Yahoo Autos Why Your Insurance Company Can Deny Your Claim and Get Away With It
Outside of the fact that most states require drivers to have it, the reason you get insurance is so you're not stuck with a big bill in the event that something bad happens to your car. You pay your premium every month, and if you're involved in a crash or your car gets stolen, the insurance company foots the bill. Except it doesn't always happen like that.
In some states like Michigan, your insurance company has huge leeway to deny your claim on a stolen car. Statistically, this seems to happen more frequently when the car owner is nonwhite, a troubling trend. And if an insurance company does this to you, you probably can't do anything about it.
That's because a state like Michigan only allows people to sue for the value of the claim. So if the insurance company owes you $20,000 for your stolen car, even if you win, it only has to pay you that $20,000. Lawyer fees? On you. Damages caused by the insurance company denying your claim? Not happening.
And since insurance companies know this, they're much more likely to deny claims. To hear more, check out the latest podcast from consumer protection attorney and R&T contributor Steve Lehto.
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