Research Paper On Ethical Question.

In the event my car got injured in an accident and the insurance company asked me to get repair estimates, would it be ethical for me to get the estimates from a more expensive body shop in town while I intend to have it fixed in a cheaper place. My answer is yes it would be unethical. I shall discuss this based on the principle of indemnity under the law of insurance. Indemnity means that the insurance company has the duty to restore me to the position I was prior to the occurrence of the accident. As the insured, I am not supposed to benefit or make a profit as a result of this compensation. The compensation the insurance company pays should be at a fair and reasonable cost for the repair of the car. This then means the insurer has a duty to determine what is fair and reasonable. Therefore, the amount they pay to me should be sufficient to get the car fixed plus any other costs that can directly be attributable to fixing it. Any surplus I retain after the process belongs to the insurer and should be returned.
If am not planning to have the car repaired would it be ethical to take the money from the insurance company? Yes, it is ethical because I had an insurable interest in the car. This means there was a benefit I was deriving from its existence, and I am now incurring a loss due to its damage. Furthermore, the insurance company isn’t paying more than a fair and reasonable cost to reinstate me back to the position I was before the occurrence of the accident.

Work cited

Walmsley, R M. The Principle of Indemnity and Its Application. London: Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, 1995. Print.