Rental Car on Total Loss Claims in Texas
Blogs are buzzing because in the recent Texas Supreme Court Case, J&D Towing LLC v. American Alternative Insurance Corporation 2016 WL 91201 (Tex. 2016), a major wrong that has been going on since before there were even cars was righted.
If you have never had the misfortune of dealing with a “total loss” claim, count yourself lucky! If you have, you might have been in a situation where the insurance company for the person that hit you refused to pay for a rental car since your vehicle was totaled.
I can’t say how many times I have answered the phone and had to explain to accident victims that the law was not helpful when it came to loss of use or a rental car on total loss claims in Texas.
For the entirety of my adjusting career, the law said insurance companies didn’t have to pay for loss of use damages when a vehicle was “totally destroyed”. I remember my supervisors telling me not to pay for loss of use or rental on totals.
It is just how it is.
Well, not anymore.
In a stroke of clarity, the Supreme Court pointed to logic when they made the decision. They clarified that the current rule didn’t make sense, that it was “illogical” to suppose that the owner of a totaled vehicle (whether totally destroyed or not) suffers any less loss of use than the owner of a vehicle that is not totally destroyed, but repairable.
How about that? A little logic for once.
If you have been the victim of an unfair total loss claim settlement that didn’t offer you loss of use, you might want to revisit the claim.
If you have been involved in an automobile collision, don’t forget to call our office to make sure you have all the information you need to get your claim settled the right way.
Fill out the form below and let’s talk about it!
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