Common clause leaves drivers with 'full auto coverage' uninsured
LAYTON, UT — (KUTV) Kendra Bitton, 22, was working for Pizza Hut, delivering a pizza, when she slammed into another driver.
“I just felt terrible because I knew it was my fault," she said.
Everyone was OK, but her car wasn't. It was totaled.
The good news is that Bitton has, so-called, "full coverage" insurance. So imagine her surprise when her insurance company, Farmers Insurance, told her they aren't going to pay a dime.
"They said, 'Because you were driving on the job, we are not able to cover you. If you want to get any money for your car, you would have to file a claim through Pizza Hut.""
No luck from Pizza Hut, either.
"Pizza Hut's insurance was only for medical costs," Bitton said Pizza Hut bosses told her.
Get Gephardt reached out to Pizza Hut to ask about the denial. We got one response, a short voicemail, but the company’s spokesperson didn't respond to multiple subsequent calls and emails.
Farmers insurance did respond. A spokesperson wrote in an email, "In general, personal auto insurance policies were not designed to provide drivers with coverage while they are using their personal vehicle for deliveries or other types of business pursuits."
But, in the end, some good news for Bitton: Farmers found what they called a "technicality" in the way her claim had been handled and, thus, they have now reimbursing her for the damages to her car even though she was delivering pizza at the time.
She's happy, but still frustrated that Pizza Hut never gave her a heads up.
The Utah department of insurance echoed what Farmer Insurance stated.
Commissioner Todd Kiser says it's very common that insurance companies included exclusions that leave the insurance company off the hook to pay if someone is driving for any reason other than transporting themselves of their passengers from point A to point B for personal reasons.
Any caterer, door-to-door salesman, realtor, or even someone who volunteers to transport something for their church, if they use their own car and don't have a commercial policy, they are likely taking on a huge financial risk, Kiser says.
