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Towing
Towing charges may be incurred incident to a vehicle collision or as the result of other causes and require removal of a disabled vehicle from the street to a city pound, to the owner's home or in some cases directly to a repair location or salvage yard. These charges may represent one trip or sometimes more than one. The question arises, "who should pay them?"
If a collision was caused by the fault of another person covered by "Property Liability Coverage" insurance and there are sufficient funds to meet this expense in addition to your vehicle damage or loss, the towing charges should be part of the property damage or loss claim to be paid by his insurance company.
If there is insufficient funds available under his policy to meet the property damage or loss incurred and the towing charges, you may claim them under your own "Towing Coverage" for which there is no deductible, if you have it.
If you do not carry "Towing Coverage" or the charges are greater than the coverage provided under your policy, they may be joined with other losses such as rental, under your "Uninsured/underinsured Coverage," if you do not carry separate rental or you want to extend it before using yours, but there will be a deductable to be meet under the "Uninsured/underinsured Coverage" though it may be one you will likely recover after a year.
There is another aspect about "Towing Coverage" useful to know if you have the coverage. If your vehicle becomes disabled for any reason and is hauled from the location where it became disabled "Towing Coverage" applies. The right to recover this benefit does not have to be related to a collision or the result of anyone's fault.
If your vehicle becomes disabled for any reason and requires labor at the location of disability to get it going again, "Towing Coverage" also provides payment for such labor up to the limit you purchased - usually $150.00. An example would be the necessity of a "jump start" for which you are charged a service fee.
To determine if you have "Towing and Labor Coverage" examine your insurance declaration sheet to see if you paid a premium for it. If you did, you have the coverage. If you still don't know, call your agent and ask.
If towing costs are not collected from the responsible party's insurance company or collected under your "Uninsured/underinsured Coverage" or there is no insurance or inadequate insurance to cover this expnese, then such charges are your loss to be paid out of your pocket. It goes without saying a labor fee for a jump start at the location will be yours to bear also. These are examples of self insurance in the extreme.
A final word about towing costs. If a responsible party has sufficient "Property Liability Coverage," all towing charges should be his responsibly and not yours even though you may have the coverage on your policy.
In some instances, especially where your vehicle has been taken to a pound, the carrier of a responsible party knows there will be towing charges and in some instances pound storage charges to be paid before a vehicle will be permitted to be removed from a pound.
Insurance companies have been known to attempt to pass this cost off to a claimant even though the accident is the fault of its insured. This occurs most often when the vehicle is not destroyed but is repairable. He may be advised to bring the vehicle by the insurance companies repair estimate location so the damage can be estimated and a check issued to have it repaired or anxious about your vehicle you may have picked it up from a pound and transferred it to you home without instructions. If you paid a towing fee or a storage fee, get receipts and insist on reimbursement for these charges as part of your claim against the responsible party.
If for some reason, the insurance company of the responsible party refuses to pay them, and you carry towing coverage you can get them paid under your own coverage.
When your vehicle has been destroyed, as you will learn later, be sure the carrier of the responsible party, has the title to the vehicle as fast as you can sign it over and get it to them along with an odometer statement. Once they have the vehicle and the title document the vehicle is theirs. If they want it, they must pay the towing and any storage changes to keep the salvage. If you do not have the title because it is held by a finance company, be sure to deliver a signed consent to remove the vehicle from the pound to a location to be selected by the insurance company of the responsible party.
Dickering over the price to be paid for a destroyed vehicle can occur and be resolved much later. It helps to let the insurance company of the responsible party have the salvage of a totally destroyed vehicle at the earliest possible date. It keeps costs down and makes it certain, once possession has been taken, that it will pay towing and storage charges and feel an obligation to get the "Fair Market Value" paid as soon as possible. Avoid paying towing and storage charges yourself by passing them along to the insurance company of the responsible party when and where you can. It just makes sense!
