Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

Re: Ambiguous Policy Coverage - Recourse

I'm sorry to hear about your experience and I hope you have fully recovered. Even so, what you ask in your post is too much.

What you are seeking is not mere guidance but rather an actual coverage opinion. Such a service is far beyond what this site offers. Besides, we lawyers make our living by charging for such services, not by providing them for free.

Without analyzing the policy language (which I have not read) I can offer you some general guidance. Ambiguities in the language of an insurance policy are normally resolved in the policyholder's favor. But the test of whether language is ambiguous is not merely whether the policyholder says it is. It is very common for insurance policies and other contracts to define terms they contain, and it sounds like that is what the insurer did here. Your argument is that "Any Vehicle" must include a motorcycle, but since the language defines "Vehicle" as having four wheels, "Any Vehicle" means "any four-wheeled vehicle" in the context of the policy. The only reason you think the language is ambiguous is that you had not read the definition before you were hurt. It thus sounds like your insurance does not cover this accident.

For a variety of reasons, I might very well reach a different conclusion were I to analyze the policy itself. More importantly, though, your insurance is not the only source of compensation available to you. You can sue the truck driver and the company for whom he was working. Hopefully they have insurance and/or deep enough pockets to compensate you directly. You should get a lawyer to evaluate your case and either negotiate with the company or sue it for you.

Good luck!