My brother hit a lady. It was a minor accident as he had applied sudden brake. In consequence of this he had to appear before the court and he pleaded "guilty" and was let off with a fine of 200/-. Now she has filed for compensation. We have the third party insurance.The owner of the vehicle is my sister in law (his wife). Will it pose any difficulty to us as the driver and owner is not the same ? Can the insurance company evade their responsibility because of this reason? Is it necessary that we should refund to the insurance company any compensation paid to them?
Answers:
The insurance companies are very clever in such cases. Firstly the third party insurance usually covers these: 1) any permanent injury / death to a person caused by your car.
2) Any damage caused to the property (excluding vehicle) of some other individual by your vehicle.
In any of the above events, the insurance company will be fully liable to the person suffering such a loss. In your case the injury suffered is not permanent but only temporary or minor as the amount of fine of Rs200/- only specifically proves this. Secondly What if someone else was driving at the time of the accident? Is that person covered by owner's policy? Insurance companies state if the person driving the vehicle is a valid license holder, the vehicle is insured for all the accidents that occurred due to the hazards specified. To insure the person driving the vehicle, who is not the owner; an additional personal accident cover has to be taken for unnamed passengers. Now first you have to check whether this additional personal accident cover was taken by the owner in the said third party insurance or not. If it has been taken then check if the third party insurance covers the minor or temporary injuries in this policy or not. If both these things are covered then you can always claim the compensation paid to the person injured in this accident otherwise the insurance company will refuse paying such a claim to you or to the party directly in this case.
That is why they had third pary insurance, if they do not pay sue them, they must, a ticket does not presume responceibility
The insurance company will not offer you any help in this matter, and you alone will have to bear all the expenses. The insurance company has full right to evade their responsibility
your sister and you are liable..Iinsurance company will not pay to your sister in law
As long as the insurance policy is valid, person driving had a valid driving licensce, was not under influence of alcohol / drugs etc, you have nothing to fear absolutely.
With this assumption ok, ready further:
Owner and person driving can be differant (usually is when you hire a driver - inst it).
All claims have to be defended by the insurance company.
Simply pass on the notice to the insurance company to defend. All claims are to be paid by insurance and you have no liability whatsoever.
Do not beleive any advice to the contrary.
(1) when summons is received from the tribunal, let the defendant(s) appear on the day without fail. (2) Think about engaging a lawyer later on, on cost-benefit basis (3) Ensure that the Insurance company is also cited as defendant, or file an application before the Tribunal to do so (4) Ensure that the driver was having a valid riving licence at thetime of the accident (5) Ensure that the driver was not recorded to have violated any law (Drunken driving, more than the number of passengers permitted, defective head or rear light etc) in the FIR. (6) Write a detailed letter about the case with full details to the insurance company asking them to defend the case.
If there is no violation of law and insurance was valid, insurance company would ultimately pay. No liability will be there on the owner/driver. Mostly these cases are compromised in the Lok Adalat, at a later stage.
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