Ford lightning and Cybertruck terrorist vehicles. Rented from individuals…Insurance DENYED?

[ammolab]

The vehicles used in the two New Year’s Eve attackers were rented from INDIVIDUALS on the Terro app. Now my insurance has acts of “War, Terrorist, and nuclear incident” exceptions of coverage..so I bet the policy of the owner-renters has the same and more.

Don’t you think two guys just lost a 100,000 dollar vehicle with zero help from their insurance company?

 

[dishdude]

It's spelled "Turo"

Both owners will be facing years of litigation over this.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Regardless of what the renters did, I'm not sure an insurance company would insure anything done to/with a vehicle if it didn't have the policyholder at the wheel, but I very well could be wrong.

 

[JHZR2]

Wait, your personal insurance, or some insurance you have for renting out your vehicle on an app?

I’d hate to park my car someplace and have something completely unassociated with my use end up costing me in full.

 

[dubber09]

It's spelled "Turo"

Both owners will be facing years of litigation over this.

I guess, not anymore... LOL

 

[Rand]

I guess, not anymore... LOL

What? What am I missing? and why is it funny?

 

[bdcardinal]

I would think you would have to have some sort of commercial vehicle insurance to rent a vehicle with Turo just like using your vehicle for Uber or Lyft.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

I guess, not anymore... LOL

The renters are no longer with us. The owners still are.

 

[Trav]

The vehicles used in the two New Year’s Eve attackers were rented from INDIVIDUALS on the Terro app. Now my insurance has acts of “War, Terrorist, and nuclear incident” exceptions of coverage..so I bet the policy of the owner-renters has the same and more.

Don’t you think two guys just lost a 100,000 dollar vehicle with zero help from their insurance company?

I doubt they will pay out for a vehicle that was used as a rental that was owned by an individual and not a rental company. That would be beyond crazy for them to do that. I reckon those 2 guys are going to have to suck it up and face the consequences.

 

[Elkins45]

Is it possible that Turo has their own coverage that applies when the owner agrees to list the vehicle with them? If not I just can’t see why anyone with an expensive classic vehicle would ever list it with Turo if they know neither Turo nor their individual policy issuer will make them whole.

Besides, the Lightning might still be drivable.

 

[slackinoff]

I am a licensed TX agent. I would not expect an insurance company to pay the owners/insureds unless they specifically purchased an endorsement covering that situation. The auto policies I sell offer endorsements for lyft & uber drivers....I have not seen anything on a personal auto policy for the Turo type of situation.

Is it possible that Turo has their own coverage that applies when the owner agrees to list the vehicle with them? If not I just can’t see why anyone with an expensive classic vehicle would ever list it with Turo if they know neither Turo nor their individual policy issuer will make them whole.

Besides, the Lightning might still be drivable.

Yes it's possible and very probable that Turo offers coverage while the vehicle is being used for their service.

I agree on what you said......It could be people just assume their own personal auto policy covers it....People do A LOT of assuming when it comes to insurance.....unfortunately. The most important thing I do all day, is asking folks what they expect from the policy I am selling them. That questions leads down some funny (to me at least) roads.

Now if you loan your car to a friend and they wreck it, that is covered on TX personal auto policies. But this thing is for a fee so....I would not expect the policy to cover.

 

[dubber09]

What? What am I missing? and why is it funny?

OP called it - the company was used for the purpose 'new name' reflects.

 

[andrew_j]

It is not proven to be a terrorist incident just likely.

 

[slackinoff]

Also - Generally for Texas insurance, for the insurance company to deny based on an "act of terrorism", that classification has to come down from the government. As in the government has to clearly state such.

 

[Rand]

In this case you generally get insurance from turo to cover renting your vehicle through them.
If they are smart they will pay up.. small price to pay to avoid massive bad publicity.

 

[tmorris1]

It is not proven to be a terrorist incident just likely.

What more proof is needed to call it a terrorist act? There are videos that the guy put out and he kills 15 people

 

[opus1]

...I just can’t see why anyone with an expensive classic vehicle would ever list it with Turo...

I can't see listing *any* of my vehicles with Turo, period. Same thing with putting my house on AirBnB, Vrbo, or any similar rental scenario.

 

[Vil_Riker]

Also - Generally for Texas insurance, for the insurance company to deny based on an "act of terrorism", that classification has to come down from the government. As in the government has to clearly state such.

I think that might be the case for all states and companies. When I was shopping for insurance for my company a couple months ago, my question to the agent was thus: what is the definition of terrorism for the coverage and their answer was that an even decided as such by the Department of Homeland Security.

 

[dnewton3]

The specific question before us is this: Are the two vehicle owner's going to be hung out to dry with no coverage? The subtext would then be topics of not only the vehicles themselves, but what of the damage done regarding liability to others? And where does Turo fit into this in regard to indemnity, etc?

These questions are dependent upon the policy specifics.
- If the policies held were the typical private-use type, then I'd say the owners would have an uphill battle getting coverage.
- However, if they were prudent and got additional permitted-use riders or some type of commercial policy extension on the vehicles, then they'd probably be covered.
This also comes down to which state laws are in effect; though similar, they are not all the same.

As noted, there would likely be exclusions for terrorist events; as defined by the policy and the precepts there in.

Bottom line is this:
It's all speculation at this point because not one of us knows for sure what type policy they each carried.

 

[fdcg27]

Turo offers varying degrees of collision and comprehensive coverage depending upon the vehicle owner's share agreement with Turo. Turo does offer 750K in liability coverage, which won't cover much of anything in the case of the NOLA horror. I don't know what if any liability the vehicle owner would have, although I'm sure that he or she can count on a lifetime of litigation going forward. Does LA have a vicarious liability statute? Even if not that claim could be asserted under common law.
Another thought is that the vehicle owners can look forward to a lot of up close and personal contact with law enforcement personnel, especially in the case of the owner of the Lightening.
A horrible event in NOLA and the fallout will be broad, the Vegas CT less so, since only the driver died.