If you are involved in a severe auto accident, you may find that the other driver’s insurance limits are not high enough to allow you to collect the compensation that you rightfully deserve. If that happens, you may think that you won’t be able to collect more and will just be out of luck, but there is a potential for you to seek more.
Policy limits are in place to protect drivers against massive losses if they are involved in auto collisions. Auto accidents rarely exceed the limits of a policy, but if they do, then you may need to file a personal injury claim directly against the driver.
Here’s an example. If the driver has $50,000 in coverage for bodily injuries in a collision, the insurer, at most, will pay out this coverage limit as a settlement to you. This is the case even if your actual expenses are higher than $50,000. If, on the other hand, your expenses were $20,000, then the policy would cover all your losses.
HOW CAN YOU SEEK ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION?
To get further compensation after an auto accident, you have options such as:
- Collecting from multiple defendants, such as the insurance company, the actual driver and anyone else who may have held some responsibility in the collision
- Collecting from additional insurance policies, such as if you have an underinsured driver policy
For example, if the driver who hit you was working at the time, their employer may also be liable for your collision. If that’s the case, you may have more than one defendant to claim against, opening up the option for greater compensation overall.
WHAT IF YOU CAN’T GET MORE MONEY OUT OF THE DEFENDANT?
You may want to look into making a claim against your own car or health insurance policy if you don’t believe that the other driver’s insurance is going to be enough. Drivers don’t always have insurance, and even when they do, the policies may be relatively low. If they don’t cover all the damages you have, you may need to look into several legal options to seek additional compensation.