Legal Question in Insurance Law in California
insurance laspe
My homeowners insurance policy was with an agency for
a little more than fifty years. Up to that time all my
payments had been recieved on time with no claims
at all filed. One month about 2 years ago I realized
I had not mailed. I took the check into the office
personally the day due. Two days later my dog bit a man
in my home under provoked circumstances. I took man to
the hospital and then promptly called insurance agency.
They had no record of my payment. I contacted office
I took check into and thew woman had forgotten to send
I then recieved my check back in the mail and a letter
that I had been cancelled due to late payment. I am now
being sued by the man for a large sum of money and stand
to loose my home.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: insurance laspe
I hope you kept your original check which was returned and the transmittal letter as well as the envelope. There are very strict statutory rules regarding cancellation, including for non-payment of premium. Your facts are puzzling because if this happened two years ago, what did you do about obtaining new homeowner's insurance?
Or did you continue with the same company, and was there a new policy number, or???
Was the agency the company which sent you the policy, and handled things for the insurer? If so, it is the insurer's agent and its error is attributable to the insurer just as any other agent's negligence makes its principal liable.
You must hire counsel to defend the suit right away, and then disclose all of these matters to your attorney who hopefully knows something about insurance law. If not, then you need to contact a lawyer who does, so your defense fees will be paid and your assets protected. I would not contact the agency again, since they are a potential defendant besides the insurer.
Re: insurance laspe
You do not indicate whether you received a cancellation notice at the time of the late payment. You also state that the payment you missed was some two years ago -- does that mean that you have made payments (which were accepted) subsequently?
It sounds like you might have a strong case against both the insurance company and the insurance agent.
You need to send them both what is called a tender of defense letter, including a copy of the lawsuit against you and demand that they retain an attorney to represent you.
It sounds like you have only just received the lawsuit and you should be aware that you only have 30 days to file what is called an Answer.
If you have not retained an attorney you should do so right away. You will have to pay the attorney for now and he can pursue the efforts to collect from the insurance company and defend you in the dogbite suit at the same time. But please do not delay.
Re: insurance laspe
It seems that your insurance company is dealing with you unfairly and in bad faith. If you haven't already hired an attorney, I'll gladly help you. Give me a call (323)782-0099.
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