Of course, you want every single penny you can possibly get if you’ve been injured in a car accident due to no fault of your own. In many cases, the best way to do this is to be sure you track down every available insurance policy that may apply to your case. Depending on the facts of your case, you may even have more available insurance coverage than you realize. So, to explain, let me tell you the story of my past client Chelsea. Chelsea was a passenger in a single-vehicle accident. She sustained injuries in the accident including a fractured wrist. Her medical bills were piling up so she called me. I recall speaking with Chelsea. She had been in an accident and was living with her brother at the time of the accident.
Unfortunately, she explained that things had become worse for her as her brother died unexpectedly in an accident. She had been living with him and helping him with his kids. I felt horrible for Chelsea so I wanted to do everything I could to possibly help her through this difficult time. When she had completed her medical treatment, my office gathered all of her medical records and bills. I then sent a written demand package to the at-fault driver’s insurance company. The other driver’s insurer soon came back and offered the policy limits of $100,000 to settle Chelsea’s claims against their insured driver. Chelsea agreed to accept the settlement but unfortunately, this amount was not even close to covering the amount of damages she had incurred in her accident.
So, when my office first took Chelsea on as a client, we asked her several questions to determine if there may be other insurance available to her claim in the event the other driver didn’t have enough insurance to cover her damages. And we discovered that it was possible that she may be entitled to benefits under another insurance policy. Remember, Chelsea had been living with her brother. At the time of Chelsea’s accident, her brother owned a vehicle covered by an insurance policy. And in Kentucky, the state I practice law in, along with several other states, one is eligible for insurance benefits under the automobile insurance policy for any resident relative. So that means if you live with anyone at the time of your accident that is a relative of yours, you may be eligible for any insurance benefits through their insurance policy in the event you are in a car accident.
And since Chelsea was a relative residing with her brother at the time of the accident, she was potentially eligible for any benefits under that policy as well, including underinsured motorist benefits if her brother’s policy contained such coverage. Chelsea’s brother had unfortunately passed away. Chelsea wasn’t able to get a copy of the declarations page from her brother’s policy, but she was able to provide me with the name of her brother’s insurer and his policy number. This was enough to file a claim under the policy for underinsured motorist benefits. Underinsured motorist benefits, also known as UIM benefits, is a type of insurance coverage that provides you and your loved ones with insurance in the event you or your loved ones are involved in an automobile accident with another driver who does not have enough insurance to cover all of your damages.
When we filed the claim for UIM benefits, the insurer did tell us that the policy contained UIM coverage on the policy, but they were not inclined to tell us the amount of coverage available. Her brother’s UIM insurer said that they would have to conduct an investigation to confirm whether or not Chelsea was eligible for UIM benefits under her deceased brother’s policy. And since her brother had passed away, the insurer could not simply ask him. Chelsea had also bounced around to several different places over the years and had just started living with her brother a few months prior to her car accident. As such, she did not have any bills or other documentation that would confirm she was living at her brother’s address at the time of the accident.
So we provided the insurer with the names and contact information of several individuals who knew Chelsea and her brother and could confirm that Chelsea was living with her brother at the time of the accident. I also then sent a demand package to her brother’s UIM insurer demanding that they pay out the underinsured motorist policy limits under her brother’s policy to Chelsea for her damages. This strategy finally worked as I was able to get her brother’s insurer to eventually pay out the policy limits of $50,000 to resolve Chelsea’s underinsured motorist claim. Chelsea also received $10,000 in personal injury protection benefits, bringing the total recovery on all her claims to $110,000. Chelsea went through a very difficult time after her accident. I was happy we were able to get her every cent of available insurance possible in her case.
If you’ve been injured in an accident, it’s crucial you identify every available insurance policy that could apply to your claim. Maybe the at-fault driver had an umbrella policy in addition to their automobile policy that may apply to your case. Or maybe the at-fault driver was working for their employer at the time of the accident and the employer’s insurance policy applies to your claim. Or maybe, like in Chelsea’s case, you lived with a relative who owned a vehicle with an insurance policy that may apply to your claim. Whatever the facts of your case, you need to investigate to try to discover all possible insurance that you may be eligible for compensation after your accident. The thing is, now that you know that it’s often crucial to track down all possible available insurance that may apply to your car accident injury claim, you may be thinking to yourself that, all I really want is a fair settlement for your car accident injury claim.
And if that sounds like you, I highly suggest you watch this video about to pop up right here where I explain how to negotiate a fair settlement in your car accident injury case. Also, for more helpful videos like this one, please subscribe to my channel right here. Lastly, if you’ve been injured in Kentucky, remember to don’t wait, call Tate.
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