QuestionQUESTION: Auto accident happened 7/23/07 in Florida. I have received payment for my car which was totaled. We were hit from behind while waiting for the light to change. The at fault driver had the adjuster tell us he forgot to take his medication and passed out while driving.
My question is how much can we settle for if the total amount of bodily injury protection the at fault driver ins is only $10/$20. I understand this to mean the max the insurance co will pay is $10k per person up to $20k. However there were 5 of us in the car. My 4 granddaughters were also in the car. I suffered a concussion and was treated for two weeks for headaches. My two older grandchilren wore neck braces for two weeks. One granddaughter was unconsious for about 10 min. Her cat scan done at the hosp was normal and has been ok since. The other two granddaughters have not had any further back problems. However the 10 year old starting having spells of blacking out for two month and headaches. She was referred to a Neurologist. The MRI and Cat scan were normal. The neurologist said she was probably suffering from trauma of the accident. She says she still gets headaches.
The at fault driver's ins co wants us to settle and is asking for an amount.
I have seen the formula where we are to add all the expenses and times that amount by 2.5 - 3.2 in order to determine the amount to settle. Is this formula used when the limits of at fault driver's bodily injury is only $10k/$20k? Of course all of our bills are more than $20k. Is the $10k/$20k limit per accident which means we can only ask for a total of $20k for all our expenses. Or is this amount $10/$20k max for each person in the accident?
Thanks Wanda
ANSWER: Hi Wanda, Since the insurance company is asking for a number, I will answer your question about limits. Remember that Florida is no fault state, in which every person pays for their own damages. However, there are limitations on that. Again, since the insurance company is making a move, I will only address your limits issue.
When dealing with vehicle accidents, it is very difficult to determine damages. I have seen similar cases where someone is unconscious for 10 minutes, be ok, and the adjuster offer $250 for damages. Formulas can be complicated because no insurance company will ever follow them. They will instead look at the medical bills and try to determine what is your case worth in case of law, then they would try to settle for less.
When there is a limit 10k/20k, this means that the maximum amount the insurance company will ever pay is 20K for ALL DAMAGES FOR EVERYONE. This means that if your medical expenses are more than that, then the insurance company can simply walk away. The 10K limit is per each person, so if the medical bills of one person are 11K, then insurance company will only pay 10K and that person would have to figure out a way to pay the 1K extra (even though there is technically 10K left on the policy).
As I mentioned before, Florida is a state that has no fault regulations. This means that there could be some recovery against your own insurance company (depending on your own policy language, and other variables). The best thing for you, is to discuss your case with an attorney and see what she tell you.
Good Luck,
C.Q.
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com
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QUESTION: Thanks for the information. what confuses me is for the formula do we use the out of pocket expenses the ins co did not pay or use the total amount of bills ( doctor, hosp etc)
AnswerWhat formula? There is no formula, and if there one it is up to the insurance carrier to apply it. It also depends on your state, what type of regulations that state follows. It also depends on how many people were injured and how bad. The only correct answer must come from the claim adjuster that is handling your claim.
I am sorry I cannot be of more help.
C.Q.
