I was in an at-fault accident in CA

[Mileen3335]

I was in an accident, it was my fault. I have released permission to give other party's attorney policiy information. Now they want more information, including my cash/assets. I have decent insurance coverage. I do not feel comfortable giving out my personal information. I thought that's what insurance was for, to handle this? What do I do here?

 

[Zigner]

I was in an accident, it was my fault. I have released permission to give other party's attorney policiy information. Now they want more information, including my cash/assets. I have decent insurance coverage. I do not feel comfortable giving out my personal information. I thought that's what insurance was for, to handle this? What do I do here?

You didn't give your US state, but in any state, you should speak to your insurance company. They should be providing you with an attorney who can advise you.

I see now (from the title of your thread) that you are in CA. Speak to your insurance company.

 

[adjusterjack]

I was in an accident, it was my fault. I have released permission to give other party's attorney policiy information. Now they want more information, including my cash/assets. I have decent insurance coverage. I do not feel comfortable giving out my personal information. I thought that's what insurance was for, to handle this? What do I do here?

Unless there is a lawsuit in progress (not just a claim) you don't have to give anybody any information about your assets.

 

[LdiJ]

I was in an accident, it was my fault. I have released permission to give other party's attorney policiy information. Now they want more information, including my cash/assets. I have decent insurance coverage. I do not feel comfortable giving out my personal information. I thought that's what insurance was for, to handle this? What do I do here?

Turn this whole thing over to your insurance company and let them handle it. That is their job.

 

[zddoodah]

I was in an accident, it was my fault.

When did this occur? How many cars involved? Please BRIEFLY describe the damage to each car? Any injuries? If so, please BRIEFLY describe.

I have released permission to give other party's attorney policiy information.

What does this mean? You should have exchanged insurance information at the scene of the accident. Has a lawsuit been filed?

Now they want more information, including my cash/assets.

Who are "they"? Have "they" explained why "they" want this information?

I have decent insurance coverage.

Define "decent"?

I do not feel comfortable giving out my personal information. I thought that's what insurance was for, to handle this? What do I do here?

Your insurer's responsibility is to pay damages resulting from your negligence (up to your policy limits), to provide an attorney to defend you in any lawsuit, and to use its best efforts to prevent a judgment against you in excess of policy limits. Please confirm that, within a reasonable time after the accident occurred, you reported the accident to your insurer and have spoken with an adjuster about it.

Note that you are not obligated to provide information about your assets/income until and unless a judgment has been entered against you and you are served with post judgment interrogatories or are testifying in a judgment debtor exam. That said, providing such information may be beneficial in settling and avoiding a lawsuit.

 

[Mileen3335]

Turn this whole thing over to your insurance company and let them handle it. That is their job.

They are handling it, but they are asking me to sign a paper to release information on umbrella policies, personal cash/assists, etc. Why would they want to know if I have $xxx amount of cash or assets if they were going to fully handle it?

 

[Mileen3335]

When did this occur? How many cars involved? Please BRIEFLY describe the damage to each car? Any injuries? If so, please BRIEFLY describe.




What does this mean? You should have exchanged insurance information at the scene of the accident. Has a lawsuit been filed?




Who are "they"? Have "they" explained why "they" want this information?




Define "decent"?




Your insurer's responsibility is to pay damages resulting from your negligence (up to your policy limits), to provide an attorney to defend you in any lawsuit, and to use its best efforts to prevent a judgment against you in excess of policy limits. Please confirm that, within a reasonable time after the accident occurred, you reported the accident to your insurer and have spoken with an adjuster about it.

Note that you are not obligated to provide information about your assets/income until and unless a judgment has been entered against you and you are served with post judgment interrogatories or are testifying in a judgment debtor exam. That said, providing such information may be beneficial in settling and avoiding a lawsuit.

The accident 3/25/2024 was myself, rear-ending a vehicle with one person in it. She was able to get out of the car and walk around after accident. She is also claiming an injury and vehicle was damaged. I have comprehensive collision coverage. $15k/30k
We exchanged info via CHP. It then went straight to insurance. I was in contact with my insurance company that day. I spoke to an adjuster within a few days. My car was repaired by a shop, paid by my insurance.
The other party has got a lawyer. My insurance company sent me about 6-7 pages a couple weeks ago asking me to sign. My insurance company stated that the papers were from the other lawyer and was asking consent to release policy limit information.
I agreed and signed. Now my insurance company is asking me to sign another paper giving the same information about policy limits and also asking if there is any umbrella insurance, which I do not have. Another point on the paper is stating that I have no cash/assets totaling $xxx amount of money. Of which I do have. But I feel like telling them the value of my assets would not help me in this situation. It's not much, but it's more than what they are asking about.

My insurance adjuster did tell me that the injury was not considered "serious" meaning no surgery or life threatening injuries. And was not hospitalized for an extensive time.

 

[adjusterjack]

The injured party's attorney wants to know if it's worth filing a lawsuit against you or whether it's worth settling for your $15K per person limit and then going for the injured party's Underinsured Motorists Coverage.

He's going to want a quick payday without incurring the cost of a lawsuit when you are essentially judgment proof and can just file bankruptcy and the judgment goes away.

Now that we have the appropriate details it looks like it would be to your advantage to cooperate and provide the information about your scant resources.

Your company's claim rep should have explained it to you that way and should be able to confirm what I am telling you.

 

[Mileen3335]

The injured party's attorney wants to know if it's worth filing a lawsuit against you or whether it's worth settling for your $15K per person limit and then going for the injured party's Underinsured Motorists Coverage.

He's going to want a quick payday without incurring the cost of a lawsuit when you are essentially judgment proof and can just file bankruptcy and the judgment goes away.

Now that we have the appropriate details it looks like it would be to your advantage to cooperate and provide the information about your scant resources.

Your company's claim rep should have explained it to you that way and should be able to confirm what I am telling you.

OK that makes a lot more sense than what my insurance adjuster said. She also couldn't legally tell me what to do, I guess.
This is my first at fault accident and have heard of insurance companies doing shady things, so I wanted to get informed before just signing anything they ask for.
Thank you so much for replying in terms that I could understand.

 

[Taxing Matters]

I was in an accident, it was my fault. I have released permission to give other party's attorney policiy information. Now they want more information, including my cash/assets. I have decent insurance coverage. I do not feel comfortable giving out my personal information. I thought that's what insurance was for, to handle this? What do I do here?

What you do is promptly notify your insurance company about the request and let the attorney they hire deal with it. If the plaintiff's lawyer thinks the plaintiff may have a case for damages that exceeds your policy limits, then the information they seek is relevant. However, whether they are entitled to get it now before any lawsuit has been filed is another matter. Likely you don't have to provide it until they ask for it in discovery after a lawsuit is filed, but there may be some advantage to you to release the information now. That's something you really need to discuss with the attorney.

Your insurance adjuster cannot give legal advice, so she did the right thing in not telling you what you should do.

 

[zddoodah]

The accident 3/25/2024 was myself, rear-ending a vehicle with one person in it. She was able to get out of the car and walk around after accident. She is also claiming an injury and vehicle was damaged. I have comprehensive collision coverage. $15k/30k

OK. The $15k/$30k relates to your liability coverage, not to your comprehensive and collision coverage. Those are the state minimum coverage limits, so I'm not sure I'd call it decent. It also doesn't tell us how much you had for property damage coverage. The $15k/$30k means that your insurer will pay up to $15k for injuries to any single person and up to $30k for personal injuries to all injured persons. The minimum coverage for property damage is only $5k. Hopefully, you had more than that.

I generally agree with everything in "adjusterjack's" response #8.