In many states, it is illegal to operate an automobile without some kind of liability insurance. This is to protect you, your car, and other drivers from any kind of shenanigans, and it is why we fork over a pre-determined sum every month to keep our cars insured. Collector cars can be especially valuable, and insurance can cover everything from fire to theft, helping distraught owners recover some of the value of their lost rides.

At least that is the idea, but the DailyBreeze.com reports that one man’s insurance claim for his stolen 1969 Chevy Camaro turned into a legal nightmare when they tried to accuse him of insurance fraud.

Picture: The Daily Breeze

It’s an incredible case of insurance agent incompetence and false accusations that has 52-year old Michael Sunter understandably upset. Sunter’s ‘69 Camaro was at a restoration shop undergoing repairs from a fire at another shop, when it was stolen in the middle of the night. Sunter filed a police and insurance report. The car had previously been valued by the insurance company at $85,000.

Much to his surprise the insurance company claimed that Sunter was trying to make a fraudulent claim, saying that they had paperwork proving he had sold and shipped the car off to Australia. The insurance company even went so far as to send 14 cops to Sunter’s home, where he produced documentation showing that the car had, indeed, been stolen.

In fact, the insurance company had even inspected the Camaro two weeks after they said Sunter supposedly sold it. Sunter is now suing the company for unspecified damages, and we wish him the best of luck in righting this wrong.