A Connecticut trial court recently awarded judgment, following a bench trial, in favor of an insured who sought coverage from her insurance company for her vehicle after it was stolen and destroyed by fire. Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Cruz, CV08-6001841 (Conn. Super. Ct. June 9, 2009).
The insured owed money to Ford Motor Credit on the vehicle. Although she was current on her obligations under that loan and may have been ahead on her required payments, her insurer attempted to demonstrate that a possible motive for the loss of the vehicle was that she could not afford the payments. The court rejected the insurer’s theory and instead found credible the insured’s evidence that, regardless of the fact that she did not have current income to make the monthly payments, she had assets as a result of her savings and proceeds of a personal injury award in an unrelated event. The court found that the insured fulfilled all her obligations under the insurance contract and awarded the insured damages for the loss of her vehicle.
