Hello, I was in an auto accident a year ago. I'm concerned that the soft tissue injury claim the other party is making may end up being over my policy limits as they are still treating and my policy was unfortunately very low ($25K). What are my rights? What can i expect in terms of next steps?
I'm assuming you have already turned this over to your insurance company. If not, you should do so immediately. They will manage the process. You do have a right to independent counsel if suit is filed. However, if they settle with your insurance company, your insurer will insist upon a full release. As a practical matter, unless you have substantial liquid assets, most cases will settle for the policy limits with a release.
For future reference, you should definitely raise your liability policy limits.
Your carrier should notify you of the potential risk of exposing you personally to excess liability. If they have not yet settled with the injured claimant, and are preparing to go to trial, your insurance company may be willing to pay beyond the $25k limits. You need to ask them this, if they have not already advised you of their position.
I would reiterate that hopefully you have turned the case over to your insurance company. Once you have done so, it is your insurance company's duty to defend the matter. If the claim ends up being in excess of your policy limits, your insurance company must notify you in writing of this fact so you can obtain independant counsel. If, on the other hand, the injured party offers to settle their claim for your policy limits or less, and your insurance company rejects the offer, you will not have any exposure for an excess judgment; more specifically, if your insurance company fails to settle the claim for an amount equal to or less than your policy limits when given the opportunity to do so, you would have a bad faith claim against your insurance company, and you would be entitled to damages for both the excess judgment and your attorney's fees and costs incurred in suing you insurance company. This is a short hand answer. If your insurance company does notify you of the potential for a judment in excess of your policy limits, you should immediately contact an attorney for a more detailed discussion of your rights.
