Any car insurance policy comes with liability limits. If the amount available to an accident victim does not cover the victim’s losses, then what action can that particular victim/claimant take?
Is there any value in suing the other driver?
The driver may not have any assets. Still, it is possible to file a judgment against that specific driver. Once that has been done, the plaintiff might gain access to money in the future.
There is no minimum or maximum settlement. Of course, it would be difficult to conceive of a situation where the plaintiff was required to pay money to the defendant. In other words, the absence of compensation would probably qualify as a minimum settlement.
The check made possible by present-day options
The claimant could check to see if his or her policy included an underinsured motorist option. A policy holder that has purchased such an option can expect his or her own insurance company to cover the damages that were not covered by the other driver’s liability terms.
Today, policyholders also enjoy the chance to buy an uninsured motorist option. That provides them with coverage in the event that their vehicle collides with one that has not been insured.
The availability of such options works to substantiate the claim that there is no minimum or maximum settlement. Before the creation of those options, drivers that collided with an uninsured or underinsured motorist had only one way to seek some form of compensation.
Each of them needed to think seriously about hiring a lawyer and suing the responsible driver. Those that did not want to hire a lawyer did have to accept a minimum settlement. That minimum could be the figure proposed by the insurance company.
Could the driver that was hit not negotiate with the defendant’s insurance company?
Yes, that driver could take part in negotiations, but the insurance company would work to reduce the amount of money that it owed to its policyholder. It might suggest that the same policyholder could be held partly responsible for the accident.
That is why hiring a good personal injury lawyer in Ottawa makes a lot of sense. That is because if you deal with the insurance company directly, they will use whatever you said against you irrespective of whether it was your fault or it wasn’t. If you talk to the defendant’s insurance company, the insurance adjuster might even get the conversation used as a recorded statement. Thus, avoid talking directly to the other driver or their insurance company but allow your lawyer to handle the claim. It would work in your favor.
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