Auto Insurance Claims: What Steps should i take?, breach of contract, lienholder

Question
Hell, i have a question and how i should persue something. i was in the
process of selling my vehicle to a friend and he was to make payments on the
vehicle to me. We went to the DMV and he was put on the TITLE as the
registered owner, but i am on there as the legal owner of the vehicle. Well
just shortly after that he had gotten into an accident and totaled the vehicle
and he never finished paying me off. The insur had paid him more than what i
had sold the vehicle to him and he still never finished paying me off. He then
goes out and buys another vehicle and a year later still never pays me back. i
have tried and tried but nothing. so i had gotten his claim # and insur info and
was wondering what i should do and if the insur is suppose to pay me or him,
and if it is even worth contacting the insurance? The Vehicle Certification of
Ownership(TITLE) still shows me as the Legal owner, and i had never signed it
over to him, i still have it. Please Whatever info you can help me with will be
greatly appreciated. Thank You

Answer
Hi Jeremiah,

You should have been listed on the title as a lienholder and you should have required your friend to list you on the insurance policy as a lienholder.

That having been said, you can try to contact the insurance company to make a claim as the legal owner of the car. However, since they have already paid your friend they will likely not want to discuss this with you since he was their policyholder.

The most likely solution here is that you will likely need to file a law suit against your friend for breach of contract since it was the contract between you and him for payment of the car that was broken.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh