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How Your Personal Auto Policy Affects Your Injury Claim...Filing an injury claim under your own personal auto policy is obviously easier than pursuing a third party.But there are still a lot of things to consider and there are still mistakes you can make. When filing an injury claim through your own insurance coverage your basic rights to compensation remain the same, but the way you go about getting compensated is quite different. An injury claim through your personal auto policy requires no need to establish liability and the negotiations will typically be easier because tricky figures like punitive damages won’t apply. In states where no fault laws are in effect you have no choice in the matter and must file the injury claim through your own policy. You'll also have to file under your policy if the negligent party is uninsured or inadequately insured. In that case you'll be filing under the Uninsured or Underinsured provisions of your policy. Filing with your own insurer... As always you'll still need to notify your insurance company as quickly as possible after the accident. You must let them know that injuries were sustained, but you aren’t necessarily making a formal claim. At this point you still may decide to file under the other party’s policy. Either way you want to request a formal letter from your insurer stating that they were notified of the accident. When you get that letter file it away safely. This will prove you complied with your obligations if something goes wrong later on. If you do end up making the claim through your own policy your insurer is entitled to certain privileges. These include medical records, your employment records (for salary compensation), your full cooperation and in the case of car accidents they can inspect your vehicle. They're also allowed to take money back from you if you make a settlement later in a third party claim. The medical records are important. The insurance company will either be waiting for them or sending you a release form so they can attain them on their own. If you don’t send them or sign the release then your claim isn’t going anywhere. Sometimes their release asks for more information then you feel is relevant, so read carefully and cross out or amend anything you feel is too much. They won’t always accept it, but try as best you can to make them see your point. If they make a formal investigation into your injury claim you must cooperate with them. This not only applies when they deal with your personal injuries but also if they decide to make their own claim against the negligent party. Your cooperation, like anything else, is to be given within reason. You'll mostly have to provide evidence, names of witnesses and verbal statements of your own. Subrogation is something that will come up in some situations. This is when your insurance company settles with you but then pursues a third party claim on their own. Think about this carefully before filing under your own personal auto policy and before signing a release for subrogation. When you sign this for your insurer it means that they can try to get their money back from the other insurance company; but it also means that you cannot make a third party claim of your own. Return from Personal Auto Policy to Personal Injury Settlements Return from Personal Auto Policy to the Personal Injury Settlement Guide How Much Is Your Case Worth? Find out NOW! Complete this form for a FREE case review by an experienced attorney... The accuracy of information on this site is not guaranteed. Information on this site is strictly opinion and should not be considered formal legal advice. Under no circumstances should the information on this site be used to make decisions about the proper course of a legal matter. Click below to read our full User Agreement, Disclaimer and Copyright Information.
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