Legal Question in Insurance Law in Pennsylvania

insurance fraud verses truth

I was involved in an accident in which an uninsured and nonlicensed driver was responsible. He was the driver of car in which I was a passenger. I am aware that if I say I was driving I would be committing insurance fraud. If I tell the truth about who was the driver, what will be the consequences to this person. What is the extent of the actions that will be brought against this person (who was my husband). The driver of the other vehicle has reported him as the driver but I have been informed that it is his word against mine. My insurance company has all but said they believe that I am not telling the truth about the situation and have given me a few days to decide if I want to ammend my statement. What will happent to my husband if we tell the truth.


Asked on 2/01/00, 8:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: insurance fraud verses truth

You DON'T want to commit insurance fraud. When it is clear that your husband was unlicensed, your insurance company will disclaim coverage. If the other driver had insurance, he will get his car fixed and medical bills paid by his own insurance company through his first party benefits. If he wants to make a bodily injury claim, he also likely will do that through his own insurance company for uninsured motorist (UM) benefits. Then his insurance company may make a subrogation claim against your husband to get its money back. Insurance companies normally will negotiate a repayment schedule. Of course, whether your husband has to repay depends on whether the accident was his fault. An experienced lawyer can help guide your husband through the process if a claim is made.

This is general information for discussion purposes. We would have to have an attorney-client relationship for me to give legal advice.

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Answered on 2/03/00, 7:02 am


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