Legal Question in Insurance Law in Maryland

renters insurance

A strong wind came and blew my neighbors big trampoline out of the yard and it landed on top of our car. We both have USAA as our insurance and they have rental insurance. The company is trying to tell me that it is covered under our car insurance and we have to pay the deductable because it was an act of God. I understrand that we can't control with weather but the trampoline was not anchored to the ground in any way and it is their personal property and covered under their rental insurance so why should we be paying money out of our pocket and have our car insurance go up possibly? Seems like the insurance wants the cheapest way out for them since they cover both of us. The neighbors agree with us and don't believe that we should be paying anything out of our pocket since it is their property and it should be covered under their rental insurance. Help!


Asked on 3/14/01, 10:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Holzman Holzman Law Firm, LLC

Re: renters insurance

I litigate insurance coverages quite frequently. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to ascertain which policy coverage applies without reading the actual policy documents thoroughly. Fortunately, you seem to have the answer at your fingertips. You indicated that your neighbor agrees with you that you should not have to pay the deductable and that their coverage should apply. In that case, it is likely that they would have to pay a deductable from their own policy. So, it seems that the answer is that you should just ask your neighbor to pay the deductable.

Also, you seem to be talking about homeowners or rental insurance policies. You should check the "comprehensive" coverage on your auto policy as well. Typically, that would coverage such damage -- and most policies have very small comprehensive deductables (typically $50.00).

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.

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Answered on 5/24/01, 2:34 pm


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