Being sued by ins. co. for not having enough coverage

[lbnj2000]

What is the name of your state? NJ
The other guy’s insurance co. is suing me and my son for not having enough coverage, and trying to collect the difference on a claim they paid out. Is this possible? The accident happened almost 2 years ago. We live in NJ and we have a no fault law automobile insurance, see link: http://www.icnj.org/p_1.html
Both cars were registered in NJ. I have the minimum coverage mandated by the state. Which is 15K per accident, and I also have a mandatory “uninsured/uderinsured motorist” coverage. Isn’t this coverage supposed to make up for the difference on this claim? This is what happened: My son, 17 at the time was driving my car (carA) with his friend as a passenger at 35 MPH when he rear-ended a car in front of him (carB) which was trying to make a left turn. As a result the car in front of him (B) was pushed out in the opposing traffic and hit by an oncoming car (carC) in the front. My car’s both airbags were deployed, I don’t know about the other cars, but to best of my knowledge nobody was injured and all refused medical attention. The driver from car B came over to my son and asked them if they were allright?. Then he started to complain that his car was only two weeks old. This guy’s (car B) insurance company (Liberty Mutual) sent us a letter dated August 2001 that the guy presented a claim in the amount of $ 16,445. And they found out that I only had a $15K coverage. In the letter the insurance co. said that they can only recover $ 8,850 from my insurance co. Therefore they will try to recover the balance of $ 7,595 from me and my son. They were asking us to arrange a payment schedule or they will take legal action agains us to collect . I just ignored the whole thing. Then in November 2001 some company (US Trace) based in Colorado was trying to contact my son to talk to him and they called up three of our neighbors asking questions about our family. Then in December 2001 my son (only) received a letter from a nearby lawyer saying that he represents driver B and the insurance co. and trying to resolve this matter. I ignored it. Then in February my son (only) received another letter from another lawyer saying that he represents his client (driver B) in behalf of his insurance carrier to institute a lawsuit for their Personal Injury Protection Claim arising from this accident, and asking to provide information about my insurance co. and policy and demanding a “Mandatory Arbitration”. I ignored that also. Now October 18, 2002 my son and I just get served with a Summons about a Civil Action with Docket number that was stamped by Superior Court on June 17, 2002. I have 35 days to file a written answer or motion to dispute this claim. I would appreciate any advice on this matter as to how should I approach it and if anybody heard of a similar case like this.
Is my insurance co. supposed to represent/defend me in this matter?
If Liberty Mutual was dumb enough to pay out that much money, can they force me to pay for the balance?
I have not heard or been able to locate any information regarding this type of insurance co. cases. I never heard anything from the driver of car C. I was able to fix my car myself for under a $1,000 . What would happen if I collide with a Rolls Royce? or somebody decides to drive a $500,000 car is it my responsibility to have enough coverage for his car in case I hit it. I never heard of such a thing. That is what the uninsured/underinsured coverage supposed to take care off. Am I right?

Thanks for reading it and I hope somebody can help with some advise.
L.B.

 

[JETX]

This is really simple. You decided to purchase minimum insurance coverage of $15k. The other party is claiming that your son was at fault in an accident, as a result of which, they suffered damages in excess of your chosen insurance. You are liable for any damages over and above your insurance limit.

Hire an attorney.

 

[xavierdoom]

It kinda late in the game for you to, now be upset they want $7600.

LB think of all the Multiple chances you had to stand up for your rights and tell them to go to hell, and you and your son didn't. Your insurance company paid about half of the claim do you know WHY? I don't know, what did they tell you?

So now they are telling you in such words, to go to hell and pay up! So unless you have some overwhelming evidence they are not entitled to the $7600, you might as well resign yourself and your son to start saving up your dollars, TODAY!

 

[lbnj2000]

I have not spoken to my insurance co. yet, I left them a message on Friday and they haven't returned my call. I assume the other half was paid out to the other driver because, I have not heard anything from that side. This lawsuit mentions no monetary figures anywhere. It just says: "Wherefore, judgment is demanded against defendant for damages together with cost of suit." I'm still skeptical about the whole thing but I will consult a lawyer asap. I had an incident before with my ex-partner who tried to sue me, and received a summon from his friend lawyer. After I hired a lawyer and answered his complaint, my lawyer was ready to send it in and realized that there was no docket number on the summons. When my lawyer called up the other lawyer the other lawyer said "ah, he never filed it, he didn't think that it will go this far". In another words it was just a scare tactic.

 

[stephenk]

your insurance company should be defending you on this lawsuit. If they paid any money to Liberty Mutual they would have received a release of liability absolving you and your son from any further claims for the property damage.

If your carrier has not paid any money, they should defend you on the terms of your policy.

 

[puyallup]

I am really curious as to how this turned out . Could the original poster please update us as to the progress on this case?

Thank you.

 

[lbnj2000]

Update

Thanks for all the replies. As it stands now my case is still in the court. The accident happened 26 months ago. My insurance co. provided me with a lawyer, who filed an answer to the Complaint in my behalf. One insurance company (Allstate) agreed to settle for 53 cents on the Dollar but the other one (Liberty Mutual) did not want to settle for 54 cents on the Dollar, instead decided to come after us. My insurance company have not paid out anything to anybody, Allstate is still waiting for their money. To me this whole thing is totaly ridiculos that an insurance company would do this for a few thousand dollars instead of concentrating on losing the millions of dollars they pay out on bogus medical claims and repair claims. In my case the car damages were $ 11,579 and 16,444 that they paid out. For that price they could have bought new cars. My car damages were just as bad, and I fixed it myself for under a $1,000 with parts bought from a junk yard. If they decided to blindly pay out this huge claims without knowing what they can recover, and no input from me, just simply trying to force me to pay, they got to be crazy. I would like to be in a business like this have my cake and it it too. What we need insurance companies for?. I will post the outcome as it develops.