Legal Question in Insurance Law in Pennsylvania

Re: No Insurance Auto Accident

Short answer is yes.

Insurance generally covers every driver of a vehicle when they are operating that vehicle. In some situations an insurer will exclude an operator from the policy in order to control their costs. My guess is that you live with your girlfreind, she has a bad driving record and you agreed with the insurer that should would not be covered so that you could get a much lower rate than if she was covered.

When an insurer writes a policy it is essentially making a well educated bet that the premiums it takes in will exceed the marginal cost of tha policy. It charges premiums based on the risk involved. If a driver has a good record and other good variable indcators then the premium will be lower. If the driver is has a bad record and other negatives the premium can skyrocket. In this case you chose to exclude your girlfreind from coverage in order to save on the premium. Had your girlfreind not been living and not bee specifically excluded you would have likely been covered.

In this case, your insurer will recover all its losses from you. The insurer must pay the damage to the other cars and property but will seek indemnification (subrogation) from you. If your girlfreind was at fault in the accident you may be completely responsible for every single dollar of damage in the accident.

But there is a bright side. Even though as the owner of the vehicle you are responsible for the damage, you have a claim against the driver. Yes, that's right. You have the privilege of passing all the claims along to the driver. Problem is that you are between the damaged parties and the driver. They can only get to you and only you can get to her. So either you must pay the damages and collect from her or the injured parties will sue you and you must interplead your girlfriend.

As you can see, you are in a bit of a pickle. You absolutely need a lawyer to help you navigate through this mess. A competent attorney can give you the advice and take the actions that will limit your liability and protect your assets to the greatest extent possible.

I would be happy to speak with you about this matter.

Regards,

Roger Traversa

email: [email protected]