Missouri Insurance Lawyer Blog

How you may buy your insurance policy is changing in Missouri and national. Many insurance companies are placing a large emphasis towards online purchase of policies. In some of these ads the major point is a cheap price and insurance coverage is displayed as commodities that can simply be purchased like picking a cereal box off your grocery's shelf.
The problem of course is insurance policies are way more important than what cereal you choose. Obviously the price of anything is important, and consumers are naturally price sensitive, but the old adage, you get what pay for continues to be true. If you buy at rock bottom prices online you're getting paired down coverage that may leave you with many gaps.
Simply put, all coverage are not the same, and just because you have a coverage doesn't mean you are covered exactly the same way you would be if you had seen and agent and purchased a policy that cost a little more. My advice is see an insurance agent or two in person. Get advice on what the scope and price of coverage is and then choose which policy is best for your particular situation.
Let me give you an example of how two policies can differ greatly. An inexpensive underinsured motorist policy from a national online advertiser defines underinsured motorist coverage in a way that totally off sets the coverage by what the opposing driver has in liability coverage. A more traditional company that sells its policy through agents cost a little more, but it treats the same coverage as excess over the other driver's liability coverage. So if buyer one has $100,000.00 of underinsured coverage and is in a sever crash with another driver who has $100,000 of liability coverage and is badly injured he collects $100,000.00. The second buyer who paid a little more gets to collect $200,000.00. Obviously one of these policies offers much more protection than the other.
As I see it the problem with buying on line is that you don't get to ask questions face to face, and you really don't get an understanding of what is really covered. I recommend that you treat insurance like what it really is, a very important part of your financial risk management, even if some companies want to race to the bottom competing over price.

If you use an insurance agent to obtain your insurance policy then that insurance agent has certain responsibilities that are imposed by law. In Missouri when an insurance agent undertakes to procure insurance for a party, with a view to earning a commission, he becomes the party's agent and owes a duty to the party to act with reasonable care, skill and diligence. If an agent is unable to obtain the insurance you sought, he has a duty to timely notify you.   The failure to procure the appropriate coverage or the failure to timely notify you will render an agent liable damages.  

If your agent has broken these rules you may sue for money damages for the breach of the agreement to obtain the insurance requested or for negligent breach of the agent's duty. In addition, an independent insurance agent and his client may have a fiduciary relationship.  A fiduciary duty between principal (you) and agent (insurance agent) requires the exercise of utmost fidelity and good faith.  In Missouri the existence of a fiduciary relationship obligates the agent to make a complete and full disclosure of all material facts concerning the transaction which might affect the principal's decision regarding the subject of the relationship. In Missouri it is a breach of fiduciary duty for an agent to occupy a position antagonistic to his principal.

If your agent failed to obtain the policy or coverage you requested, or failed to notify you and you have suffered an uncovered loss or are being sued but have no insurance to cover your liability you may be able to pursue your insurance agent for his wrong doing.

Insurance companies often say one thing then do another. Most of the time, an insurance policy means what it says however, there are numerous reasons why you may be entitled to collect from an insurance policy despite what the company or the policy represents to you at the time you make a claim. As a result you should make sure that you know your legal rights and do not rely solely on the insurance company for your interpretation of the policy. It is critically important that you are aware that sometimes the policy language itself may not control. For instance if the language is confusing, vague or ambiguous your claim may be covered.

Consider also that sometimes part of the policy may be illegal under the law of your state. For example a personal automobile policy which includes uninsured motorist coverage for the policy holder. In many states, most every policy sold of this type, contains an anti-stacking clause which prevents a policy holder who owns more than one vehicle from stacking or collecting the policy limits for each uninsured motorist coverage. However, in many states the insured can stack uninsured motorist coverage. Therefore if you had four vehicles each with uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000.00 and you are injured by an uninsured motorist instead of being able to collect $25,000.00 you could collect up to $100,000.00 despite the anti-stacking clause. Relying on the insurance company to tell you what's covered is not the smart move. So even if you have read your policy it is critically important for you to understand your rights. Simply reading the policy will not protect all of your rights and it is important that you inform yourself of those rights if you are making a claim under an insurance policy.

.  Chris Faiella, a partner with the law firm of Tatlow, Gump & Faiella, LLC has helped clients fight insurance companies after they have been told a policy of a person who injured them was canceled and in cases where their own insurance company claimed a policy lapsed.  Our firm has been successful in securing recoveries for clients in these situations. If there was not proper notification of the cancellation of a policy by the insurance company then you may have a claim even if the company claims there is no insurance coverage.  

Speak with an Attorney

 Call toll free 1-800-264-3455 to speak with a Chris Faiella of the Law firm of Tatlow, Gump & Faiella, LLC about your Insurance Coverage claim when the Insurance Company did not provide proper notification of cancelation or lapse.