QuestionHello Richard,
My sister was in an accident with a rental car recently and the following problem has come up regarding responsibility for damages. I am trying to assist her in sorting this out and would appreciate any advice or direction you could provide. This is the way she explained it to me:
#################################
I was in an accident in a rental car in April. I was in North
Carolina, returning to DC from a trip to Atlanta. I did not accept the Enterprise rental insurance for the car. Instead, I have some limited rental car insurance through my insurance provider, USAA, and I put the rental charge on my American Express, with the idea of having that insurance for whatever accident might occur.
The accident was fairly severe, but I wasn't injured. The car was not drivable, so I needed to get a new car. Enterprise's local franchise brought a car to me at a hotel (I stayed there for two days waiting for a car), but instead of closing out the contract for the old car and opening a new contract for the second car, the local Enterprise agency decided to leave the original contract open. They did not want to honor the great rate from the Virginia Enterprise outlet, so the NC and Virginia folks talked separately, and they agreed to handle it this way and presented it as a logical solution to me.
Upset by the accident, I decided to get the Enterprise insurance for the drive home to DC instead of relying on my USAA and American Express coverage. Since they kept the contract open, the Enterprise staffer wrote in pen on the old contract to clarify that this was now being used for the new car. He created a yes-no area on the old contract for me to accept the insurance, and I signed it that I was accepting the insurance. It was very clear the insurance was signed for the new car, and it even had the new date for the pickup of the new car--two days after the accident. I accepted the car and drove home without incident.
At this point, I now realize that two critical decisions were made
that morning, and that these are now coming back to haunt me - one, Enterprise's decision to keep the contract open; and two, my decision to accept Enterprise's insurance for the second car.
Enterprise started the claims process, and all was proceeding along until American Express denied the claim, noting that I had accepted insurance during the course of the entire rental. They noted that they refuse to cover any part of the accident if someone accepts some other form of insurance from the rental car company.
Enterprise and myself fought for two months with American Express over this problem, noting that the insurance was for an entirely different car and was after the accident, etc. Finally American Express announced last week that the decision to sign up for insurance with the open contract - even though the insurance was for a different car - voided its responsibility for any accident coverage. Basically, the contract for both cars had insurance coverage on it.
Now I'm not sure whether I have a leg to stand on with American
Express, and I'm wondering if I have some ability to pursue Enterprise for its decision to keep the contract open for its own convenience, since that decision is basically voiding my claim with American Express. I also recognize that my lack of understanding about the American Express rules for my insurance coverage may not be a defense in a case like this.
Enterprise now is demanding that I pay the $11,500 in costs for
repairing the car, tow truck, misc. costs for the vehicle not being in use. They want me to start with a payment plan. If I don't, they will put the claim into collections. I'm wondering whether I should pay even a goodwill payment or am I catching myself in some sort of legal bind.
########################################
And so Richard, that is it in a nut shell. It seems to me that the Enterprise people did not do her any favors by keeping the contract open and that American Express is trying to use this as an excuse to deny any responsibility they may have in coverage.
Can you please provide any advice?
Thank you in advance for your assistance,
Kevin S.
AnswerHi Kevin,
Unfortunately, this is actually more of a contract issue than it is an insurance issue. I think your sister needs to find an attorney as soon as possible. She will likely need to sue American express to pay the claim. She will need to bring to court the agents from Enterprise to explain to the jusge exactly what happened, when it happened and why. Then the judge can decide if the american express contract provides coverage. Although, I would also say that USAA should also be paying the claim since they provide coverage on her vehicle and in that policy contract is coverage for a temporary replacement vehicle (rental car). That should provide coverage the same as her own car so she would only be responsible for her deductible. If usaa is saying they are not going to pay this claim, your sister needs to get in writing the exact reason for the denial. The same holds for all the others involved. Never rely on a phone conversation. Everything should be confirmed in writing in both directions. If it is not in writing...it never happened.
There is no easy fix for this which is why I suggest your sister finds an attorney as soon as possible.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
