Car Accident: GAP Coverage Claim “Already Closed”
December 23, 2011
I just settled my property damage claim with the other driver’s insurance company. They “totaled it out.” I still owe $4,000 on my car and my insurance company told me that they had already “closed” my GAP coverage claim. What should I do?
First off, good thinking getting GAP coverage. Most people don’t have it and when they’re in a car accident end up owing more on their car than it’s worth.
Your first step should be to contact your insurance company and tell them to “reopen your claim.” All this takes is a phone call to get your claim started.
Minor Impact Soft Tissue (MIST) Cases
July 19, 2011
Whenever possible, insurance companies seem to like to classify car accident claims as “MIST” cases. They define these as Minor Impact Soft Tissue injuries. Basically, the wreck wasn’t “that bad” so the injured party should not be injured “that bad.” Traditionally these cases were accidents that occurred with vehicles traveling under 8 miles per hour and the property damage less than $1,500 in repairs.
I’m seeing more and more insurance adjusters giving cases the “MIST” treatment. It doesn’t matter if the wreck was high impact or not. One of the main problems with people that have been injured in lower impact cases is that their damages aren’t as high. Here’s a quick example:
Someone is rear-ended by someone that is going 25 m.p.h. They go to the doctor and get followup treatment for their back and neck sprain. Their total medical bills are about $6000. The insurance company will often offer less than the actual medical bills to settle the claim.
Guess what happens if the claimant accepts the offer? They still have to pay their doctors, so they end up being out of money for an accident they didn’t cause. The insurance company has little incentive to offer a reasonable amount until an attorney gets involved. If a lawsuit is filed, a doctor will need to be able to testify about the plaintiff’s injuries. Doctors typically charge $1000/hr for this type of thing. You can easily run up a bill trying a case.
The simple fact is that people can get injured in minor impact collisions.
Working With Insurance Adjusters
June 9, 2011
Insurance adjusters (and defense attorneys) can some times be hard to work with. I received a response yesterday that I hadn’t had before:
One of the medical providers on the case was VERY slow on getting us their bills and medical records for one of our car accident clients. I went ahead and sent the demand letter to the insurance company about a month ago with the instruction that we would forward the records/bills from the final provider once we received them. We already had the other records and bills from the other five providers and this would give the insurance adjuster a chance to start reviewing the file (and hopefully speed of the claims process).
I talked with the adjuster yesterday about the case. I mentioned that the outstanding bills and records had finally arrived and that I was emailing her the records as we spoke.
Her response:
“Do you think that makes a difference to our settlement offer?”
They had already made a settlement offer on the claim (another low ball offer). Their offer barely covers the claimants medical bills. A bill for over $1000 should definitely change their settlement value of the claim.
Car Insurance Terms You Should Know
May 18, 2011
A lot of these terms are self-explanatory, but it’s important to fully understand the most commonly used terms:
Policy or Insurance Policy – Your policy is the contract you sign with your insurance company. Make sure you read it!
Policy Limit – Your policy limit is the maximum dollar amount that the insurance company is obligated to pay under your policy.
Premium - This is the cost of your insurance policy. Higher policy limits will generally require higher premiums.
Coverage - This section details what the insurance company will actually cover.
Policyholder - This is the person who purchased the policy.
Insured - The insured are the people covered under the policy. Oftentimes this will include the policyholder and the policyholder’s spouse and kids.
Adjuster - The insurance company’s representative that will evaluate a claim and often offer to settle the claim.
Date of Accident – Self-explanatory but very important. If a set amount of time has passed, a car accident plaintiff will not be able to recover anything from the person who caused the accident
Car Insurance Company Disclosing the Policy Limits
May 17, 2011
Why won’t the insurance company tell me what kind of policy their driver has? I want to know how much coverage they have.
Simple: they aren’t required to tell you the policy limits. Insurance policy limits are discoverable after a lawsuit is filed. Some insurance companies will go ahead and disclose this before suit is filed, others won’t though.
Make sure you have UM Coverage!
May 5, 2011
I’m afraid the other driver is a deadbeat and doesn’t have insurance. What should I do?
Call your insurance company, or read your policy, to find out if you have uninsured motorist coverage. You’ll also want to check to see if you have medical payments coverage.
Do I need uninsured motorist coverage in Oklahoma?
January 24, 2011
Yes!
This is where I sound like an insurance salesman:
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM) will help protect you if the person that caused the accident and injured you 1) doesn’t have insurance or 2) doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your damages.
In my opinion, UM is mandatory! I purchase it through my insurance company – it costs me just under an extra $200/year.
Why purchase UM?
- About one in four Oklahoma drivers don’t have insurance
- Our state insurance requirements are only $25k/50k. With a serious injury, it doesn’t take long to rack up $25k at a hospital.
Oklahoma Uninsured Drivers on the Rise
January 13, 2010
Today’s Oklahoman has some startling statistics:
Nearly one in four (24 percent) Oklahoma motorists drove without insurance during the period of 2005 to 2007, the council’s study estimated. Only three states had worse rates: New Mexico (29 percent), Mississippi (28 percent), and Alabama (26 percent).
The article mentions that our state’s current percentage of uninsured drivers may be even higher.
So what can you do to protect yourself against a deadbeat driver? Make sure you have uninsured motorists on your car insurance policy.
Car Accident Insurance Coverage For Your Pet?
June 7, 2009
According to 7News (Lawton, OK area), some auto accident insurance companies are now offering additional coverage for your pets:
Auto insurance is needed to protect you
from injuries in a car accident, but now injury coverage is being
offered for your pets. Not many companies offer the unique coverage,
but for those that do, it is pretty inexpensive.
The article states that the additional cost is usually around $10/month and that coverage amounts can range from $500 to $1000 for injuries to the pet.
Do you owe more on your car than it’s worth?
April 16, 2009
It seems like several times a week I meet with someone that was just in a car accident that owes more on their car than it’s worth. Under Oklahoma law, the person that caused the accident does not have to pay what you owe on the car, but the fair market value of the car (assuming it was totaled). How can you help protect against this scenario (and be stuck with car payments and no car!)?
Check out GAP Insurance.
Guaranteed Auto Protection (GAP) insurance pays the difference between the actual value of the car and the remaining balance on the loan. Assuming the premium isn’t too high, it’s worth considering adding to your policy.
