Auto Insurance Claims: insurance judgement, accident insurance company, satisfaction of judgement

Question
4 years ago, son uninsured, was in accident. insurance company now has a judgement against him for $15,000.00. he is a student with no job and no assets whatsoever. this is putting hardship on me as I have to drive him around. How much could I hope to settle this for with the insurance company?

Answer
Hi Laverne,

Every company is different. You will just have to call them to see what they will accept. Initially that may say that they will only accept the full amount. With a judgement that is good for 10 years and can be renewed, they may just say they will wait for your sone to get out of school and get a job then they will garnish his wages. You just have to be tough. Perhaps start out by offering 30% ($4500.00) and see what they say. They will likely not accept that but they may then make a counter offer.

Remember that if you do reach an agreement with them, you are not to send them one penny until you receive the agreement in writing that states that the amount you are paying settles the debt in full and satisfies the judgement. You will also need to get a seperate document called a "Satisfaction of Judgement" letter. This letter will then have to be filed with the clerk of the court in the same county where the judgement was filed.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh