Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (20)
Insurance. Last week we discussed laws of insurance payments as they pertain to car accidents. We continue this relevant topic in order to bring to light various situations. A column like this cannot be a final ruling for monetary disputes, however, discussing the cases can help people understand their rights and obligations.
Claiming More Than the Torah Entitles Him. A number of current Poskim hold that since there are vehicular laws that obligate every driver to maintain basic insurance coverage and the custom is to accept these insurance payments, it thus becomes like a halacha. This means to say that all drivers drive on the road with an automatic assumption to follow the custom of the land when it comes to such payments. There might be a limit as to how far this goes. Let us see some common cases.
1) The person whose car was damaged in an accident, and it was the other driver’s fault, is permitted to go straight to the insurance company of the damager, even if he will get more than the Torah law entitles him to get (1). The extra money he receives belongs to him and not to the damager.
2) If the insurance company offers a larger payment to fix the damaged vehicle in a “deluxe” manner, however, the one who receives the money would rather fix his vehicle in a cheaper manner and keep the rest of the money, he is permitted to do so (2).
Renting a Car While Repairs Take Place. Some Poskim hold, based on the above idea that all drivers drive with the intention of following the custom of the land, that the victim may claim from insurance the right to rent a car for use during the time his car is being repaired in the shop. In Torah law such an expense is called a grama - an indirect damage expense - and the damager is not liable in Bais Din. [However, there is an obligation in the Heavenly court unless there was no negligence] On the other hand, some Poskim argue and say that there is no obligation more than the Torah obligation (3). It is not clear if they would argue on the cases we mentioned in the previous paragraphs. As a result, in all such cases one should not act by himself without consulting a Dayan on the correct way to proceed.
(1) פתחי חושן, נזיקין י:מו (2) פסקי משפט שפז:כח (3) ממונם של ישראל ח"ב עמ'י"א