Parents say Geico refused claim after car crash because their baby and toddler weren’t listed on insurance policy
Michigan Parents claim insurance company refuses to cover Geico costs car accident because their minor children were not included in their policies.
Chelsea’s Kara Vogel and Carson Howatt crashed Christmas Eve last month with their 1.5-year-old daughter and 3-month-old son. Howatt told local news that no one was injured in the minor accident.
“We were going through an intersection and a driver came to our right and didn’t yield to the intersection and hit us right in front of our car,” Vogel told the local news outlet. Click on Detroit.
Damage to the family’s car can cost between $5,000 and $15,000.
“I hope other families will learn from our story and make sure it doesn’t happen to them,” Vogel said. Independent.
Michigan parents claim insurance company Geico refused to cover their car accident because their young child wasn’t covered on their policy (Kara Vogel/Arianna Alexa Photography)
Parents said they were told their children would not be covered because they were not on the insurance policy. The family has been using Geico since they bought their car six months ago, before their son was born.
“They asked if they were my kids and if they lived with me,” Howatt told Click On Detroit. “I didn’t think anything of it and thought, ‘Yes, of course they are my children and they live with me and they were in the car when the accident happened, they were in their car seats, but no one was hurt.'”
Howatt admits he signed a form stating that only he and his wife were in their home.
“We weren’t thinking, ‘This is going to completely destroy our finances.’ It didn’t look like a big deal. The airbags didn’t go off,” Vogel said.
Kara Vogel and Carson Howatt incurred up to $15,000 in damages, but the issue was later resolved (Kara Vogel/Arianna Alexa Photography)
Independent Reached out to Geico for comment.
Geico explained in a statement to Click On Detroit that under Michigan law “all household residents must be listed on the auto policy, regardless of their age.” The government reformed no-fault auto insurance in 2019, including Personal Injury Protection requirements.
The issue was eventually resolved and the family said they would not have to pay out of pocket. But they said Geico told them they had to add their children to their policy.
vogel said Independent He said his family was “very relieved” that the issue had been resolved.
He said that his son, who is now 4 months old, has a congenital heart defect and will undergo his second heart surgery in two weeks.
“I’m glad the stress of car insurance is behind us so we can focus on our family, prepare for what’s next, and not stress about repair costs,” Vogel said.
