OAI: Michigan Supreme Court Takes Up Auto Insurance Exception
The court looks at the "joyriding exception."
/EINPresswire.com/The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday regarding a legal doctrine invoked in two recent cases that show just how much the lines can blur between what is and is not covered under an car insurance policy, says OnlineAutoInsurance.com.
The legal doctrine that the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about is called the "family joyriding exception." It has been used in at least two cases where claims were filed under Michigan auto insurance policies for damages sustained when the driver took another family member's insured car without permission but did not have an intention to actually steal the car.
In both instances, the insurance companies covering the vehicles denied claims for the drivers' injury damages. They did so by citing an exception contained in state car insurance law saying that coverage providers in the state are not required to pay first-party claims to drivers of the insured vehicle who were committing an "unlawful" act at the time of the crash.
The question here is whether taking a family member's car without permission is actually considered theft of a car and, therefore, an unlawful act, or whether it falls into the gray area currently covered in some cases by the joyriding exception.
In both cases being brought to the state Supreme Court, the last lower court to review them found that the joyriding exclusion applied. The cases are being brought to the Michigan Supreme Court on appeal by the auto insurance companies that were ordered to pay the claims that sparked the cases.
Source: http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/
For more on this and other coverage issues, readers can head to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/michigan/ to get access to informative resource pages and a helpful rates-comparison generator that shoppers can use to get the best rates on a policy.
About OnlineAutoInsurance.com:
OnlineAutoInsurance.com supplies informative resources for consumers seeking to understand the finer points of coverage and quote-comparison services for shoppers looking for the best rates on a policy.
Media Contact:
Benjamin Zitney
Online Auto Insurance
(909)784-2475
http://news.onlineautoinsurance.com/
PR courtesy of Online PR Media: http://bit.ly/yxnys3
/EINPresswire.com/The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday regarding a legal doctrine invoked in two recent cases that show just how much the lines can blur between what is and is not covered under an car insurance policy, says OnlineAutoInsurance.com.
The legal doctrine that the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about is called the "family joyriding exception." It has been used in at least two cases where claims were filed under Michigan auto insurance policies for damages sustained when the driver took another family member's insured car without permission but did not have an intention to actually steal the car.
In both instances, the insurance companies covering the vehicles denied claims for the drivers' injury damages. They did so by citing an exception contained in state car insurance law saying that coverage providers in the state are not required to pay first-party claims to drivers of the insured vehicle who were committing an "unlawful" act at the time of the crash.
The question here is whether taking a family member's car without permission is actually considered theft of a car and, therefore, an unlawful act, or whether it falls into the gray area currently covered in some cases by the joyriding exception.
In both cases being brought to the state Supreme Court, the last lower court to review them found that the joyriding exclusion applied. The cases are being brought to the Michigan Supreme Court on appeal by the auto insurance companies that were ordered to pay the claims that sparked the cases.
Source: http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/
For more on this and other coverage issues, readers can head to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/michigan/ to get access to informative resource pages and a helpful rates-comparison generator that shoppers can use to get the best rates on a policy.
About OnlineAutoInsurance.com:
OnlineAutoInsurance.com supplies informative resources for consumers seeking to understand the finer points of coverage and quote-comparison services for shoppers looking for the best rates on a policy.
Media Contact:
Benjamin Zitney
Online Auto Insurance
(909)784-2475
http://news.onlineautoinsurance.com/
PR courtesy of Online PR Media: http://bit.ly/yxnys3
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