Action 9: Woman says she had trouble getting insurance to pay after car wreck

HICKORY, N.C. — When a woman totaled her car, she had trouble getting insurance to cut the check.

Azalee Hunt crashed in Hickory.

"This really shook me up.  I was terrified," she said.

She says first responders had to cut her our of her 2012 Chevy Impala. 

"It was devastating," she said.

Allstate gave her bank a check for the car. But Hunt still owed $1,542 for the rest of the loan.  That's why the auto website Edmunds.com recommends GAP insurance. 

"You get in an accident and the car gets totaled, you can be on the hook for thousands of dollars, possibly even more, and, if there's injuries, even more than that," spokesman Philip Reed said.

Hunt had GAP insurance with Protective Life Insurance Company, but she was having trouble getting it to cover the GAP. 

"Why did I take this other insurance if it's not there to do what it says," she said.

So her daughter contacted Action 9.  We got in touch with Protective, which sent us an email saying, "I'm happy to report that we were able to resolve this issue directly with our customer to everyone's satisfaction." 

Hunt's daughter sent us a note, saying, "Thank you so much!"

Edmunds.com said usually you buy GAP insurance when you buy a vehicle, but some auto insurance companies will sell it at any time after the purchase. 

"Your GAP insurance policy might not be honored if you don't have collision and comprehensive insurance coverage," it said.

"If someone steals your car or it's totaled in an accident, carefully follow all of the requirements that your auto insurance company makes. For example, some companies require you to continue making car payments on your totaled vehicle until the money from the gap insurance is paid out."

WSOC