Legal Question in Insurance Law in South Carolina

Re: Auto Insurance lapse

Off hand, I am not sure. Its actually an interesting question from a legal stand point. On one hand, a legal argument can be made that the insurance company is liable because they authorized the work. And on the other hand, a legal argument can be made because you were not insured. Lawyers don't always have an instant answer to all legal questions and this is one of them. My advise would be this. If you signed anything with the body shop, then you need to read what you signed very carefully and see if there was any language in there that made you responsible for the bill in the event that the insurance company didn't pay for it. If there was, then that pretty much answers your question. If there was not, then you may want to consult with another attorney who might have experience with this situation. This is a Contract Law question and I simply am unsure of the answer. The other thing that I would warn you about is if the body shop has any sort of a storage fee that they charge. You certainly don't want that to add up while you figure this out. You might want pay the repair bill, get the car back, and then deal with the insurance company if there is any sort of daily, weekly, etc., storage fees. I'll warn you of this, insurance companies are not very understanding and don't like to pay money. You should see if you can find another attorney that has dealt with something like this. Good luck.