Articles Posted in Insurance

The price of uninsured motorist insurance is a bargain for Tennesseans, given that some 24% of drivers in Tennessee do not have any automobile  liability insurance whatsoever.

What is automobile liability insurance?  It is insurance that the owner of a car purchases to pay for losses caused by negligent operation of the vehicle.  

Tennessee requires that each car have no less than $25,000 / $50,000 in liability insurance.  That means that in the event of a personal injury or wrongful death to a person caused by the negligent operation of the vehicle by the driver the insurance company may be required to pay up to $25,000 to that person.  If multiple people are harmed, the insurance company may be required to pay up to $50,000 in damages to all people who are harmed but no more than $25,000 per person.

As a Tennessee car accident attorney,  I am often asked why it is necessary to have medical payments coverage as part of an automobile insurance policy, especially if the car owner also has health insurance.

Frankly, it is possible that your medical payments ("med pay") coverage will do you little good if you are injured in a car wreck and also have health insurance.  However, med pay coverage can be used to pay deductibles, co-pays, and items not covered by health insurance.  If you have a health insurance plan that exposes you to minimal deductibles and co-pays and you can comfortably meet those expenses on your monthly income or with your savings, med pay coverage may not be a good investment.

However, my experience has been that many people do not have a financial reserve for these bills and, to the extent that they have a financial reserve it disappears quickly if the injury results in loss of income.  Thus, med pay can provide a financial cushion and can avoid the all-too-common situation where medical bills from car accidents are sent to collection agencies.

What is medical payments coverage on my automobile insurance policy?

Medical payments coverage, also known as "med pay" coverage, will pay medical bills incurred by you or people in the vehicle in the event that you or the others are injured in a vehicle accident. The money is paid for bills regardless of who caused the accident.

Although many people have health insurance that will also pay medical bills, the med pay coverage can be used to meet deductibles and pay bills not covered by insurance.

Liability insurance is insurance that protects you from loss in the event you are alleged to have negligently caused harm or damage to another  or are determined to have negligently caused harm or damage to another.

Liability insurance offers two important components.  First, liability insurance pays for a lawyer to represent you in the event you get sued for negligently causing someone harm or damage.  This is known as the "duty to defend."  Second, liability insurance pays any judgment entered against you for negligently causing harm or damage to someone else.  This is known as the "duty to indemnify."  The amount the insurance company will pay is capped at the amount of liability insurance you have.  

There is a liability insurance component in almost every motor vehicle insurance policy.  There is also a liability insurance component in your homeowner’s insurance policy.  If you run a business, you may have (and should have) a "general liability" insurance policy that protects you for negligent acts and omissions by you or your employees as part of your business operations.

I have a disability insurance policy through my job.  I am disabled but the disability insurance company still says I have to submit and claim and go through all the paperwork.  The company says it is up to me whether or not I get a lawyer.  Do I need a lawyer?

I strongly recommend that you have the help of a lawyer.  It sounds like your policy is going to be covered by a special federal law and, if your policy has language in it that is often found in such policies, a federal court that reviews any  denial of your claim will be largely limited to looking only at the same evidence the insurance company looked at when it denied your claim.  Thus, it is extremely important that your file with the insurance company contain all of the relevant material that can be used to support your claim,  An experienced lawyer knows what material to submit in support of your claim and how to make the most persuasive argument that can be made on your behalf.

Also, depending on the language of your policy, it may be very difficult for a federal court to reverse the insurance company’s decision to deny you benefits.  If the policy so states, the judge can only reverse a decision to deny benefits if the judge finds that the insurance company "abused its discretion"  in making its decision.