Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

car insurance don't want to pay for rim that i have currently

hi.

i ran over the pothole and i broke two of my rims.

and i had full coverage insurance.

now my problem is my insurance company don't want to pay my rim value that i have now. they saying they will pay for only the one originaly come with car.

and also i have 18'' rims and they said they even can not match the size since factory one is 17''

but i had my rims that i broke before i get this insurance

i know they had some coverage for accessary.

so they said since i didn't have that option and my rim is after market rims they can not pay.

is this true...???

i thought since i had that before i got insurance and this is not such accessary i would get cover.

please give me some idea what i can do.


Asked on 4/11/06, 10:00 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: car insurance don't want to pay for rim that i have currently

Did you tell the insurer about your after-market rims when you applied for your policy? If not, then it isn't liable.

If I add a $20,000 sound system to a $15,000 car but don't tell my insurer about it, the company will base its premiums on the $15,000 figure. There is no reason the company should have to pay for the sound system if it's damaged, since I didn't pay for it to be covered. The company would probably have insured the total value if I'd told them about it, but I would have had to pay a higher premium.

Your insurance policy contains language which explain the limits of your coverage, and I suppose it might contradict what I have said. You may want to go over the policy with a lawyer if you believe your rims were covered.

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Answered on 4/12/06, 4:38 pm
Jonathan Stein Law Offices of Jonathan G. Stein

Re: car insurance don't want to pay for rim that i have currently

There are two issues here. First, did the insurance company know about the rims? Did they inspect your vehicle prior to insuring it? Did someone come out and take pictures? Did you tell your agent about it? If you did, you can go to question two.

Second, what does the insurance policy say? This is the basic step of any insurance coverage question. Some policies limit and/or exclude aftermarket parts. You need to read your policy carefully. If the insurance company will not pay for it, they are required to send you a letter explaining why it is not covered and citing the part of the policy. Once you get that letter, read that section carefully.

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Answered on 4/12/06, 6:43 pm
Steven Murray Steven W. Murray, APC

Re: car insurance don't want to pay for rim that i have currently

What did you tell the broker/agent you bought the policy from? Was this coverage for aftermarket items refused? Did you know it was offered? Were you to have it but the policy did not contain it? Whether or not you have a good claim may depend on your answers.

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Answered on 4/12/06, 6:49 pm


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