come across such excess clauses within your car rental policy papers. It's fixed to a flat sum.

Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 06:07 pm Post Subject:

My husband myself and father in law are "joint tenants with rights of survivorship" on our home title. He is the only name on the mortgage, but we make all the payments. I am being sued by a golddigger for an auto accident a friend who borrowed our car was in with her. She was NOT hurt, but that's another story. We have not been served papers yet but the insurance company jsut sent us a letter stating that is imminent. Can we quit claim deed it to my fil to avoid an attachment to our home in the case of her winning an excess judgement (we know the lowlife attorney she's hired and she'll probably win)? PLEASE advise asap, and no morality judgements either!


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Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 09:11 am Post Subject:

The transfer of property will probably be considered as 'illegal' if a lawsuit has already been filed. So, I'd advise you to consult your state attorney regarding this.

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 03:09 pm Post Subject:

You indicate that three persons are on title to the property, but only one is on record as the mortgagee. The fact that only one person is named in the mortgage only means that the other two are not obligated to pay the mortgage. One has nothing to do with the other. If a party who is on title is named in a civil suit, their interest in the property is at risk. It could force that party to have to part with their interest in order to satisfy a legal judgment.

Seizing real property, following a civil judgment, is more complicated when one or more of the parties on title is not named in the civil suit. But a party named in a civil suit that does not bear liability in the action can petition the court to be severed from the action. I think that might apply to your father-in-law, unless he is somehow directly involved in the ownership of auto in which "the golddigger" was a passenger.

You did not indicate if this "friend" who borrowed your car was the at fault driver. If she was not, coming after you may not even be the proper "cause of action" against you and could allow the case to be thrown out of court. There are too many details yet to be provided, so some or all of this response could be a waste of time.

If you are sued, your auto insurance company has a legal responsibility to provide you with a defense, and you have a legal responsibility to cooperate in that defense. The cost of the defense will not diminish the amount of insurance coverage available to satisfy any civil judgment against you.

However, assuming any damage award is less than the limits of liability in your auto policy, then your insurance company will pay the amount awarded by the court, and no claim can or will be made against your personal or real property.

At this point, I think you are panicking for no good reason. If the golddigger was "not hurt" as you purport, then what exactly will she attempt to prove in court? Will she file a bunch of falsified documentation as evidence, subborn perjury by getting doctors and others to lie on the witness stand on her behalf?

To win a judgment in civil court still requires a plaintiff to prove their damages. The standard of proof is different than in criminal court, where it must be beyond a "reasonable doubt". In civil court, and depending on the state, damages can be awarded in proportion to the negligence involved.

Most states are "comparative" negligence states, so if you are 10% responsible for your own damages, then the amount of your awards must be reduced by 10%. Only four states -- Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia -- and the District of Columbia have "pure contributory negligence" laws which provide that if a person is just one percent at fault for their own damages they cannot collect at all. Might you be in one of those five places?

I, personally, would not do anything rash at this point. First, you have not yet been served, which is a legal requirement, and you have no idea what the claim is, or for how much. Second, you have no idea at this point whether a settlement will be negotiated between the insurer and the "injured" party.

You may dispose of your property in any manner you choose prior to the award for damages. But now is not the time to even consider such unreasonable action on your part. A quit claim deed would give ownership interest to another party without all of the usual fuss associated with property transfers. Doing so in advance of being sued would be better than waiting until after you were sued. But you'd be foolish to do so.

You might even make a "side agreement" with that party to quit claim the property back to you if all goes well. But, guess what? They don't have to because it's their property. Then what will you do? You've still lost your house, but now for the wrong reason.

If you make some kind of agreement between you, before the lawsuit is served on you, to "force" them do just that, well, to the court in a worst case scenario (you lose and owe more than your insurance will cover), it would be seen as a very poor attempt to "hypothecate" the property (hiding it in the name of someone else because you believed a suit was imminent) to avoid seizure and the property would be seized anyway. Now you have more trouble on your hands. And doing that specifically AFTER being sued, as Juanita wrote, would be seen in the same light and would probably be undone by the court.

So here's what I really think you need to do today and in the coming days, weeks, and months. Just relax. Keep breathing. Wait to be served (don't try to avoid it thinking it will help). And after you are served, contact your insurance company the next business day and let them know. They will tell you what to do, what to say or not say, and will handle it from there. You don't need to get your own attorney.

Just do what your insurance company asks, show up to meetings and "conferences" when they ask, and appear for a "deposition" if requested. Provide any documentation they need. AND . . .

You must get the same degree of cooperation from your friend who borrowed your car.

If she also has a personal auto policy, she should expect to be sued, too. And her policy would provide her with a defense.

we know the lowlife attorney she's hired and she'll probably win



Now that's just plain silly reasoning on your part.

Although none of us knows the true details that are pointing toward a lawsuit, without having sustained any life threatening injuries, permanent disfigurement or disability, or other serious and substantiated harm, this is not a multimillion dollar case for the claimant/plaintiff. It is probably not a case worth more than three or four zeroes to the left of the decimal point. You probably would have stated she was hospitalized if that were the case.

It sounds to me like a "soft tissue injury" complaint. Insurance companies deal with these all the time, and most are settled quickly and quietly to make the claimant go away and shut up. And the "lowlife attorney" supports his lifestyle a little longer with the 33% or more that he takes from the settlement. Doubtful that this would even go to trial, where he stands a chance of losing.

If your insurance company has already been presented with a claim and chose to deny payment for it, they probably have a good reason for doing so. They will either put up a good defense to avoid paying the claim on the same basis if you are sued, or they will write a check, ending the matter, and life goes on.

DON'T SELL OR QUIT CLAIM your property just yet. That could end up being a bigger mistake than letting your friend borrow your car.

Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 07:44 am Post Subject:

It sounds to me like a "soft tissue injury" complaint. Insurance companies deal with these all the time, and most are settled quickly and quietly to make the claimant go away and shut up.



Yes, payments regarding injuries that are visible are settled quickly. We face problems when we accept a final settlement and then our sufferings a take a new turn. I've read about people who had accepted settlement offers following whiplash injuries and then kept on visiting the doctor for a long time. It really takes a lot of pain to make your adjuster see through your problems on some occasions.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 07:08 am Post Subject:

If your insurance company has already been presented with a claim and chose to deny payment for it, they probably have a good reason for doing so.


You're quite right at this opinion! Insurers have faced a lot of lawsuits regarding various events in the past and they're quite experienced in guessing what your next move would be. So, they'd only deny a claim after they've investigated it from different angles.

If the insured is right and it's a difference of a negligible amount, then they'd choose to pay and settle it rather than going to court. They don't easily let a matter go out of hand to be considered as an 'act of bad faith'.

Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 07:33 pm Post Subject: UoxEOdgftvkywuT

Hire excess insurance.. He-he-he :)

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:30 am Post Subject: ocJMxTqGqhQnmtR

Hire excess insurance.. May I repost it? :)

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 08:40 am Post Subject:

What is excess insurance policy, what are the details for it.

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