In a car accident, where should the bills be submitted: car insurance, medical insurance or the other driver?

Question

I gave my medical insurance in the ER, but my car insurance is asking for the bill. Also, it was the other driver's fault, so should I submit other expenses to her insurance company? (ex- extra fee for rental car not covered by auto insurance). I would like to sue, too, but do not know if it is worth it.

Answer 1

1. If you have medical payment coverage on your policy, your insurance company, it is primary coverage (which is why they want your bills). They will go back to the other insurance to get their money back (this is called subrogation)

2. The other insurance company should pay for your rental. If you have not done so already, you should talk to them before you rent. They do have a right to try and get the best rate in a comparable care for themselves. Most insurance companies have arrangements set up with rental places.

3. In terms of suing, I can't give you legal advice, but I would see if you can get something on your own first (so you don't have to pay 33%) to the law firm. Normally, you would be doing well if you got 3X the reasonable medical bills in exchange for pain and suffering. Example: 2000 in reasonable medical bills gets you 8000$ (2000 for the bills and 6000 for pain and suffering). This is just an example and does not include money you could get for lost wages.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

If your car insurance is good, you have soemthing called PIP coverage (Personal Injury Protection). The event AFTER the accident scene are where most people screw up. The first thing you do after the accident is see a doctor. Most offices will work with you on holding the billing until after the appointment. After you leave the doc's office, you have two things to do. One is to hire an injury attorney and the other is to call your insurance company and report the accident. They need to know the car isn't driveable and that you are injured. They will take a recording of what you say. You need the attorney so you don't get screwed by the other car insurance company regarding your medical bills.

If you don't have PIP from your car insurance, you can file with your regular medical insurance. If you have to go this route, you will have to hire an attorney if you want to recover anything.

Good luck.

Answer 3

You should have someone at the other persons insurance company that is handling the claim. When you go to the doctor you may have signed a paper that gives them the ability to collect directly from the insurance company as well. If you are not at fault and are due to receive compensation then you should be in direct contact with the Claims Representative of the other driver. Be sure not to submit original copies of your bills.

Answer 4

The person who received a ticket for the accident should be responsible for any charges.Now that being said, if they do not have enough insurance, then the bills should go to your car insurance as long as you have the correct insurance. If it isn't enough to cover all the property damage and the medical bills, then it gets turned in over to your medical insurance. You regular medical insurance will not touch any of the charges until the other avenues have been completely exhausted.

Answer 5

Check with the insurance companies. I would submit automotive expenses to the car insurance and the medical expenses to medical insurance. If the medical insurance company decides that the bill should be covered by the car insurance (or the other party) they are much more efficient than you can be at going after the relevant party for reimbursement.

Answer 6

Depends who is at fault, if you get hit by another insurance carrier your insurance submits everything thing for you to that company, they also pursue any litigation's if need be. If you are at fault you submit medical to your carrier only, but they send out an adjuster to asses vehicle damages.

Answer 7

Your insurance should let you know what to do.