A very common question people wonder about is how does their own insurance apply in the event of an auto accident.  Most people correctly assume that the at fault driver’s insurance should immediately start paying for the damage to the car, the towing cost, storage costs, rental car costs and medical bills, but the cruel reality is that most insurance companies in those positions do NOT start advancing payments to the injured person or for their property damage issues.  Does that make you mad?  Of course!   But what can you do?  Should you immediately call a lawyer?  Not necessarily!

     Let’s assume you have been in an accident, that is not your fault, and that your car has been damaged, there is a towing charge and you are  incurring medical bills.  The first thing you do after you call the police to the scene and get medical treatment, is to call your own insurance agent and report the accident.  Provide your agent with all the information they ask for.  At the same time, ask your agent again about your  own policy coverage information because it is often difficult to find a copy of your policy that you  haven’t looked at for several years.  The agent will most likely also give you the name of a separate person from  your company  that will work on your claim, and will give you their toll free number and claim number.  SAVE THAT INFORMATION!!

     Almost all auto insurance policies have the same types of coverages, although not everyone buys the same coverages.  Most people when they buy their auto insurance get the following coverages: Liability; Medical Payments; Uninsured and Under-Insured.  Some people also get collision or comprehensive, but let’s leave those coverage discussions for a separate day.  Here is how the liabilty, ”med-pay” and UM/UIM work.

     Liability protects YOU if you get sued because of the accident.  Your insurance company will hire a lawyer at their expense to defend you and they will cover you for the lawsuit or claim up to the amount of insurance you bought.  When the insurance company gets the claim or lawsuit settled, they will also get a document signed by the other side that will protect you from that person suing you again for the same accident.

     Medical payments coverage protects YOU and will pay your medical bills as a result of the accident that you incur usually within 2 years of the accident, up to the amount of protection you bought.  Most people buy $5-10,000 of medical payments protection, which seems like a lot until you start incurring medical bills. Hospital and doctor costs are very expensive, and many standard tests run on a person after an accident, like x-rays and MRI’s and CT-Scans are very expensive.  Talk to your agent and buy as much of medical payments coverage you can afford.  It is in your best interest.

     Uninsured motorists coverage protects YOU if the person that hit you doesn’t have any insurance, or their insurance lapsed because they stopped paying premiums, etc.  Uninsured motorist claims are usually very difficult for a person to do on their own without a skilled personal injury lawyer on your side fighting for you.  Underinsured coverage provides you with extra insurance if the at fault party has low levels of coverage and the value of your claim obviously exceeds those limits. Like uninsured coverage, getting money from your own insurance company for underinsured coverage is a trap for the unwary and unskilled.   Do yourself a big favor, and contact a lawyer specializing in injury cases and get the help you need.  A future posting will be a real eye-opener about who gets paid back after a settlement of your case.  

   Getting your car fixed after the accident can be difficult if you did not buy some type of collision or comprehensive insurance.  Sometimes, the at fault driver’s insurance company will pay for the damage to your car, but you drive to their facility for them to look at it.  They will usually offer you a certain amount to get it fixed.   Ask them to provide you with the name of a mechanic who will fix it for the amount they are offering.  Ask them to provide you a rental car as well.  If your car is totalled, look up its value on the internet and argue with the insurance company about its value.  Often, people who  financed their car find out that the total damage value doesn’t give them enough money to pay off the finance company.  That is a sad day indeed.  Call a lawyer you trust.