Auto Accidents - Undertsanding Your Insurance (Page 2)
Recent Sampling: (Continued)
- Family in a van is T-boned by a drunk driver. One of the children is killed. The drunk only has a $30,000 policy for the entire family. Many of the surviving family members suffered severe injuries. The family's own insurance company also offers to settle the claim for $30,000 because of their underinsured motorist policy. The insurance company discourages the family from hiring an attorney because they claim they do not want the family to have to pay a portion of the proceeds to an attorney. I question the amount of the underinsured motorist coverage due to a possible error in how the insurance extended the offer. The family waits several weeks to hear back from the insurance company. They acknowledge their mistake and extend $300,000-ten times more than they initially told the family the insurance company was responsible to pay before they hired an attorney.
Insurance companies are constantly sued for their failure to pay claims, or for using unfair claims practices. Here are some of the recent court decisions or settlements:
- In West Virginia, Horace Mann was hit with a $455,000 judgment for failing to allow the defense firm that was defending their client to conduct a complete investigation, depose key witnesses, examine collision damage of the vehicles, and withheld evidence. Go here for the full story.
- An insurance company had one of their clients successfully prosecuted for fraud, and their insured spent two years in federal prison, only to have the judgment overturned on appeal. Insured sued for false imprisonment and was awarded $27 million. This dollar amount was later overturned by the court of appeals.
- Allstate was hit with a $2.8 million judgment for not paying for damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to a home in a city called Slidell. Allstate claims they are "shocked" by the verdict. Allstate plans to appeal.
- Allstate also planned to appeal a judgment of more than $500,000 for a man who was mistreated by Allstate during the claims process for a fire that broke out in his home. They accused him of arson. Allstate often advertises how they are tough on people who commit insurance fraud, but go after the legitimate claims, too? To save money?
- Farmers was hit with a $90 million verdict for failing to pay its own adjusters out of premium pay. Once again, the insurance company was shocked by the verdict.
- In 2006, Farmers was fined $1 million for the way in which is mishandled over 1,000 claims in violation of the California Insurance Code.
Our law firm understands insurance policies issues, how insurance companies work, and we try to maximize your recovery in a number of ways.
Here is a list of the common types of insurance policies we deal with:
- Liability Coverage, Med Pay, Gap Insurance, Umbrella Policies, Rental Coverage
- Uninsured Motorist, Underinsured Motorist, PIP coverage, Anti-Stacking provisions
