What to do if your insurance company offers a low settlement on your accident claim?
Most of us have experienced car accidents before, to one degree of danger or another, and the one thing they all have in common is the worry that the insurance we pay for every month will find a loophole to offer us a low settlement on our accident claim! Sometimes these worries are unfounded and the claim is filed, properly funded and your vehicle, medical, and other necessary expenses are compensated for; but often I get called in because insurance companies want to keep the money they have been collecting instead of covering accidents. Weird, right?!
Here’s one story in particular that we were able to help with.
The worst experience, compounded by a fight with the insurance company
About 6 months ago I was hired by a client who had been in a car accident with her fiance. The car accident wasn’t their fault but the insurance was taking so long that they tried to take care of their bills out of pocket while they waited for the adjusters to help them out. They spent a year paying for their own treatment and trying to work with the insurance companies by themselves and instead of coming to the rescue, the insurance companies were giving them hoops to jump through. After being strung along for so long, they came to the conclusion that the insurance companies involved had no intention of helping them or even working with them.
Lawyering up against an insurance company
We took the case and started pursuing the driver at fault’s insurance company. The clients had already been receiving medical treatment, one had to have bones fused in their back, the other was scheduled to undergo major surgery and it was more urgent than ever to have the policy funded.
When we dug into the case, we realized very quickly that their policy was not set up with enough coverage to pay for the claim. The policy limit was $15,000 per seat and $30,000 per accident. With expensive procedures like fusions and major surgeries, it really put them in a bad situation. These clients didn’t have ‘underinsured motorist insurance’ or anything like that and their insurance company wasn’t willing t o bring anything to the table for them either.
Penetrating the bureaucracy
Fortunately, we were able to find an underinsured motorist policy that one of the clients had been paying on from a previous marriage. Despite being divorced, they were continuing to pay in each month, so the policy still carried forward and was in effect in this case. Because of that we began to pursue a 3rd insurance company to try to get the insurance coverage this couple needed and deserved for this case. Because of the divorce and the scope of the damages left uncovered, the new insurance company really put up a fight, they did not want to pay, even though the victim was obviously entitled to it. So we were able to quickly navigate the hoops that the insurance companies wanted our clients to jump through and bring them to the conclusion that they did in fact have to accept coverage. They funded the policy and are reimbursing the costs that our clients accrued over the last year of repairs and medical treatments etc.
Avoiding needless litigation
When someone is in an accident like this, where the person at fault doesn’t have adequate insurance, the injured party is usually stuck suing the other driver… who usually doesn’t have any money or assets for them to take anyway. This type of suit doesn’t generally produce any type of additional funds or income, which was the case for this client. We were satisfied that we were able to find a reasonable solution where they were able to recover and receive the compensation they needed to get back on their feet.
If you find yourself in a situation like this, looking for an attorney on the billboards isn’t really a good idea. You need to talk to a firm like Legal Umbrella, who will treat you fairly and knows how to get results. We would love to go over your case with you to explore your options and solutions to help you with your specific case.
Give us a call today.
