Legal Question in Insurance Law in California
Falsely identified in insurance claim?
I received a letter from an insurance company stating that one of their insured reported that I had an auto accident with her and asking for my policy number and insurance carrier. This is a legitimate insurnace company so I called and told them that I was not involved in an accident. They told me that their insured gave them my business card and said I was the other party and that I had better call my insurance company because they could go after me. I give out a lot of business cards all the time so who knows what might have happened. I don't understand why I would file a claim if I was not in an accident. I am trying to understand how accident parties are properly identified and if I could really be liable for an accident I was not a part of? No police report or anything seems to exist other than this person's handing over my card. What should I do? Do I need an attorney?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Falsely identified in insurance claim?
Just report it to your insurance company. If you were not involved in the accident, they will do an investigation and deny the claim. Then the other insurance company and your insurance can resolve it - either through litigation or inter-company arbitration. If you were not at fault, your rates will not increase as a result of reporting this claim.
You can read about intercompany arbitration at my blog, www.calpiblog.com
Re: Falsely identified in insurance claim?
The other driver may have mistaken your card for someone else's, or may even be making this up entirely. Either way, you are going to need to defend yourself. You can either pay for a lawyer -- and for any possible judgment -- out of your own pocket, or you can turn the claim over to your insurer and let them foot the bill (aside from your deductible). Even if this is just a case of mistaken identity, and experienced lawyer can probably get it resolved much more quickly than you could.
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