by Guest » Wed Jul 07, 2010 06:46 am
Please Help.
I am was involved in an accident.
I collided the rear of an older Mercedes. I was just sitting there completely stopped and not in the turning lane.
Some bumper moderate damage was done their car.
There was 2 kids and an middle aged man. There was no Ablumance and very body was okay and walked away.
The other party only asked me if I had insurance and would not talk to me or let me get their information. A police report was taken.
Now there are saying they all have soft tissue injury.
I only have California minium.
I am I screwed!
I am so scared that they will take me for all I have.
I am was involved in an accident.
I collided the rear of an older Mercedes. I was just sitting there completely stopped and not in the turning lane.
Some bumper moderate damage was done their car.
There was 2 kids and an middle aged man. There was no Ablumance and very body was okay and walked away.
The other party only asked me if I had insurance and would not talk to me or let me get their information. A police report was taken.
Now there are saying they all have soft tissue injury.
I only have California minium.
I am I screwed!
I am so scared that they will take me for all I have.
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 10:43 am Post Subject:
If you have a lot of money you have reason to be scared...It's your carriers job to do all they can to settle the claim(s) within your policy limit(s). They will not (or had better not) pay out your limits without a release which would bar the injured partys from sueing you. If they do sue you, your carrier will provide a defense. If they get an excess judgement, then your carrier will pay your limits and you would be responsible for the rest.
Another scenerio is that if this injured party has UIMBI (UNDER insured motorist bodily injury), 'if' their claim is worth more than your limits their carrier will pick up the balance, but again, your carrier will not release your limits without a release or judgement.
Have you talked to your adjuster about this? How close are they to settling?
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 01:00 pm Post Subject:
Now there are saying they all have soft tissue injury.
Some times it's not possible to identify injuries at the scene of the accident. In some cases, our injuries stretch to cause more problems for us. We'd often need to get treated for days and bear the additional cost of medication.
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 05:27 am Post Subject:
Thanks for your help Lori,
To answer your questions:
California has a minium requirement of $30,000.00 per accident for bodily injury.
I did talk to my adjuster, he says it is unlikely to go to court, but should I believe him?
I did receive the letter to release my limits, does this mean the other party cann't sue me if I sign this off?
This happened last month.
How much do you thing they will get, they are still in treatment.
Will have to file bankruptcy?
Please help, your advice is appreicated!
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:19 am Post Subject:
I did talk to my adjuster, he says it is unlikely to go to court, but should I believe him?
Sure you should believe him, he handles claims in CA, and knows what ends up in court and what doesn't...I did receive the letter to release my limits, does this mean the other party cann't sue me if I sign this off?
Did the letter ask you if you wanted to release your limits (information) to the other party? Some carriers/states do this, they have to get the insureds permission to release this INFORMATION not the money to the other party. Discuss this with your adjuster, there are a couple of schools of thought on this. I usually do not release the limits information unless, there are low limits and/or a huge injury. Discuss it with your adjuster, but in your case, it might be a good idea to release this information.How much do you thing they will get, they are still in treatment.
No way for us to know this, assuming it's soft tissue injury, and soon as they find out your limit's my bet is they stop treatment :roll: and want to settle :roll:Will have to file bankruptcy?
For what? You mean if they got a judgement against you that was excess? Wouldn't do you any good...
Try not to 'borrow' trouble, call your adjuster back, ask him to explain the letter to you and get his advise about releasing your limits info, see what he says...Chances are slim this will go to court...
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 03:51 pm Post Subject:
California has a minium requirement of $30,000.00 per accident for bodily injury.
That's only half of the equation. California minimum liability limits are $15,000/$30,000 -- meaning $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident. If all three persons had $15,000 in medical bills/damages, the policy would only pay a total of $30,000 to all three, the remaining $15,000 would be your responsibility.
Sadly, to have increased your liability limits to $100,000/$300,000 would probably have added less than $200 per YEAR to your total auto insurance premium (maybe as little as $100).
A word to the underinsured: Would you rather be faced with sleepless nights like this OP, or would you rather have the peace of mind knowing that you probably have more than adequate coverage for most incidents for just $100-$200 per year. On top of that, you could also purchase another $1,000,000 of "umbrella" liability coverage for about the same amount of money.
Live and learn on your own. Or learn from the unfortunate experiences of others and provide yourself and your family with the proper protection. Auto - home - life - health - disability - long term care - retirement. It all costs money, but so do lawyers and judgments, and hospitals and nursing homes. The tradeoff (insurance premiums vs erosion of savings or ??) is very small by comparison.
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:04 pm Post Subject:
the remaining $15,000 would be your responsibility.
ONLY if a judgement is won...Max, (of course) makes good points...CA isn't as bad as some states that ALLOW min. in the 2-5k range, or do not REQUIRE BI coverage at all!
IMO, another good reason to have an agent...also (again IMO), an agent worth their salt, would WARN their insureds against taking these low limits. I knew an agent (when I worked as an adjuster for a 'captive' agent company), that would not write the min. limits period (my state is 25/50)..they flat refused the business. I asked them once about this, they said, "Any client that is willing to gamble his/her entire familys future for a couple of bucks, isn't a client I want, and they aren't doing it with my help! "
Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 04:18 am Post Subject:
ONLY if a judgement is won...
Implied.
"Any client that is willing to gamble his/her entire familys future for a couple of bucks, isn't a client I want, and they aren't doing it with my help! "
By the same token, I wouldn't want to work with (or be) an agent who didn't have the same attitude.
Problem is, there are too many agents looking for a quick commission and too many insureds who are looking for the lowest premium. It's a good fit for the two when they find each other, but it's horrible for the rest of us to have to pay inflated premiums to cover the irresponsibilities of both.
Here in SoCal, we have innumerable agencies that advertise "Auto Insurance from $17 per month." I have no idea who/what qualifies for that, but I know I don't want to be on the road anywhere near them.
On the homeowner's side, when looking for a competitive quote, I've had agents tell me, "Oh, with our company, you only have to carry half as much property coverage as other companies because our policy pays 200% of the limit." My question to them, "And what about the coinsurance penalty?" "The what?"
Not only that, but insureds fail to realize that all the other HO/DP coverages are stated as percentages of Coverage A, so to carry only 50% of need creates all sorts of other potential coverage inadequacies. Just awful what some agents can do to the uninformed.
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 06:26 am Post Subject:
Hi Lori
Thier property damage was 5000 bucks.
In CA all drivers are required to carry $30,000.00 for underinsured coverage.
I am trying to calm down.
What senrio will the could they collect for their underinsured coverage?
Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 06:54 am Post Subject:
In CA all drivers are required to carry $30,000.00 for underinsured coverage.
There is no such requirement in California! UMBI is entirely optional and normally is equal to the Coverage A (liability) limits of the underlying policy.
"Underinsured" (one of the two readings of the "U" above, the other is "uninsured") only applies when a liability loss is greater than the at-fault party's liability coverage. It is known as "excess coverage". If their combined medical/liability claims total more than your $30,000, then their UMBI, if they carry it (foolish not to, but many people don't), will pay up to its limit of liability ($30,000 to $???,000).
As for UMPD, if the damage to their vehicle exceeds your $5000, then their UMPD, up to its limit ($3500 or waiver of deductible), will cover some or all of the difference to complete the repairs.
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