cover the costs if I lose? I know it depends on coverage, but typically does it cover the costs?
2007-11-08 09:34:42 · 6 answers · asked by lifeagent 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
This is very basic and very general - there could be info that we do not have that could change the answer - however
Your policy says that you have a duty to report the claim to your insurance company in a timely manner.
If you were to not report the claim - get sued - lose and then turn the claim in, your company would probably deny coverage b/c you failed to notify them of the claim in a timely manner.
If you notify them of the claim when the accident happens and then get sued - your insurance company will hire an attorney to defend you. If you still lose - the insurance company will pay up to the policy limit. They do not have an obligation to pay for more than than the amount of coverage your purchased.
2007-11-08 11:21:39 · answer #1 · answered by Boots 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cowboys numbers might even be a little high.
I'll add some info as I don't see that the posts were completly clear.
Defense expenses are completly seperate from your liability policy limits and defense costs are not limited in anyway.
Your insurance company will attempt to settle all claims within your policy limits. In order for them to pay anything, they will require the other party to sign a release. That release states that the other party will no longer pursue any recovery against you. If the other person does not sign, no payment is made. If the other party files suit against you then they could only be awarded a _judgement_ against you. This is nothing more then a peice of paper. Your carrier would then offer their poicy limits to the other person and the other person would need to try to get money from you. Do you have a second home or a million sitting in the bank? If you don't, most attorneys will settle for your policy limits as they don't want to invest the time (which is their money) and expense for a judgement against someone with nothing they can take right away. Not to get technical, but as long as the party with a loss is willing to accept your policy limits or less, you have very little to worry about.
I thin what some people are confused about is that you mention someone winning a suit against you and _then_ wondering if your carrier would pay. It makes it sound like your carrier may not know about the loss after the suit is done. Not a good thing.
2007-11-08 20:59:45 · answer #2 · answered by Todd C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are at fault and your insurance coverage is valid, you will be protected in case of a lawsuit. Once served with papers, call your insurer and let them know immediately. They will assign an attorney rep adjustor to evaluate if the claim is worth trying to settle or if it should be litigated. If they choose not to settle, or if the plaintiff will not accept settlement, your insurer will pay the legal costs involved. Assuming an adverse judgment, you policy will cover you for compensatory damages up to the liability limits of your policy. Any compensatory damages above the liability limits will be your responsibility, as will ALL punitive damages, if any are assessed.
2007-11-08 18:14:47 · answer #3 · answered by sactoking 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't know enough details to give you a good answer but the fact is about 99% of all insurance claims are settled without lawyers and lawsuits and of the 1% that do go to suit only about 20% of those ever make it to court, most being settled before the court date. If this was a fairly routine collision with no hideous injuries, drunk driving charges, etc. then just relax and let your insurer deal with it.
2007-11-08 20:44:54 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your insurance company will cover up to your policy limits. So that depends on what type of limits you have. If your policy limits do not cover the amount of damage and the other party decides they still want to pursue against you they can. They typically do that if you have assets they can go after.
Your insurance company will try to get them to settle for your policy limits.
2007-11-08 18:32:03 · answer #5 · answered by g-girl 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It will pay the cost to defend you in court, and it will pay damages UP TO YOUR POLICY LIMIT. If you have minimum liability, they'll write the check up to the policy limit, and you have to write the check for the rest.
If you don't HAVE the rest, your assets can be attached, and your wages can be garnished.
2007-11-09 09:35:25 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋