Do Insurance Policy Limits Matter in Personal Injury Cases

Did you suffer injuries in an accident and the person who hit you doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your damages? It’s a common occurrence. Check out this video for some information on why insurance limits matter in personal injury cases.

Hey everyone, Barry with the LawFull channel. I’m a personal injury attorney in Chicago, Illinois. On this channel I am trying to share as much free legal information as I can. So, if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the channel and if you have any questions, put them in the comments section below. If I can’t help you I’ll find someone who can.

Alright so do insurance limits matter in personal injury cases is what we’re talking about today and the quick answer is, if you get in an accident, the amount of insurance there is could play a big part in how your personal injury settlement is determined.

So, when someone calls my office and starts to tell me about an accident they were involved in, I generally am focused on three main questions:

a. Who is at fault for the accident?
b. Were there any injuries?
c. Is there insurance?

So very quickly – fault is important obviously because if the caller is at fault, there’s not going to be a recovery

Injuries are important because as a personal injury attorney, I help people recover for their injuries. As a general rule, pi attorneys don’t take property damage cases. We are looking for cases where there are injuries and medical bills.

But these two issues are moot, they’re totally irrelevant if there is no insurance.

If there’s no insurance, there is no one to file an insurance claim with. You can sue the person who caused your injuries, but chances are if the person doesn’t have insurance, he doesn’t have any assets and won’t be able to pay you even if you win your case.

But let’s say you get hurt and there is insurance – why do the insurance policy limits matter? And when I say policy limits, what I mean is, this is the maximum amount you can recover from the insurance company.

In my home state of Illinois, the minimum amount of insurance you have to have is $25,000. You might have heard it referred to as 25/50 – meaning that the person has a maximum exposure of $25,000 to one accident victim and $50,000 for the whole accident – if there are multiple victims.

Now if you sued this guy and you won $100,000. If he has a $25k insurance policy, then generally speaking, the insurance company is only on the hook for the $25,000. You would have to go after the person individually to collect the balance you won – the extra $75,000. But again, if someone has a $25k insurance policy, it’s like that he doesn’t have a lot of assets to go after.

So you can see that the amount of insurance a driver has is critical in determining how much you may recover. Now – let’s change the scenario a little bit. Say you have a $100k case and the guy who hit you has a $25k insurance policy. If you have underinsured motorist coverage that could change everything. Let’s say you had a UIM policy of $100k. You could recover the $25k from the defendant and then go after your own policy for the balance owed. That’s why I always tell people to get as much UM and UIM coverage as they can afford.

Finally, what happens if there are multiple people injured in this scenario and the defendant only has a 25/50 policy. Well, in this case, the maximum each of the victims can recover from the defendant’s insurance policy is $25k. And, the defendant’s insurance company is only on the hook for a total of $50,000 – because remember it was a 25/50 policy. After that, the victims would have to go after their underinsured motorist coverage for recovery. This gets a little tricky in a situation where there are 3 or 4 people in the same car who got hit and they’re all going after the same policy to recover because they have to divide it up.

There is one exception to all of this. Sometimes people ask if you can sue an insurance company for more than the policy limits. We were just involved in a case with a former co-counsel of ours. The attorney made an insurance policy limits demand of the insurance company which was denied. Well, the case went to trial and the attorney recovered over $300,000 more than what was demanded. In that case, and again this is the exception not the rule, the insurance company knew it was on the hook and therefore paid the excess judgment as well.

Ok it’s time for your take on the law, where you involved in an accident and the person who caused it didn’t have enough insurance to cover your damages? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Hey thanks for checking out this video on the importance of insurance policy limits to personal injury cases. Please subscribe to our channel and if you require any assistance, reach out to me. If I can’t help you I’ll try and find someone who can.

[onlyericcaaa]

I was scammed by a lawyer so I’m apprehensive. I had a total loss when I was 20 and was completely taken advantage of. I received less than 3k in that settlement. I’m 29 now and had a accident 2 weeks ago and dealing with the insurance company on my own. They have accepted full liability but didn’t want to tell me what their insured limits are. They also lowballed me but I expected it. I am preparing to counter their offer. I just want a fair settlement. I’m self employed and a mother I haven’t been able to pick up my 3 year old since this happened.

[jamessoho]

i was hit last Nov 2019, after i had fusion at L2 and C6 in Aug, the L2 was in Jan 2019, well after 2 months of P.T. I knew my fusion broke at L4 at the faset joints only, well nothing showed up on xray, but my sergeon said he would go in and explore the fusion with no guarantee. well i knew i was right and when he went in, it was clear as day, now my back is fixed, my medical bills are about 300k, plus now i have arthritis pain that i will have forever, ripping all the hardware out and putting new in, i knew thew, but im way better then before, but i need Fentanyl or morphine for the rest of my lifetime" they have a 1 nillion on auto, but the company might have a umbrella policy covering the co? do i just file a lawsuit to find out in a deposition?

[whatwadley]

Also maternity say Georgia do not settle for pain and suffering which I've never heard of that before

[BobbNaef]

I’m in Ohio
Last Sunday sitting at red light heard tires squeal my truck gets hit by 2022 Lexus the guy that hit them was cited
Moving on they are both insured with same company
Policy limits max out at 25 k the Lexus was totaled my truck was totaled insurance company is refusing to pat for my truck damages and get me a rental car because they have to replace the Lexus
Does that seem right?
I’ve already hired a firm to represent me and they said that they’re trying to pull a fast one
I did suffer some soft tissue injuries

[ricksiu]

I was hit by a car while on a bicycle and was in critical condition. I suffered many life altering injuries. I was offered the policy limits just yesterday but I wanted more. My lawyer explained the risks involved in foregoing them to get more and the lengthy process. So I am now just deciding on taking the policy limits which I feel are way too little for my injuries and med bills.

[jaymoneytrader]

You're in Illinois, right across the river here in Missouri

Guy ran a red light and hit me, says I ran the light


Insurance companies couldn't establish fault now he's suing me for $310, 000 over my policy limit

I'm just incredulous at this point that someone can hit you and then sue you It's incredible

And this is a comparative negligent state so any percentage that a jury may decide that I am liable for of 360K is too much.

Hope i win this case otherwise I'll need a bankruptcy attorney

[lougarcia]

Hello, Barry
I was involved in a car accident were I got rear end. I got insurance that covers unensure vehicles. I file a claim but my insurance doesn't want to cover me due to late payments or non payments that I wasn't aware since it's auto payments but I made payments after and the insurance accepted them what should I do ?

[Teamster]

Is there any diff on how things r payed outif the person that hit me commuted a hit and run felony

[lazaroibarra]

Just going thru it right now. The guy hit me, totally his fault, he fell asleep at the wheel at 10:15am. I was just informed he only carries a 25k in his insurance policy. So one shoulder surgery over, another one to be had and serious neck and back problems I don't have anything to fall on. Lovely. If it had been the other way around he would be sitting on a million dollars pay up.

[dewaynemontford]

Do anybody know Goodyear insurance policy limit

[taylornorth]

What happens if the at fault driver has no bodily injury coverage or assets?

[carlafox]

My case settled in 2017 from a 2013 car personal injury claim. I was disabled due to a head injury that was not even added to my case. I lost my 25 year career as an RN because of the accident. The at fault defendant had a $250, 000 policy. I ended up with only $10, 000 dollars net to client out of a $100, 000 settlement after liens were paid. My medical bills alone were around $120, 000. What happened and is there something I can learn from this incident.

[whatwadley]

Yeah I was involved in an accident or a Lyft driver total my car he didn't have a passenger they say he was not sign into the app. Boats disc in my neck pressing on my spine they wanted to do surgery to replace the disc in my neck my attorney say I do not have enough coverage I live in the state of Georgia

[LeoHoracio]

My biggest thing is, how are people getting away with having bare minimum insurance and messing someone else’s wellbeing and property. They just get to walk away with their shitty policy and I have to figure out my property?

[joeman]

I'm still going through mine.
2019 october 12th.
not my fault.
riding motorcycle, SUV ran red light and hit me good. blew off my helmet. mong story short:
metal implants jaw surgery, metal plates right wrist, metal rod left femur, and 8 shattered teeth.
complete nerve damage in jaw, cheeks, left leg.
total medical bills as of right now: $360, 000 ($347, 000 emergency hospital. i added some for dental work and braces I'll need. I'm still getting dental work done to this day)

policy limits are $50, 000 of defendant.
i have UM and my parents have UM. so i can get $50, 000 from that....but I'm hoping i get at least $2 million....i know it's a lot, but i lost so much and had to stop my army career.

[sufyanshk]

I was a passenger in the accident, the person who hit us broke a red light and hit the passenger side. 160k in medical bills and the persons policy limit is only 25k. what options do I have

[Ascension-wgbj]

Hi Barry, I'm wondering if it was the at faults decision to have their insurer not pay or was the insurer refusing to listen to their insurer's request to pay. I ask because isn't true that a person can sue their insurer if they refuse to cover a valid claim.
Thank you!

[chente-ovrn]

What if I have $80k in medical bills in a slip and fall? Had knee surgery for a torn meniscus. Will having a high medical bill increase my settlement in a commercial liability suit.

[MAZZ]

Thank you for the great video🙏My son is 16 years old. He ran a red light and hit the plaintiff's car. Our vehicle is registered under my wife’s name and insured for $30, 000 with full coverage. Today, an agent informed us that the plaintiff's lawyer is seeking a $7, 000 settlement, which is $4, 000 above our coverage. We are wondering if they can sue my wife since she is the owner of the car.

[sherrodhenderson]

Hey Barry how do you know if somebody insurance policy is high?