Do I have the right to know what the at fault drivers insurance coverage is for my personal injury claim?

You have the right to ask anything and everything you want. The adjuster may or may not tell you. (You might be able to guess if the limits are high or low, depending on that kind of car hit him, where that person lives, where they work.) Basically, poorer people tend to have lower insurance limits....but you never know. I have seen plenty of well-off drivers with low limits as well. The best thing to do is contact or hire a lawyer. A lawyer may know an investigator who can independently confirm the coverage limits. In California, the adjuster (and at fault driver) has the right to keep this information from you. However, if you file a lawsuit, then they must disclose that information to you. If your husband's injuries are serious, you may have to file a lawsuit to get full value of the claim.

I do not understand why you are trying to do this without help. First you may have underinsured motorist coverage which will eliminate this worry. If you talk to a lawyer you will get a clear answer immediately. Also, the amount of liability insurance is only part of the analysis if the defendant has more than one policy. There may be an employer's policy which also covers the defendant. Additionally there may be assets either individually or through the defendant's employer which may also come into play. I cannot pursue your claim, without co-counsel, but I would be delighted to help you. Send me an email and we can talk for free. [email protected]

Let me first echo what the others have said in that you should consult an attorney in your area. An attorney who regularly practices personal injury law should be able to appropriately advise you about all applicable insurance coverage for your husband's injuries, including uninsured motorist coverage and medical payments coverage under your own policy or policies, and depending on the type of coverage and who your carrier is, you may be able to add together or stack policies. This can all get complicated, but a competant attorney can sort it all for you. To answer your specific question, I can tell you that in Georgia where I practice, an insurance company is required by law to disclose its policy information upon request. Perhaps Illinois has a similar law. Again, you would be wise to consult an attorney in your area.

Let me first echo what the others have said in that you should consult an attorney in your area. An attorney who regularly practices personal injury law should be able to appropriately advise you about all applicable insurance coverage for your husband's injuries, including uninsured motorist coverage and medical payments coverage under your own policy or policies, and depending on the type of coverage and who your carrier is, you may be able to add together or stack policies. This can all get complicated, but a competant attorney can sort it all for you. To answer your specific question, I can tell you that in Georgia where I practice, an insurance company is required by law to disclose its policy information upon request. Perhaps Illinois has a similar law. Again, you would be wise to consult an attorney in your area. ** Please note that this communication does not create an attorney-client relationship and no such relationship is created until this attorney is specifically retained by written contract. The statements or opinions made herein are based upon the limited information provided and without further investigation or research, and such statements and opinions are subject to change upon additional information. **

I am limiting this answer to California, which is where I live and practice. To answer the question, by all means you should ask; but the insurance company will probably not tell you. They technically cannot divulge this information to you unless they have persmission from their insured to release this information to you. Lets face it, the insurance company can usually get their insured to release the information, but often tell their insured not to. This is where an attorney can come in, and use their relationship with the adjuster to find out this information for you. If the information is not provided voluntarily, a lawsuit can then be filed (there are many factors that go into this decision). Once the lawsuit is filed, the attorney can then subpoena this information, or request the information through the discovery process. The best way to convinve the insurance company to provide the information is to emphasize you are only asking to facilitate settlement, and because your spouse is severely injured, and you want to settle the case within the insurance limits. In California, there is actually a case that says it is bad faith for an insurance company not to advise their insured about the benefits of disclosing this information voluntarily. A final tip is to check your own under-insured motorist limits. If they are, for example, $100,000, you know that even if the at-fault driver is under-insured, your spouse is protected up to the amount of your under-insured motorist coverage (if the injury warrants it). Adam Sorrells