questions about 25k settlement offer? Policy Limits? Passenger lawsuit? Accepting?

[firstwreck]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TN

I was in a motorcycle wreck almost a year ago. The at fault driver pulled out in front of me.
After all treatment, documentation bills, lost work time, no un / under insured, compensation for the bike (my roomate's), etc, Progressive offered me 25k.

She said that was the policy limit.

The claim agreement states that I indemnify both the driver and the passenger, and does NOT list that 25k is the policy limit.

1. Can I make a claim against the passenger's insurance company without a lawsuit to bring the total of the claim up to what will cover everything.

1.a. If I sue, can I then make a claim against the passenger's insurance, despite him not being involved OR would I have to go after assets. (something I want to avoid 100% because it's not worth it.)

2. Even though progressive verbally stated that 25k was the policy limit, is it possible they would withhold the real limit, and try to get to me to accept the 25k thinking it's the limit?


I'm going to request the declaration page and an affidavit stating they exhausted the policy limit before I sign this, and if it's indeed 25k, I'm pretty sure I'm going to walk with it. Thoughts?

 

[Zigner]

What did the passenger do wrong?

 

[firstwreck]

What did the passenger do wrong?

Nothing, that I know of.
But then, why would the settlement ask me to indemnify the passenger if they can't be touched?
I'm also not sure if the owner was the driver or not. I'm going through that paperwork right now.

 

[ecmst12]

You can sue the at fault party if you don't want to accept the settlement. That is your only option and if the limit is 25k, it very likely will do you no good even if you win - plus it will cost you a lot of extra money and time. They should be willing to send you a copy of the declarations page.

Your friend's claim for his bike is separate.

If you are going to ride motorcycles, having sufficient medical coverage as well as UM/UIM on your own policy really is essential.

 

[Zigner]

Nothing, that I know of.
But then, why would the settlement ask me to indemnify the passenger if they can't be touched?

Because that's the way things are done.

 

[ecmst12]

I bet the passenger is the owner and it's his insurance policy.

 

[Zigner]

I bet the passenger is the owner and it's his insurance policy.

That may very well be.

 

[firstwreck]

They should be willing to send you a copy of the declarations page.

Response was a flat "NO", said it was due to the privacy of their driver.

Is it time to send a demand letter?

Why would they tell me they are offering 25k at policy limits, but refuse to verify these limits?

 

[firstwreck]

Cy council (not retained in contract, just hourly advisor) suggested requesting an affidavit stating that they have exhausted all available funds for coverage.

How would I even enforce that if they lie on it? (I can't get a hold of him today or I would ask him, he's out of town all through next week) I'm not sure if they are obligated to release it. Tried looking here: Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-6-914 (2013)


Also, if I sue, can I rescind the lawsuit if they offer a better settlement? Or am I engaged in a lawsuit permanently if I sue?
Is the thread to sue enough to get them to disclose policy limits?

 

[ecmst12]

If you file a lawsuit, you can do discovery. But you will also need a lawyer, which will cost you money, since what you want is more than the small claims court limit. I doubt they would take a risk like lying about the policy limits, that's just begging for a bad faith complaint and only screws their policyholder over in the end. $25k is also state minimum in TN so very common for that kind of coverage.

 

[firstwreck]

The insurance company just said that I am indemnifying the driver and the owner (Sr/Jr father and son)

They also said that they couldn't possibly be offering me a lower amount than the policy limits because they can't say they are offering me the policy limit when they are really offering me some lower amount.

I asked if the policy limit was actually 100k couldn't they offer me less than 100k in hopes that I would take it. They said that because the policy limit is 25k they can't even legally tell me that they are offering 'policy limit' if it was a higher policy.

 

[RedemptionMan]

The insurance company just said that I am indemnifying the driver and the owner (Sr/Jr father and son)

They also said that they couldn't possibly be offering me a lower amount than the policy limits because they can't say they are offering me the policy limit when they are really offering me some lower amount.

I asked if the policy limit was actually 100k couldn't they offer me less than 100k in hopes that I would take it. They said that because the policy limit is 25k they can't even legally tell me that they are offering 'policy limit' if it was a higher policy.

I would ask them to send me a copy of what the limits are or that I will lawyer up, there are a ton of personal injury lawyers out there. If you on the other hand need money, then I would settle the claim and take the 25 grand if it covers everything and you are pocketing it as personal injury settlement. If not then I would would hire a good personal injury lawyer who will give you more options. It sounds if you do not believe them and I can not tell you whether they are telling the truth or not. Progressive Insurance is for people who have had or will have challenges in being insured. I just looked it up and 25 grand is the minimum state required covered for personal injury with a maximum amount of 50 grand per accident. So, they do meet state requirements so I doubt they are telling you a story. If you want more than that then you will have to get a lawyer and sue which will be a long drawn out process. good luck

I also think since Progressive is a third tier insurance company 99 percent of the their policies are written at the state mins since most of there insured have issues.

( bad credit, tickets, dwis, etc etc)

 

[ecmst12]

Progressive is a standard risk insurance company, I'm sure they write policies with many different limits. State minimum coverage is simply the most common coverage that people get, everywhere. I used to work for a high risk insurance company and even THERE, some people had higher than minimum coverage.

They would be guilty of bad faith and unethical business practices if they lied about the policy limits. They could have serious issues from the insurance commission if they were to do that. It would not be worth the risk to the business. And Progressive isn't some tiny fly by night business, either.

Honestly, I think you should just take the settlement. You won't get more than the policy limits and hiring a lawyer would just cost you a third of the settlement that would be the same size in the end.

 

[Zigner]

I also think since Progressive is a third tier insurance company 99 percent of the their policies are written at the state mins since most of there insured have issues.

What good does this totally unsubstantiated guess do for our OP?

 

[firstwreck]

Thanks redemption.

Every PI lawyer I spoke too said it was very likely that they had state minimum.
The lawyer who is advising me said that it would be best for me to let them make me an offer before retaining a lawyer who takes a huge chunk.

I have 20k in bills. All covered by BCBS. They offer me 25k. He suggested taking it and negotiating subrogation with bcbs on my own, or paying someone hourly to do it. He said the standard rate in TN is 20-30% of the bills paid back via subrogation, which would still leave some left over.

My main fear is that, in signing this, I'm giving up the right to sue the other party for expenses. If you look at my settlement this way - 25k is a 1.25% multiplier. MUCH lower than what would normally be awarded for all expenses plus P&S. But that's tough luck at these policy limits.

I could sue, however, but the driver rents a very cheap duplex in a low income area outside of down.
I have no information on the owner's financial information (the driver's father).

My council's opinion was that all a judgement is going to do is cost me a lot of money to drag this out for another year, maybe get a 60-70k judgement, and likely not see a dime of it past the 25k paid by insurance.

Does that sound like sound advice?