Hurt in a crash while driving for work — employer says they have no coverage. What do we do?
My husband works a route-based sales job where he's constantly driving between client sites throughout the day. Last week he got rear-ended pretty hard at an intersection while heading to a customer visit — the other driver ran a red light. He's dealing with a stiff neck, shoulder pain that won't quit, and some pretty bad headaches the doctors are keeping an eye on.
Here's where things get messy:
The job requires him to use his own car. When he was hired, they mentioned something vague about needing 'adequate insurance coverage' but nobody ever verified it, asked for proof, or followed up. He's been doing this for almost two years.
His employer is now saying they have zero liability because he's technically driving his personal vehicle. They claim they don't carry any commercial auto or employer liability coverage for situations like this.
His personal auto policy is pushing back too. Insurer is hinting that because he was on a work errand, this might not be fully covered under his personal policy. So now we're caught in the middle.
He can't work right now — partly the injuries, partly because his car is undrivable and repair costs are up in the air. Lost wages are already piling up.
We've been told to 'just talk to HR,' but every time we try to get anything in writing they dodge us and want to handle everything over the phone. That feels wrong.
Has anyone dealt with something like this before? Between the at-fault driver, his employer, and his own insurance, I don't even know who's supposed to be responsible here. Where do you even start?