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Borrowed car from friend was told had insurance got in to accident, he had no insurance. 3rd party suing me

hello i was the driver of a car that was involved in an accident . i was borrowing a friends car (that i was told was insured) , it was not .

my insurance company says i was not owner and they will not pay.( to the third party). third party is suing me for damages(not the owner?) etc, i am getting screwed or is this common practice??? i feel like my insurance co is just trying to look out for them selves

i dont want to file BK , but im not going to pay . BECAUSE she caused accident. at scene i was found at fault (she could not speak English and told cops light was yellow...lol) the prosecutor agreed and dropped charges in criminal court, a year latter i find out im getting sued

hope this makes sense

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Attorney answers (3)

Reputation Level 9
Your insurance company may be pushing you around. If you had full liability insurance, they would probably have a duty to defend you from any claim. Of course, you should not be liable for any claim if you did not cause the accident. It will be hard for you to defend yourself without an attorney. The insurance company should provide you with an attorney (if you had liability coverage). If they refuse, file a complaint with the Ohio Department of Insurance.

Reputation Level 20
As I am licensed in Florida and Vermont, I cannot comment specifically on Ohio law. However, your question is not very clear. If you have been sued and if you have automobile liability insurance coverage at the time of this accident, you should send the suit papers to your insurance company by certified, return receipt mail and demand that they file an answer and defend you in the lawsuit.

If your insurance company is not being responsive, you should file a complaint against the insurance company with your state insurance commissioner's office.

Reputation Level 13
This information is being provided for educational purposes only as I practice in Florida and Indiana.

Liability insurance usually follows the driver. You should take a look at terms of your policy. Don't worry about what happened in traffic court. Generally, traffic court proceedings have no bearing in a civil auto case. If you receive a lawsuit, just send the lawsuit to your insurance company.

Good luck.

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