Question:
I was cautioning netters about buying and installing used LPG tanks or equipment for motor fuel on their GMC's. I note there is a Federal Standard which is set for all 50 States, but it appears to be voluntary. Some States mandate certain LPG components be replace or re-certified every 15 years. Maybe this is one of the reasons you see so many used components for sale on eBay? The requirements for handling "Liquid Propane are much different than Propane Gas. For instance, you must use steel pipe & certified Liquid line hose (no copper) from the tank to the evaporator. You must not run it through the inside of the vehicle. It must be separated from the exhaust system by the frame. I also pointed to the insurance brake problem with the coach at Miguel's as an example of an insurance "contract". It may well be a "contract" but unfortunately for many of us we must restort to the courts to force the insurance company to honor it. It cost me over $32,000 in legal fees to collect on my "contract". I was hit head on and the other motorist accepted 100% fault. I will never forget the opening statement by the insurance companies lawyer; "We accept 100% liability for this accident, however we find you suffered no injury or loss as a result of this accident." Compound fractures, eye damage, closed head injury, internal injuries etc. Insurance, like any other contract, is only as good as your ability to pay your lawyer.

Answer: With nearly 3 decades of experience in the insurance industry, I'm intimately familiar with its shortcomings. I'm also genuinely sorry to hear of your bad experience from being injured at no fault of your own. I do believe however that, while stories like yours are legion, they are the exception - not the rule.

Your experience tho' has a distinct difference to the subject at hand. You were not the policyholder. The party that injured you had a legal responsibility to "make you whole" to the extent possible. This responsibility is written in law, not an insurance policy. The contractual responsibility was between him and the insurance company. In reality, your situation would not have been greatly different had he not been insured - the possible exception being his ability to hire as "good"(that pains me) a lawyer.

In a way tho', your experience makes my point for me. If the company is looking for a way to shirk its duty, then they will find an excuse somewhere - rather real or imagined.