Question
Connie;
There was a post on the newbies board about false log entries and HOS. It reminded me of a question I have had for awhile. Uturn2001 suggested I post my question here and see what you might think of this situation.
I have often wondered about this situation: Suppose that I (O/O) falsify my logs for whatever stupid reason, and during this time I'm involved in an accident. My fault, their fault, or nobody's fault. I keep wondering if the insurance claim was large enough, would my insurance company's lawyers decide that since I was in violation of the HOS the insurance company would be under no obligation to honor the claim? I wonder if the insurance company might look at this situation much like driving without a license: "You should have never been there in the first place, you were driving illegally, we don't have to pay." I doubt this would happen with a "small" claim, but it seems if there is enough money involved the insurance company would look under every rock to find a way out.
If this were true, then as an O/O, the thought of losing my truck, my house, and all but the shirt on my back would sure make me and many other folks rethink the false log notion, don't you agree?
Dave
Answer
Uncle Dave,
This is a great question!
As we all know falsifying logs is wrong, but we all know that happens all the time.
It has been my experience in the case of a Physical Damage claim, logs are not used by the insurance company as a routine matter of investigation.
However, in the case of Liability (whether Primary or Non-Trucking), it is routine to provide copies of logs for the day of the incident, week before and week following. I have actually seen where this practice has exonerated my clients from being held liable in an "alleged non-contact incident".
In my experience, I have not known an insurance company to actually deny a claim on the basis of false logs, but I'm sure that it could create a very adverse situation in the case of liability.
When an insurance company has a filing with the FHWA, its usually "impossible" to wiggle out of a liability claim. They may be obligated to pay by the terms of the filing, BUT I'm not sure how far they may pursue action against the insured to recover. It would depend on the circumstances of the case.