My daughter was involved in an auto accident and was found to be at fault w/ no insurance. What now?
Posted on Mar 26, 2008 under Insurance Information |My daughter (20yr) was in an auto accident and found to be at fault. Unfortunately, the insurance company would not cover since she had missed a payment (insured 4 years) She has scheduled a date in court to fight her ticket for being at fault, due to the driver who hit her was travelling 60mph+ when everyone was stopped and she was changing lanes to avoid the car ahead of her that slammed on her brakes. My daughter came out ofthis the worst being hit at that speed. A total of two other vehicles were involved, and both insurance companies have offered settlement agreements, and a discount if we settle now. Total settlement would be $15K. One of the insurance companies says that the medical for their client is not settled yet, although their client's car was driveable and barely grazed by my daughters car being thrown into this car.
Question should we settle now, or wait to find out what the court will determine,? How do we best protect ourselves?
March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 am
wait…. settling could be construed as an admission of guilt. If she is contesting the ticket then this won't help her.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Aren't insurance company getting good at avoiding coverage costs? I'd talk to a lawyer to make sure that you cross all your T's and dot all your I's. It may save everyone money to settle, but you are better off with a good lawyer doing the negotiation.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Hire an attorney whose sole job is to protect your daughter's interests while this is being sorted out. (Sometimes an insurance company will give you an attorney, but they're working for the insurance company's benefit, not yours.)
This will not be free, but you'll know you did everything possible.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Hire an attorney and wait for what the court will determine. Since your daughter is at fault and had no insurance, she can be charged with a crime for driving with no insurance, possibly given traffic tickets, will be forced with paying some hefty settlements.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Not such a matter should you take advise from yahooers. get a real lawyer and fast!
March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 am
I realize that she IS your daughter and want to help her - but it is HER responsibility and can't legally be tied back to you.
Your best bet would be to tell the insurance company that you want to settle, but, it will take you a bit of time to gather the money. Then go to court and see what happens. If they exonerate your daughter, you may have a better bargaining chip.
Not to be taken as LEGAL advice but that's what I would do if it were me.
Good luck and I hope this helps!
March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 am
start reorganizing finances in order to pay of a big debt :S
March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 am
I guess I am a bit confused. If your daughter was at fault for the accident, then why are the other insurance companies making offers? Do you mean that the other insurance companies have paid out a total of $15k and are now coming after your daughter for reimbursement?
If this is the case, let them know that your daughter is challenging the citation, and you would like to wait for the decision. However, just because the court may rescind the citation, does not mean that your daughter was not responsible for the accident. The insurance adjusters based their liability assessments on statements from their insured and perhaps witnesses, not just on the police report and your daughters citations.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:00 am
I deal with this stuff all the time as our company represents insurance companies in claims against uninsured motorists. The process is called "subrogation."
Your daughter is an adult so she needs to protect herself. you would not legally be involved in this unless you owned the car.
As Lawnboy stated getting out of the ticket may not help. I would still recommend that she gives it a shot. She can use it as a bargaining chip.
As a parent of 2 children in your daughters age range, I understand that you want to help her, but this is best handled by her. Trust me after dealing with this she will NEVER miss another insurance payment.
The two companies are probably offering your daughter discounted "lump sum" settlement options. They would rather give her a discount to get the money in a short time frame, normally 30 to 60 days then have her make monthly payments for years.
If she has not already done so, your daughter should ask the 2 insurance companies for copies of all documentation outlining the car damages. Get copies of estimates and checks. If the companies are in fact making lump sum offers they should be giving her a discount of at least 15% if not more, to pay in 30 to 60 days.
The next thing she needs to do is ask the other two insurance companies if comparative negligence (comp neg) applies to either of the other drivers. In most states, comp neg allows that both drivers can be partially responsible for an accident. So even if your daughter is at-fault, she may not be 100% at-fault. She is entitled to a reduction on the amount owed equal to the comp neg of the other drivers. If one of the other drivers has comp neg of 10% then the company must reduce their claim by that amount.
If the 15K is not a discounted figure and she or you have the financial ability to do so, I would suggest offering each company 60% of their damages and see what they say. Trust me they would rather have a discounted amount up front then set up a 5 to 10 year payment plan.
If she has a chance to settle before the injury claims are resolved I always suggest that people do so. It probably will save her at least $3000 if not more.
If she settles on a "lump sum" basis make sure that both insurance companies provide her with releases stating that she will not owe anything in the future when the injury claim is resolved.
If a "lump sum" settlement can't be worked out most companies will accept monthly payments even though they hate to do it. On claims this large she can figure paying a mimimum of $100 per month to each company.
Just so you are aware, in most states your daughter may have her drivers license revoked for driving without insurance. In most cases coming to a settlement (either lump sum or monthly) with the insurance companies will allow her to keep her drivers license.
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