QuestionMy daughter rear-ended a vehicle on the freeway which was pushed into the vehicle in front. The person she hit has hired an attorney who seeks disclosure of liability limits, umbrella policies, and whether or not she was on work related business.
The accident occurred at speeds low enough such that no airbags were deployed and her car sustained no damage.
The "injured" middle driver was non-responsive and answered no questions so was taken to the hospital. He would not respond there either so the hospital ran multiple tests on him (cat scans, mri, etc. etc) and kept him overnight. They found nothing wrong with him.
The hospital bill he wracked up was 54,000 and he apparently still is getting chiropractic treatment.
My insurance liability policy is only 50,000.
Does my insurance company need to represent me legally in this matter or do they just hand a check over to his attorney for 50,000 and tell me that I'm on my own for the rest?
Clearly in my estimation, all the facts that I am aware of smack of insurance fraud.
What do you think and what should I do?
AnswerWhy are you dealing with the injured party (?)'s attorney?
That is what you have insurance for.
Do nto deal with the attorney or respond to his questions in any form or fashion. Get your insurnace carrier involved and have them respond to the inquiry (ies).
Request that in view of your potential excess exposure that they cc you in on any correspondence exchange(s) with the injured parties attorney. That way you can monitor the situation. You have that right.
If does appear as though you MAY have an excess exposure as your are correct in that IF the claim has value X of your $50,000 limits you would be personally responsbile.
In some states you may be able to extraciate yourself (as the car owner) from this matter. As your carreir about that issue as it does vary fdrom state to state.
Your carrier has a duty to defend you until such time as the claim totally resolves.
Are you collectible?
If so I would recommend that you seriously consider getting personal counsel to represent your excess exposure and interest (the related costs are yours to cover).
Is your daughter collectible?
At the time of the accident did she own/insure her own car? If she did have her report this loss to her carrier as that additional coverage should be availabe for this loss on top of your available coverage. Your policy would be PRIMARY and your daughter's would be EXCESS.
Hope and trust that the above helps.
Feel free to get back to me with any follow-up issues/questions.
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