Will Car Accident Affect My Auto Insurance Rate in Utah
Reader’s Question:
I live in Utah and was involved in a car accident. It has not been determined yet who was responsible for the accident. Will my liability insurance pay anyway if I was found at fault?
Lily
Ogden, UT
Liability insurance is a safeguard to your finances against serious damage you might cause to others or their property. However, proving who is at fault in a car accident can be quite difficult. More often than not, it may take delays and entail long and expensive legal action. And in the meantime, victims wait in uncertainty and may not get paid.
This is why car insurance companies created the no-fault insurance–to take the fault out of liability. This simply means that the victim’s own car insurance provider will be accountable for medical and repairs expenses incurred resulting from the accident regardless of who is responsible for the unfortunate incident. In this manner, delays and costs of legal action are eliminated.
Since Utah is a no fault state, it means that residents involved in a car accident will be covered by their respective auto insurance providers. So, you really need not worry if you were declared at fault since the other motorist’s medical expense will be shouldered by his insurer. You have to remember, though, that if the other motorist’s expenses exceed the limit set in their liability policy, then you will be held financially responsible to shoulder the remaining cost.
Will Leased Car Company Pay For Auto Insurance in Utah
Reader’s Question:
Is it true that the lease company will pay for your auto insurance if you are leasing a vehicle? I live in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Michelle
Salt Lake City, UT
I think that is not true. The leasing company in Salt Lake City, Utah do not pay for the car insurance if you are leasing a vehicle with them. In the leasing documents it probably states there that you are responsible for carrying not only the state minimum mandated liability car insurance on the automobile but physical damage coverages of comprehensive and collision.
If you do not maintain the proper insurance on the vehicle and the leasing company finds out about it, what could happen because of this would be determined by the terms of your leasing documents. It is possible that the leasing company place “forced” insurance on the car, which would cover their asset which is the car. Normally, forced insurance is charged to you if you let the required auto insurance lapse.
When the leasing company gets the “forced” insurance for you, these charges are subject to interest and the car insurance premiums will be higher than if you buy the auto insurance yourself. This forced insurance will provides protection to the financial institute or the bank, not you the lessee, for their interest in the vehicle.
Car Insurance Question in Utah
Reader’s Question:
The person who was part of the car wash drove a stranger’s Mercedes Benz into my vehicle in Layton UT. The motorist had no insurance. Is the church car wash liable for using an uninsured motorist to drive a vehicle? Is it solely the motorist’s fault? If the car owner of the Mercedes told the uninsured driver to drive the vehicle, is it the fault of the Mercedes’ owner – and his insurance cover the damage?
Tom
Layton, UT
If the car owner of the Mercedes gave permission to the driver, then the driver will be covered under that insurance policy. If that insurance policy has ‘property damage liability’ coverage, you will need to access it to fix your vehicle. If the insurance policy of the Mercedes Benz has ‘collision’ coverage, that will be used to fix any damage to that car. There may be a deductible that may apply that the motorist may be held responsible. If the church had bought some sort of liability insurance for the car wash that may be useable; but, I do not know if the church can be held accountable for this. (You will need to seek out legal advice regarding this.) Basically, the driver and the car owner of the Mercedes (if that person gave permission to the driver to drive the car) are at fault for this accident in Layton.
