How to Deal With Your Insurance Company After They Paid for Another Car at Fault
- 1). Determine whether you are a resident of a fault or no-fault state. The 12 no-fault states are Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah. All others are fault states to some degree.
- 2). Provide your insurance claims adjuster with all information requested regarding your accident, post-accident medical expenses and any other losses associated with the accident. Offer any evidence from therapists or doctors of personal distress and emotional suffering related to the accident for those in fault states.
- 3). Ask your claims adjuster if you should get an attorney to file a personal lawsuit against the at-fault party. In some fault states, standards may require insurance companies to pay for pain and suffering. In some no-fault states, insurance statutes allow personal claim lawsuits measured by either a monetary or injury-degree thresholds. Your financial loss or injury severity must exceed the threshold before you are permitted to file a lawsuit.
- 4). Hire an attorney and sign a release allowing him full access to your insurance accident claim file and all loss records if your insurance company is unable to do any more for you based on state law. Your attorney will handle all further issues; most accident attorneys are paid upon settlement of financial awards; therefore, you should not have to pay anything until you get money from the other party.
