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[amdt57]

On March 1st of this year my brother was at the house waiting for me to get home from work so he could pick up his registration renewal, which I had gotten for him. He had a spare key to one of my cars. A guy driving a vehicle pulling a trailer arrived in the area to pickup a bed from somewhere in the neighborhood, and my brother was going to move the car so the guy could park. While attempting to get into the car, the guy flipped out for some reason, whether because of a misinterpretation of words or something else, and intentionally hit the drivers side door of my vehicle with his trailer, injuring my brothers neck and causing $1,000-$2,000 in damage to the vehicle. He sped off, not even stopping for the stop sign, and went home where he proceeded to unhook the trailer and attempt to make it look like it hadn't been moved by parking other vehicles in front of it.

My brother managed to get this guys plate number and called the police, who quickly located the guy, his vehicle, and the trailer. My brother and I went over with the police and he positively identified the vehicle, trailer, and the guy driving. The man was charged with 3 things: Leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in personal injury or death, Driving on a suspended or revoked license, and Failure to report an accident. He has since plead guilty to all of these charges. In March, my insurance company (Progressive) found my brother 100% not liable after investigating. Today, I received a letter from this guys insurance company (American Family) that states the following:

Our investigation has been completed and it has been determined this would not be considered an accident under out insureds auto policy.

We must deny your liability claim.

How can this not be considered an accident? Is there anything that I can do to have this decision overturned? Is there any legal action I can initiate against this insurance company? Since the person who committed this crime admitted guilty to all of the charges, why would my claim be denied?

Thanks for your help!

[dacy17]

Did your vehicle have Comprehensive? If it did have your insurance fix it and let them figfht with the other insurance. They are denying because the driver wasn't legally licensed. Another choice would be to get a lawyer(on contingency) to sue the other driver/vehicle owner for damages ,med bills,and his costs.

Contingency= if you don't win he doesn't get paid. You are out no $$.

[fychan97]

Did your vehicle have Comprehensive? If it did have your insurance fix it and let them figfht with the other insurance. They are denying because the driver wasn't legally licensed. Another choice would be to get a lawyer(on contingency) to sue the other driver/vehicle owner for damages ,med bills,and his costs.

Contingency= if you don't win he doesn't get paid. You are out no $$.

this guys insurance are not saying it never happened they seem to be saying coz the man did it on deliberate it was not an accident and coz they only insure the guy against accidents they are saying they do not have to pay out on it coz it was not an accident
in other words they are saying you must sue the driver not them
they are just playing games, your insurance will have to sort this out not you

[ahanu]

This is not your concern. You have insurance to protect you. IF you commit a crime and vandalize someone's car with yours, as it happened here, your insurance company will not cover your acts either. Crimes are not covered under any insurance. Your insurance company files against the other if they succeed or not that is their business. Your car and medical expenses are covered by your policy. End of story.

[nemausus36]

It's not an accident because it was an intentional act. All auto insurance policies state that intentional acts are not covered.
You will have to use your own insurance. They will then sue the other driver.
If you don't have the proper coverage on your policy, you'll have to sue him personally.