Car Insurance & Coverage Limits Issues When There’s a Wreck

[Ro_Laren]

As I mentioned in an earlier thread, my friends were rear ended while driving on the highway. My friends were talking to me about their injuries and we started to talk about insurance coverage limits. It made me start to think. In the state where we live, the minimum bodily injury liability insurance is $10,000 per person / $20,000 per accident. Now, my friends do not know how much coverage the driver that hit them has, but they know that their future medical expenses that are the result of this accident will be more than that. However, what happens if the driver that hits them only has the minimum coverage or a coverage that is not sufficient enough? If your medical expenses are more than the insurance coverage at the at fault driver, then how can you recover the expenses other than hoping that the person that hit you is rich and you can sue them personally? Anyways, most car insurance coverage is not very high. What happens when someone is paralyzed as the result of a car accident? Is it the job of the paralyzed person’s health insurance to cover the expenses?

 

[SiddFinch1]

Basically it depends in several things.
1. Most States have nofault so your friends own auto policy fir that car would cover medical bills

2. They can find out the coverage of the other car by contacting that drivers ins company or having a lawyer do it. Usually hiring a lawyer is the best bet and they work on contingency

3 do your friends have underinsured on their vehicle...it is to protect you from being hit by someone with a small policy

 

[Ro_Laren]

Basically it depends in several things.
1. Most States have nofault so your friends own auto policy fir that car would cover medical bills

2. They can find out the coverage of the other car by contacting that drivers ins company or having a lawyer do it. Usually hiring a lawyer is the best bet and they work on contingency

3 do your friends have underinsured on their vehicle...it is to protect you from being hit by someone with a small policy

1. My friends are in Florida and it is a no fault state, but I don't know enough to know how that impacts their particular case.

2. Unfortunately, my friends have the same car insurance as the driver that hit them. It gives them a chance to get screwed twice by the same company!! I keep telling my friends to ask for a copy of the faulty driver's insurance coverage amounts, but they don't even want to ask 'cause they think that only a lawyer can get that info.

My friends are looking into a lawyer, but I'm afraid they'll rush things. Plus, depending on the extent of the injuries and the coverage of the other driver, it may be less cost efficient to get a lawyer.

3. I don't know if I follow you here. Are you saying that a typical car insurance policy has a category of insurance that pays out to you if the driver that hits you is underinsured / has no insurance?

 

[SiddFinch1]

Y3..yes..here in Ny and many other States you have under insured coverage to payadditional $ if you get hit by someone with a minimum policy and uninsured if you get hit by someone with no insurance

No idea about Florida..I would think its offered but may not be mandatory... Your friends should check.with their ins company if they have it..

And they should be able to get the info on the other drivers policy with or without an attorney

 

[abeardall]

Ro--

Your friend needs to get an attorney. I understand the fear of losing out on some of the settlement, but lawyers know how to navigate these waters and how to deal with an insurance company. When a company sees someone represent themselves, the company knows it will be easy and less expensive for them. Whereas, a lawyer knows the interaction between the other driver's insurance company, your friend's underinsured motorist coverage, your coverage (yes...you could recover from your company if you are injured under some circumstances)...and so on.

Let's face it, you are looking for legal guidance on a Star Trek messaging board. This place if filled with kind people that want the best for you, but so far, it appears that none of them are Florida personal injury attorneys. Should this end up in Court, the judge will not accept "I heard this on a Star Trek BBS" as a valid assertion of law.

Good Luck (from a non Florida Lawyer)

-Andrew

 

[Robert Maxwell]

If your friends have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, that will fill in the gap if the other driver doesn't carry enough insurance--at least up to whatever limit they chose for that. I carry $250,000/$500,000 of coverage for that, myself.

abeardall is right, though. They need to get a lawyer.

 

[Alpha Romeo]

Basically it depends in several things.
1. Most States have nofault so your friends own auto policy fir that car would cover medical bills

2. They can find out the coverage of the other car by contacting that drivers ins company or having a lawyer do it. Usually hiring a lawyer is the best bet and they work on contingency

3 do your friends have underinsured on their vehicle...it is to protect you from being hit by someone with a small policy

1. Not most states, some do but certainly not all.

2. Yes...hire a lawyer. Don't do it yourself.

3. A lot of states require underinsured coverage. That's your safety net. If all else fails you can go after the assets of the person that hit you.

 

[propita]

I helped with relatively minor personal injury cases in CA.

Yes, they should get a lawyer. Be aware that this is usually not resolved quickly. These things can take a year or more sometimes. That's because everything takes time to be received, filed, notified, etc. tedious. However, beyond that (at least in CA), nothing will really progress until all immediate treatment and therapy is complete. Not necessarily continuing, longterm therapy, though.

They should make sure they keep ALL paperwork from their doctors and all receipts, although when the time comes, they will likely have to order full records. That's a cost incurred in the case, usually by the attorney if this is a contingency case, to be deducted off the top from any settlement.

If they are getting medical care due to the collision through their own insurance right now, they should be aware that the insurance company will likely seek reimbursement. They didn't used to, they do now.

I didn't read the other thread, so I don't know if a minor is involved, but in CA, there's another process (a Minor's Compromise) for the child to receive their portion of any settlemtn, which must be approved by the court. It adds a few months to the final resolution.

Also, most medical bills can be reduced by a phone call to the billing department. Heck, even without a lawsuit. I had a $1000 copay on a medical test (yeah, and I have coverage). I called up and asked for a reduction. Provided I paid by credit card right then, I got a 15% discount. $150 for 10 minutes effort? No brainer!

Finally, do NOT go to a chiropractor for this! Insurance companies will stonewall when chiropractors are involved. There are too many shady ones and their treatments are not looked on favorably. Those bills will rack up and the insurance company won't pay or will delay, forcing the filing of a complaint instead of just negotiations.

Oh! Get a copy of the police report. Get any/all witness information. Get photos of damage, estimates of repair. It's a big pain in the ass for the plaintiff. If your damages are "only" a few thousand (which it might be if you have medical coverage), you'd have to decide if its worth it to do all this. Especially after the lawyer takes his/her 25-30%.