Daughter in College Stole Vehicle Without Permission

by Cassandra
(Dallas, Texas)

My daughter who was off in college and came home after deciding to leave school for the semester. She is under a negative influence. She took the car to go do laundry and never returned.

We originally reported her as a missing person and the detectives were verbally able to talk with her. She has not returned the car.

The insurance investigator/adjuster is stating that since she lives with us they do not consider the car as stolen even though the police have it listed as a stolen vehicle. The insurance company is stating that they must consult their legal department. Is this normal?


Answer:


Hello Cassandra,


It is normal in the "coverage investigation process". There are issues of coverage there and the insurance company is doing what it's supposed to do. Make sure what they do it's legal.

Your daughter is most likely a family member. She has access to the car and had access to the keys. It can be concluded that she did not "steal" the vehicle. However, the policy might not exclude this situation (usually, a policy does exclude a policy holder -not the same as an insured, who could be family member - from causing intentional damage. Theft is one of those). So there are issues there.

Also, the policy does say that there was a theft, so this gives problems.

The insurance company is doing an investigation and need to have a more experience adjuster/manager/lawyer take a look at it.

I hope this helps,


Good Luck,
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com