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 Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 3:40 am Post subject: Why do I have to Sue my ins. to collect underinsured $$? |
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I was hit by a drunk driver two years ago. He hit me on a ramp while I was entering an interstate. His vehicle caught up under the left side of the rear of my "truck" and also under the wheelwell. Initially I was thrown forward but then I was shook side to side violently and heard all my bones and vertebre clack up and down over and over again for what seemed like forever . I floored my truck trying to get away from him. By the point of release, he flipped his car about two or three times landing on the interstate and pushed me half on half off.
I am still taking physical therapy and am dealing with neck, shoulder, low back and hip problems. Doctors don't want to do much since it is due to an accident. This has been the most frustrating part of all this. My spinal column has been inflamed and I have torn roter(sp). Each doctor thinks the damage is minimal and sends me to someone else. The last one I went to talked baby talk to me and said that if I were in as much pain as I said, then it must be coming from your neck or back.
After two wonderful doctors, I am getting better care and the pain seems to finally be settling down to my SI joint, low back and neck area. I have pain that goes from my neck up to my ear and then down my arm through my hand. It fluctuates between my left arm and my right arm.
I am in pain all the time and it feels like nerve pain, not muscle.
Since this drunk had very little insurance, I am seeking the underinsured part of my policy to pay for my continued care. My insurance company refuses to pay out any of it and I am having to sue them to get it.
Why would I have to sue my own insurance company?
I think after the suit is over, the doctors will probably operate on my shoulders. I have lost 2 years of normal activity and I just want to have my health back again.
By the way, he hit me at over 65 MPH and he blew a .33 five hours after the accident. He was not hurt and I am just dealing mostly with pain.
My husband was killed by a drunk driver back in 1976.
The only way I can describe the shaking of my body in my blessed truck, was that it was like the sound of one of those paint machines that mix the paint before you take it home. I am very fortunate to be here. Oh, the drunk said that I ruined HIS life.
I have to feel better because I have designed a clothing line for children with cancer and I just don't have the energy to continue because of the pain.
Sorry that I rambled on. |
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Anya
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| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 4:06 am Post subject: Uninsured Policy |
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It has been over 30 years and we had four children the youngest a one year old. The drunk hit my husband at over 110 mph head on. He had turned his lights off trying to evade police and was heading the wrong way on the highway. They met at the top of a hill so my husband didn't see it coming, bless his heart. We have missed him all these years. He was only 39 years old.
I was wondering on my post, why do I have to sue to receive the under-insured portion of my own insurance? Do you know? It doesn't seem right. |
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Anya
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| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 4:53 am Post subject: |
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You are suing them as you feel that they need to pay something toward your loss. Without knowing more details, your insurance company is probably of the opinion that your claim is worth the limits of the at fault person's policy or less... so they feel that your compensation has already been adequate for your loss.
UIMBI (under insured motorist bodily injury) coverage _takes the place_ of the other person's liability policy when the other person's limits are not sufficient to address your loss. I'll pose this next part as a question... what is your injury worth? There is no chart or set amount... it's all based on your individual situation. So there can be a difference of opinion in this regard. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | My insurance company refuses to pay out any of it and I am having to sue them to get it. |
Based on what? They would've had to write an denial of some kind...or have you not settled with the drunk's insurance company yet? That would HAVE to take place prior to UIM coming into play at all...let us know about that have you settled with that carrier and you would've also HAD to get the drunks policy limits for your UIM to kick in as well..
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Lori
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| Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 6:26 am Post subject: |
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Hi Anya, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. Drunk drivers are social menace without any real cure. However, I'm not sure why would you need to sue your insurance carrier.
As lori has stated, what was the reason for the insurer to deny the claim? They are required to state the reason for denial in writing. However, it may also depend upon the coverage that you have on the policy. If the other driver's insurance isn't sufficient to cover all your loss, you're required to file the claim under the underinsured section of the policy, but this coverage is optional in many states. Therefore, if you don't have the uninsured motorist coverage attached to your auto policy, you'll not receive compensation at all. Hence, you're required to investigate about the reason for denial before considering lawsuit.
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JeremyHolter
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| Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:01 am Post subject: |
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| The OP must have an attorney if "someone" filed suit. I'm guessing either the OPs carrier felt the BI settlement addressed the OPs loss entirely or the OP refused the carriers offer. |
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tcope
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| Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:32 am Post subject: |
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Tcope, we all are guessing a lot in this issue. The OP needs to come back to clear the confusion. I think she herself is confused about why her claim has got denied. We definitely need more information to be at a better position to comment on her situation.
| Quote: | | The OP must have an attorney if "someone" filed suit. I'm guessing either the OPs carrier felt the BI settlement addressed the OPs loss entirely or the OP refused the carriers offer. |
Well, if that's the case then is suing the insurance company her only option? Is it worth suing your own carrier?
~Jeremy
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JeremyHolter
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| Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:12 am Post subject: |
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Since we're HAVING to guess, my guess is she settled the claim with the claimant carrier without discussing it with her carrier, gave them a release for less than the limit...bing bang bomb, no UIM
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Lori
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| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 1:12 am Post subject: |
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| Well I was n't lost until now...Lori..I don't understand what your last post means (as usual my brain does not function on ins. matters). So if you seetl a claim wiht the other carrier for less than the limits they carried then you can no longer access your own UIM? I guess thinking about it that woudl make sense. If you didn;t get everything available on the other policy then it would not be a limits case and it would keep you frokm accessing the under insure..Am i any where close to the right idea? |
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fireyone
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| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:23 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Since we're HAVING to guess, my guess is she settled the claim with the claimant carrier without discussing it with her carrier, gave them a release for less than the limit...bing bang bomb, no UIM |
Well, that does make sense. You can't actually ask for more once the claim has got settled. The insurance company isn't liable to pay more towards the claim once you have agreed to a lower limit.
The definition of UIM suggests that the coverage will kick-in if the at-fault driver's insurance coverage proves insufficient to cover all the damages caused by him/her. Now, if you settle well within the limit of his policy you can no longer claim under the UIM coverage.
Anya, its not always sufficient to have the coverage but you also need to know when, how and where each applies. |
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simon
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| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 9:52 am Post subject: |
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The uninsured motorists coverage is know to compensate the policy holder when the policy limit of the at-fault driver doesn't suffice the damages caused to him. However, different states handle the pay-out of the UIM coverage differently.
In some states the insurer will only pay the amount after deducting the amount paid by the other guy's insurer, whereas, in other states the UIM coverage is paid in excess of what you have received from the responsible driver's insurance policy.
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Solomon Marquez
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| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 12:08 pm Post subject: |
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| So if the other company has to agree to pay the limits and then you can go for your UIM ? |
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fireyone
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| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Am i any where close to the right idea? |
Sure you are...there is NO UIM if the policy limits of the other guy haven't paid out FULL policy limit, if the 'limit' hasn't been paid how could he be ''under'' insured? he couldn't so there would be (in this scenerio) no UIM claim.
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"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." Martin Luther King Jr. |
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Lori
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