ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Wreck.... Insurance Woes

Had a first on friday, one of my guys was on the way to the supply house, the roads were slick and he decided to slam into the rear of another car. Hold on it gets better!

He calls me on the radio and tells me he had an accident. So i ask are you ok, is everybody ok? He said yes. So i take off to the site of the accident to see for myself and talk with the police. Well the problem is the employee driving my truck is not on the company insurance and was not supposed to be driving.

So the best that i can figure is I'll have to eat the repair of both vehicles and I'm guessing it's gonna run about $8K - $10K.

Now I know I'm not the first business owner that this has happened to but i can only imagine that this will drive my insurance through the roof not to mention put a huge dent in the bank account. Plus we are slammed right now and need every truck on the job.

I'll meet with my agent tomorrow to see what can be done if anything.

So guys, if you have employees in company vehicles, make sure they know the rules and comply with them. I will have to discipline this employee and hope for the best. Ahh the joys of being the boss?????



[This message has been edited by arseegee (edited 01-11-2004).]

my condolenses on your troubles arseegee, inasmuch as it may be thin, does your employee handbook specifically state anything about said uninsured driver?

public floggings aside, the onus of repairations would then be his/hers right?

~S~

Was the employee given permission to drive the truck? Does the employee have his own private vehicle insurance?

The employee has been told not to drive a company vehicle since he was not on the policy. And yes he has a personal vehicle. It was a call made by his supervisor to send him to the supply house.

..Real sorry to hear that,arseegee,
It does scare the snot outta me tho'...I allow 1 of my 2 employees to drive,now and then,..but I can't remember if he's on the commercial policy,..so if the unthinkable happens,I have to foot the whole bill???
Oh,brother,I'm gonna call my agent tomorrow and find out....but what if he HAS his own insurance policy for his car,does that still apply,or am I still up a creek without a boat???

Attic Rat, Ill let you know when i get home from work tomorrow what my agent says. I just have one of those feelings though...

Why would an employee not be on your insurance? I have driven many company trucks over the years and was never asked for my drivers lic to be listed on a company's insurance. I have commercial ins on my truck and my policy states only company employee's or someone who has a lic. out of my house.

Well, I wouldn't worry too much. If your insurance doesn't cover it his should. Might be a real PITA to get satisfaction here but you certainly don't want to shell out that kind of money.

arseegee:

Would the supervisor also be at fault since he was the one who told the guy who wasn't supposed to move a company vehicle to go take it to the supply house?

My agent, (who i wired his 7000sqft home, who has my home, life, personal auto, commercial auto, workers comp and commercial liabilty insurance with) said he would do what he could to slide it through. This is the first claim i have ever made. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

JoeyD my policy requires drivers to be listed and run through DMV reports before they are allowed on the policy. And this employee was never added.