Quote:
Originally Posted by lucid
jm1234 I am not necessarily voicing opinion on how I think things should run. I am providing evidence as to how things do run. I personally know of a 335 owner who put his car into a wall and totalled it. He checked several times with his insurance company's agent (not a broker) before the incident, and was told he is covered. After the incident, the company reviewed the case, and flat out rejected his claim. He is now in court trying to get his money back. He might or might not win. I think if he wins, it's not going to be because the judge thinks HPDEs should be covered; it will be because he has some evidence (not written unfortunately for him) demonstrating that he was told he was covered. Meaning, if you don't have HPDE coverage in writing, you'll most likely have a hard time getting $70k out of an insurance company.
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The one thing you didn't mention that I'm trying to stress is the contract. I don't think that what the agent says matters and I would specifically have advised your friend to not ask his agent because you couldn't trust anything that he told you. Even if he proves what the agent said it may mean nothing. There may be legal reason why the agent isn't authorized to create a contract for the insurer. What does the contract say and why is the insurance company denying coverage. Does the contract specifically not cover HPDE type events? Is the insurance company trying to say an HPDE is essentially a race and that is why the are denying coverage? I'm not a lawyer but contracts are supposed to protect us not just lawyers. I don't think any party to a contract can just unilaterally change the contract after the fact. It has to be clearly stated in the contract before the incident. If not, then what is the point of the contract?
I'm encouraging people to read their contracts both with and without HPDE insurance. I think they should trust their contract if it states they are covered. I'm not naive and don't believe the insurance company will necessarily live up to the contract but I think people will get their money in the end. If the policy/contract states they are not covered then get HPDE insurance but still read the rest of the contract because they may find there are still issues if they make a claim under HPDE insurance. Finally, checking options with other insurers may be cheaper than getting HPDE insurance.
I'm sorry about your friend. I hope it's an issue where his insurance company is ignorant and believes an HPDE is a race or competition. If not, well, maybe we can learn something from the case. I hope it's not a case where there was clear wording in the policy and he just didn't read it. My point is that insurers cover dangerous driving all the time. It's not a reason for a judge to agree that an HPDE isn't covered nor is it a reason for an insurer to deny coverage. Keep us informed.