Car insurance for women news
16/04/2009

New York argument over airbag repair bill

When you search for cheap car insurance for women having a car with top safety features may bring down the cost of your quote, but do those safety features really work?

A New York woman knows categorically that her side air bags work – just not when she wants them to.

The Bronx woman drove a friend home in her new 2008 Honda Accord recently, but when he got out and slammed the passenger door, the side airbags deployed from the roof and the sides of seats.

The woman described her fear to NY1, an online news channel; she said it was "very scary. I jumped out of the car. I didn't know what was going on."

And with deployed airbags she is now left driving a car that offers no impact protection. She says this worries her very much.

"I have a 10-year-old daughter who rides in my car. Something happens and there's no protection for her right now."

The car owner immediately contacted her insurance firm, but they refused to cover the bill that totalled in excess of $2,000. They told her to contact Honda. Honda checked the car and found no mechanical fault, so referred the woman back to her insurer.

The woman told the journalist of her frustration at the situation, stating that it was a new car, still under warranty and she had full cover insurance, yet the vehicle was unsafe and she was being forced to drive around in it unprotected.

A spokesperson for New York State Insurance Department eventually confirmed to NY1 that the woman's car insurance firm had a responsibility to cover the repairs to the vehicle.