Insurance Coverage for Auto Accidents
The first thing that you need to understand when you have
been in a car accident is the role of the insurance
companies in the claims settlement process. Your case may
involve several different insurance companies with each
providing different types of coverage. Typically, an auto
accident will involve the following insurance policies.
(1) Your Personal Auto Policies: Your insurance company
may extend benefits to you after an accident, even when the
accident is not your fault or when you were a passenger in
another vehicle. It is important to look at your policy
before calling your insurance company to file a claim. You
may be entitled to the following types of coverage:
- Med Pay: If you elected to obtain Medical Payments
coverage under your auto policy, your insurance company
will pay up to the limits of the policy for your necessary
accident-related medical expenses. This coverage may apply
even when you are hurt while a passenger in another
vehicle. Check your policy to determine what these limits
are. Keep in mind that most policies will require that you
repay your carrier for these expenses advanced out of the
proceeds of your settlement.
- Collision: Your auto policy may also repair and/or
replace your vehicle even when another driver hit you.
Typically, they will do this when it is not clear who is at
fault for the accident. It is then the insurance company's
responsibility to take the insurance company for the
at-fault driver to an arbitration hearing to determine who
will ultimately pay for the accident related vehicle
damages.
- Rental Reimbursement: You may also be entitled to payment
for your rental car expense while your own vehicle is being
repaired.
- UM/UIM: Hopefully, you purchased Uninsured/Underinsured
Motorists coverage at the time you bought your policy. The
uninsured motorist coverage (UM) will pay for your damages
in the event that the driver that caused the accident did
not have the minimum required liability coverage in place.
The underinsured coverage (UIM) will pay for your damages
in the event that the other driver had liability coverage
limits lower than that of your own policy and assuming that
your damages are greater than the amount of liability
coverage held by the at-fault driver. Again, this coverage
may even apply when you are a passenger in someone else's
vehicle.
(2) The Auto Policy covering the vehicle in which you were
a passenger: As a passenger in a vehicle covered by an auto
insurance policy you are also entitled to benefits under
the policy of auto insurance covering that vehicle.
- Liability Coverage: If the driver of the vehicle you were
in as a passenger is at fault for the accident, the
liability coverage attached to that policy would be
responsible for paying your damages.
- Med'Pay & UM/UIM: As a passenger you are also entitled to
the same Med-Pay and UM/UIM benefits as the policyholder.
(3) The At-Fault Driver's Auto Liability Policy: The policy
of insurance covering either the at-fault driver or the
at-fault vehicle will be responsible for paying for your
damages sustained as a result of the accident. These
generally fall into two categories:
- Property Damage: Liability insurance is meant to cover
the cost of repairing or replacing your damaged vehicle.
Also available will be damages for the loss of use of your
vehicle while it is being repaired or until the settlement
is reached on the property damage if the vehicle is
declared a total loss. Settlement of this category of
damages is usually reached within days or weeks of the
accident.
- Bodily Injury: This category of damages generally
includes payment for your medical expenses, physical
injuries, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of earnings
capacity and other economic losses. Settlement negotiations
for these types of damages should not take place until your
doctors have completed your course of medical treatment. In
many cases, insurance adjustors for the other side will
either delay settlement or make "low-ball" offers requiring
the commencement of litigation to resolve the case.
(4) Your Health Insurance Policy: In the event that you
had a health insurance plan in effect at the time of the
accident, this coverage will pay for your medical expenses
as you continue your medical treatment. Please note that,
in most cases, this coverage is not triggered until all
available auto Med-Pay coverage has been spent.
Caution: It is very important to note that most health
policies have a "subrogation clause" which requires you to
pay back the insurance company for the amounts that they
have paid towards your medical expenses once you collect
any money from the liability insurance carrier. Failure to
comply with these policy requirements can result in your
health carrier canceling your insurance or filing a lawsuit
against you. Consequently, it is strongly recommended that
you consult with an attorney to determine how to proceed in
this situation. Additionally, an experienced attorney may
be able to convince the health carrier to waive or reduce
the amounts.
(5) Your Disability Policy: If your injuries prevent you
from returning to work after the accident, you may be able
to make a claim for either permanent or temporary
disability under any disability policies that you had in
effect at the time of the accident.
(6) Worker's Compensation Plans: If you were involved in an
accident while you were on the job, your employer's
worker's compensation plan will extend benefits for your
medical bills and loss of earnings. It is very important to
speak with an attorney as soon as possible in these
situations, as the coordination of your rights between your
worker's compensation case and your personal injury case is
essential.
Caution: Coordination of benefits between all the potential
insurance policies is an area requiring specialized legal
knowledge. It is very easy to overlook possible avenues of
recovery if you are not intimately familiar with this area
of law.
----------------------------------------------------
For more information, please visit our website:
http://www.DenversAccidentLawyer.com
For other articles: visit our blog:
http://www.DenverAccidentInformation.com
The first thing that you need to understand when you have
been in a car accident is the role of the insurance
companies in the claims settlement process. Your case may
involve several different insurance companies with each
providing different types of coverage. Typically, an auto
accident will involve the following insurance policies.
(1) Your Personal Auto Policies: Your insurance company
may extend benefits to you after an accident, even when the
accident is not your fault or when you were a passenger in
another vehicle. It is important to look at your policy
before calling your insurance company to file a claim. You
may be entitled to the following types of coverage:
- Med Pay: If you elected to obtain Medical Payments
coverage under your auto policy, your insurance company
will pay up to the limits of the policy for your necessary
accident-related medical expenses. This coverage may apply
even when you are hurt while a passenger in another
vehicle. Check your policy to determine what these limits
are. Keep in mind that most policies will require that you
repay your carrier for these expenses advanced out of the
proceeds of your settlement.
- Collision: Your auto policy may also repair and/or
replace your vehicle even when another driver hit you.
Typically, they will do this when it is not clear who is at
fault for the accident. It is then the insurance company's
responsibility to take the insurance company for the
at-fault driver to an arbitration hearing to determine who
will ultimately pay for the accident related vehicle
damages.
- Rental Reimbursement: You may also be entitled to payment
for your rental car expense while your own vehicle is being
repaired.
- UM/UIM: Hopefully, you purchased Uninsured/Underinsured
Motorists coverage at the time you bought your policy. The
uninsured motorist coverage (UM) will pay for your damages
in the event that the driver that caused the accident did
not have the minimum required liability coverage in place.
The underinsured coverage (UIM) will pay for your damages
in the event that the other driver had liability coverage
limits lower than that of your own policy and assuming that
your damages are greater than the amount of liability
coverage held by the at-fault driver. Again, this coverage
may even apply when you are a passenger in someone else's
vehicle.
(2) The Auto Policy covering the vehicle in which you were
a passenger: As a passenger in a vehicle covered by an auto
insurance policy you are also entitled to benefits under
the policy of auto insurance covering that vehicle.
- Liability Coverage: If the driver of the vehicle you were
in as a passenger is at fault for the accident, the
liability coverage attached to that policy would be
responsible for paying your damages.
- Med'Pay & UM/UIM: As a passenger you are also entitled to
the same Med-Pay and UM/UIM benefits as the policyholder.
(3) The At-Fault Driver's Auto Liability Policy: The policy
of insurance covering either the at-fault driver or the
at-fault vehicle will be responsible for paying for your
damages sustained as a result of the accident. These
generally fall into two categories:
- Property Damage: Liability insurance is meant to cover
the cost of repairing or replacing your damaged vehicle.
Also available will be damages for the loss of use of your
vehicle while it is being repaired or until the settlement
is reached on the property damage if the vehicle is
declared a total loss. Settlement of this category of
damages is usually reached within days or weeks of the
accident.
- Bodily Injury: This category of damages generally
includes payment for your medical expenses, physical
injuries, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of earnings
capacity and other economic losses. Settlement negotiations
for these types of damages should not take place until your
doctors have completed your course of medical treatment. In
many cases, insurance adjustors for the other side will
either delay settlement or make "low-ball" offers requiring
the commencement of litigation to resolve the case.
(4) Your Health Insurance Policy: In the event that you
had a health insurance plan in effect at the time of the
accident, this coverage will pay for your medical expenses
as you continue your medical treatment. Please note that,
in most cases, this coverage is not triggered until all
available auto Med-Pay coverage has been spent.
Caution: It is very important to note that most health
policies have a "subrogation clause" which requires you to
pay back the insurance company for the amounts that they
have paid towards your medical expenses once you collect
any money from the liability insurance carrier. Failure to
comply with these policy requirements can result in your
health carrier canceling your insurance or filing a lawsuit
against you. Consequently, it is strongly recommended that
you consult with an attorney to determine how to proceed in
this situation. Additionally, an experienced attorney may
be able to convince the health carrier to waive or reduce
the amounts.
(5) Your Disability Policy: If your injuries prevent you
from returning to work after the accident, you may be able
to make a claim for either permanent or temporary
disability under any disability policies that you had in
effect at the time of the accident.
(6) Worker's Compensation Plans: If you were involved in an
accident while you were on the job, your employer's
worker's compensation plan will extend benefits for your
medical bills and loss of earnings. It is very important to
speak with an attorney as soon as possible in these
situations, as the coordination of your rights between your
worker's compensation case and your personal injury case is
essential.
Caution: Coordination of benefits between all the potential
insurance policies is an area requiring specialized legal
knowledge. It is very easy to overlook possible avenues of
recovery if you are not intimately familiar with this area
of law.
----------------------------------------------------
For more information, please visit our website:
http://www.DenversAccidentLawyer.com
For other articles: visit our blog:
http://www.DenverAccidentInformation.com
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