by mitchellliz » Sat May 30, 2009 01:23 am
I was the at fault party in an accident last night. I think that the other party has been injured. I want to be sure he is taken care of, but I also have to protect myself. I have $100/$300 in bodily injury liability. I've read that this doesn't kick in until the other party has exhausted his PIP. Is this true? What if he carries very low PIP? My adjuster thinks I am better insured than most people, but I am worried about getting sued. Thanks for any help or advice. Liz
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 10:06 am Post Subject: vehicle flipped twice
Husband and I where in an accident where another vehicle pushed us off the road making our vehicle flip twice. our vehicle was a total loss and we both have bi. the other driver was ticketed and at fault. should our ins be the one takin care of all of the cost and or expenses? Should I obtain an atty
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 10:53 am Post Subject:
should our ins be the one takin care of all of the cost and or expenses?
Depends on what state the accident happened in. Some states have PIP or Med Pay and pay the medical bills (some can seek recovery, other can't).Should I obtain an atty
100% your decision.Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 07:38 pm Post Subject:
should our ins be the one takin care of all of the cost and or expenses?
As tcope has written, the insurance laws of the state in which the accident occurred will have something to say about this. The fact that your injuries are the result of a third-party's involvement ultimately shifts liability to them.
Outside of the few "no fault" states, although you could submit the claim through your insurance company, it would normally be more appropriate to seek indemnification from the at fault party's insurer first. If they carry low limits of liability, and you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, after you exhaust the at fault party's coverage, you would make a claim against your own policy for the excess loss.
If you handle it in the reverse manner, filing a claim and having it paid by your insurer, and then go the attorney route to attempt to get a judgment against the other party, your insurance company most likely has subrogation rights and can recover from you all it has paid to you or on your behalf, since your own coverage is normally used to cover "first party" liabilities and claims.
Also, when thinking about an attorney, don't forget that your medical insurance (if that's how you've been taking care of your BI losses) also has the same right of subrogation (they are not obligated to pay for your injuries that are caused by a third party) as your auto insurer.
Attorneys, for some reason, often fail to account for this when an insurance company tosses a settlement offer in their direction. They, instead, may be looking out for the quick deposit of their 30%-40% of the settlement check rather than your best interests.
Those of us here who are insurance professionals tend to have a pretty dim view of attorneys when it comes to insurance claims. Most people could argue their own situation with the insurance company and come out with more in their pocket than after an attorney takes that big cut.
On the other hand, if you have tired to seek a resolution to your claim and seem to have run into a block wall, then, as a last resort, we would say go look for an attorney. If an experienced attorney can put together a good case for "insurance bad faith", it can ultimately be worth a lot more money in terms of "punitive" damages against the insurance company, on top of the actual and general damage awards.
Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 03:08 am Post Subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 03:10 am Post Subject: Help pls
being sued for a quater-of-a-million for accident that happened couple yrs ago, my fault, guy said on reported he had some neck pain but refused ambulance, settled back then for propery damage, is now suing me for BI, for something like 270,000, i had basic coverage, the person wasn't hit hard, idk how this is even possible? pls help, also am still paying for property damage currently making payments.
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