QuestionHi, I live in colorado and I recently crashed my car into a tree. There were no other cars involved and no one was injured. the police at the scene did a field sobriety check and claimed that I failed. i refused the b.a. and they took my blood. the results are not yet in but m car had been deemed "totalled." I have full coverage insurance with Geico and the claim adjuster said that they would pay me $15000 for my settlement. they still are asking for a copy of the police report. my question is, would geico have the right to deny my claim because the police report says I was intoxicated, even though i have not yet been found guilty of the d.u.i?
AnswerHello,
You are asking me a legal question I can;t answer because I am not a licensed Colorado attorney.
However, based on my extensive background with insurance claims, my first question would be did you tell the insurance company you had been consuming alcohol before the crash? If not and the police report comes out that alcohol was a mitigating factor, you might be denied for misrepresenting material fact.
You are speaking about 2 different situations-like apples to oranges. The insurance claim is civil in which the preponderance of the evidence is that you were intoxicated, just by the issuance of the ticket.
If you don't supply the police report, they can deny you for non-cooperation. If you do, it is a material misrepresentation if you did not tell them. This is where people get into trouble.
See, if you said: I was drinking before driving my car and crashing it, there would be no issue. They would pay the claim and then your rates may not go up until you were convicted of the DUI. However, if you left out that fact, you may have a problem with your claim.
Insurance companies from my experience these days are looking for any reason to deny a claim, and this would be a good reason if they were not told.
The same holds true in reported stolen cars, but one does not have to even l;eave out anything in that case. What they do there is assume the car was driven last and not towed. Then they get some guy masquerading his process off as "Forensic" that will say for the insurance company the car was driven with the insured's key. Can they prove it? Most times no. Are these forensic experts deceptive? In most cases, yes or they flat out lie in my opinion! Claim is denied! Now, if it's that simple on thefts, look at what they can do with a [police report that says you were charged with DUI and did not tell them about drinking before the crash.
The DUI in most states is criminal. That is the other side of your situation.
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