Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

insurance claim denied

My name was removed from the homeowners policy by our insurance agent who is best friends with my ex-spouse, he did this 2 times once when we refinanced in 1998, he gave me an evidence of insurance showing myself and my then husband as ''insureds'',, seperated from spouse in 98, had a loss in 2001, discovered then that agent never submitted evidence to insurance co. I requested insurance company to investigate, claim eventually got paid, my name was added as an insured by the insurance company (no investigation was done). divorce has been going for 6 years now, couple months ago home was burglerized, items were taken. called insurance co. they said the agent removed me 3 days after safeco added me in 2002, no notice sent to me and now they will not pay on claim because they say I am not the insured. I need some advice please help


Asked on 8/24/04, 5:36 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Barry Snyder Snyder Law

Re: insurance claim denied

Sorry but your question is confusing and cannot be answered as phrased. If you were added by Safeco in 2002, why are you not covered under the Safeco policy? If the agent took you off a policy without your permission, that is improper if you were an owner of the property. Call me if you would like.

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Answered on 8/30/04, 3:10 pm
Joel Selik www.SelikLaw.com

Re: insurance claim denied

You may have to sue the agent.

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Answered on 8/30/04, 3:11 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: insurance claim denied

This sounds like a good fraud case. If you have evidence that your name was on the papers you gave to the agent, then you should have a strong case.

You should send a demand letter -- preferrably written by an attorney -- to both the insurer and the agent, explaining what happened and demanding to be paid. You should think about how much you want to demand; if you ask for payment as if your name had been on the policy and demonstrate that you can prove your case, the company will probably settle with you quickly. If you demand more because you have been defrauded then the company may choose to fight you, depending upon how good your evidence is and how much you demand.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you want to discuss this further.

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Answered on 8/30/04, 3:16 pm


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