Missouri Insurance Lawyer Blog

Perhaps you've just been involved in an automobile accident with another vehicle. Your car is damaged, but still drivable. Your neck and back feel a bit sore. The accident was not your fault. Now you must make several very important decisions. Undoubtedly, you will also have many questions.

Given the current financial market, it has become more difficult for insurance companies to receive a good return on the premiums you pay. Therefore, greater pressure is placed on the claims departments to pay out less in claims dollars. It's important for you to remember that the only way a claims department accomplishes this goal of making an "underwriting profit" is by paying out as little as possible on each and every claim.

You can read more about this topic, as well as read CFA's Checklist for Getting the Settlement You Deserve here.

Unfortunately, not all accidents are just minor fender benders. Should you find yourself in a serious accident, medical payments coverage pays for medical bills (and sometimes funeral bills) incurred by the driver and passengers injured in a motor vehicle accident regardless of who caused the accident. It also pays for you or your family members injured while riding in another's car or if struck by a car as a pedestrian.

Medical payment coverage is offered by most automobile insurance coverage and is usually sold in increments of $1000, $5000 or $10,000 per person.

Even if you have health insurance, there are often deductibles and co-payments that must be paid. If your health plan requires you to pay a deductible, medical payments coverage may help pay it. This coverage can also help pay for items not covered by your health plan, such as dental treatment, professional nursing services, prostheses, and funeral services.

In Missouri, medical payments coverage is not required. However, I recommend this coverage for most of my clients. If you decide this protection is appropriate for you, make sure you specifically request it from your insurance agent or representative. It is not always provided by simply requesting "full coverage" from your agent.

Continue reading "Do I Need Automobile Medical Payments Coverage?" »

Sooner or later, it may become necessary for someone else to drive your vehicle and you want to make sure that there is insurance if they are involved in an automobile accident.

Generally, insurance follows the vehicle, not the driver. If it is your car, then the insurance coverage you have purchased for your vehicle would provide primary coverage. Any insurance policy your friend has purchased would become secondary. Primary simply means that your insurance company should pay the claim first. Then if your liability limits are exhausted, your friend's insurance should pay additional amounts up to his limits.

Please understand that if your friend is involved in an accident with your car, your rates could go up. Also, in some circumstances, if you are aware that your friend is not a safe driver and you allow him or her to drive your car, you could be held personally liable if they cause an accident that seriously injures another person.

Continue reading "Does My Friend Have Insurance Coverage If She Drives My Car?" »

This article discusses what California is doing to address uninsured motorists on the road.

California Taking Aim at Uninsured on the Roads - New York Times.

Missouri also has a large problem of uninsured vehicles on the road, which our legislature has failed to address. Consider also that the the required auto insurance limits are only $25,000.00 per person and $50,000.00 per accident in Missouri. These limits have not changed since the 1980's and have been reduced in actual value by inflation. These limits will not cover medical bills and lost wages if an injury of any magnitude is suffered. To protect yourself until the Missouri legislature acts you should carry limits of uninsured and underinsured motorist limits of at least $100,000.00 to protect yourself if your are in a car accident and are injured. If you have been injured and need help contact the lawyers of Tatlow, Gump, Faiella, & Wheelan, LLC at 1-800-264-3455 or visit our website to learn more.

Every day you are told how you can trust insurance companies on TV. However, nothing could be farther from the truth when you have suffered a personal injury. When you make a claim against another person's insurance you are the adversary of the insurance company. The adjuster you speak to may be polite but that doesn't mean they are looking out for your best interests. For example in Wood v. Robertson, the court found that the injured party was not allowed to rely on the statements made by the insurance claims adjuster to set aside a release, even though the adjuster statements mislead the claimant to sign a release of his claim. 245 S.W. 2d 80 (Mo. 1952). There was no fraud found when a claimant signed a release when they were falsely told that the company would take care of the medical bills later. Wolf v. St. Louis Public Svc., 357 S.W. 2d 950 (Mo. App 1962).

So the lesson is you have to be very careful and must read and understand any documents you sign when dealing with an insurance company. If you sign a release without understanding its legal meaning you may be signing away your rights to be compensated for the injuries and damages you suffered. Many small personal injury cases can be handled without a lawyer. See How to Handle Your Own Personal Injury Claim. However, you must carefully read and understand what you sign. If you don't understand the release or have suffered a serious injury you should speak with an experienced lawyer about your personal injury claim before you sign a release.

If you have been injured by negligence you have a personal injury claim. Depending on how the claim happened you may also have a property damage claim, such as damage to your car. If you want to pursue a claim for damages you should consult with an attorney experienced in personal injury law. Many claims can be handled without hiring a lawyer but you should always consult with a lawyer first because the law is complex and in your particular situation there may be reasons that an untrained person should not handle their own claim. For example, all personal injury claims are subject to statutes of limitations, which require that you bring your claim within the time period specified or your claim is forever barred. The general statute of limitation for personal injury in Missouri is five years, but that does not mean that is the time limit that applies to your case. Time limits can be drastically shorter depending on a variety of factors that a non-lawyer would not know. So step one is see a lawyer. Step two is asking your lawyer if this is something that they need to handle or if you could do it on your own. You may have claims or rights you don't know about so if you proceed without speaking to a lawyer you are taking a big risk.

Step three; if you proceed on your own collect all the information about how the injury happened such as accident reports, photos, witness names, addresses, and phone numbers. Get written or recorded witness statements and ask the witnesses to state what they saw, what they heard, and what they did. Finding all the witnesses may take some legwork because it's rare that all the witnesses are listed on accident or incident reports. Gather documentation to support your damages including, medical bills, and pharmacy records, lost wages, loss profits, expenses and property damage.

Once you have gathered all these documents make a demand upon the insurance company for the responsible person(s) that sets out how the incident happened, and your damages. A demand is simply a letter sent to the insurance company setting out the facts of your case and asking for an amount of money to settle your case. The letter should have the supporting information attached.

The total of all the bills, losses and expenses are called special damages. In addition to special damages you are entitled to compensation for pain and suffering. Pain and suffering is difficult to place a value on, but it is easier to get money for if you have evidence that supports the claim. Evidence includes pictures of injuries, medical records documenting pain, pain medication prescriptions, and witness testimony. Including this information in your demand will help you get the true value of your claim. If you can get a letter from your doctor setting out the injuries that you suffered as a result of the incident you should do so. If you have medical issues that pre-existed the injuries you claim from your accident then this is particularly important. Insurance companies often refuse to settle or make low offers when they believe there is evidence that you already had the injury before the accident. Any evidence you can use to support that the injury is new, different, or an aggravation is helpful.

Once you make your demand you then need to stay on top of your claim and make sure the insurance company makes a response. You also need to be responsive to the company's reasonable request for additional information. You should make your demand high enough so that you have room to negotiate down. There is no hard and fast rule for how much to demand, although insurance professionals often say 3 to 5 times special damages is typical for an opening demand. If the company makes an offer that is unacceptable you should negotiate to get to their best offer. If you can't get them to a reasonable sum, then you may wish to speak to a lawyer again. If you settle, make sure you carefully read and understand the release before you sign. Depending on your personal situation you may also have to satisfy liens of medical providers, health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid or others. You should also make proper claims under your insurance policies. If you were injured on the job or receiving social security disability you should consult with an attorney.

This article is an overview and provides tips on handling your own personal injury claim. It does not cover all the legal issues that may be presented in your particular case. This article is not legal advice and you should consult with a lawyer before proceeding on your own.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury in a car cash you need to consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer. The more information you can give your lawyer the better. If you are able, gather the following information and bring it with you when meeting with your lawyer. Obtain the names of all the people involved in the car crash, and any witnesses. A copy of the accident report should be available within 7-10 days after the crash and is available to anyone who requests a copy. Bring the name and contact information for any insurance adjuster you have spoken with. Photos of the vehicles and scene if you have them. A copy of your own auto policies. Copies of written statements. Medical records or bills, and a copy of your health insurance card. Documents regrading any lost wages or business losses. Receipts for any property damage, or other expenses related to you injuries or the crash. Gathering this information will help your lawyer help you with your Missouri personal injury claim. For more information about personal injury visit the personal injury information center.

Insurance companies have an obligation to defend and indemnify an insured under a typical liability policy. When a company is notified of the claim or suit the company should start performance of the contractual obligation which would include speaking with the insured, investigating, gathering facts, protecting evidence, hiring counsel for the insured, and responding to the claim. Sometimes under the policy language the insurance may have an exclusion under which the company does not have an obligation to defend and indemnify the insured. This is a problem for the insured, but insurance companies don't have to keep promises they don't make. Unfortunately companies don't always take a fair view of the facts or policy language and will not defend and indemnify the insured even when they should.

Many companies simply use a reservation of rights as standard operating procedure. This practice has become common and insurers often respond by sending letters reserving the right to deny coverage for as many reasons as possible and for any reason they can think of or discover in the future. Under an ROR the insurance company is saying, we will defend for now but we can still sue you in another lawsuit to get a court to decide that we don't have to defend or indemnify you. Many insurance companies also fail to honor their obligation to fairly consider settlement when an ROR has been issued. Unfortunately for the insured this means massive uncertainty, possible loss of the opportunity to settle, financial risk and additional litigation. If the insured loses both the liability and coverage lawsuit they will be liable for the judgment from the first law suit and will also have to pay the insurance company for the legal fees and expenses of the insurance company. This can lead to ruinous financial consequences and bankruptcy for most people.

The sharp practice of issuing ROR's is happening even when an insurance company receives coverage opinions favorable to the insured. To gain leverage insurance companies try to squeeze the insured by including language that expands the ROR not only to the reasons stated in the letter, but reserves the right to expand the reason for denial for any reason. The insured is also reminded that they have a duty to cooperate and if they fail to cooperate they will lose their coverage. This means the insured doesn't know what is coming next.

Insurance companies will often also use favorable dates ins such letters so that the conditional obligation that they assume under the ROR is not the date they first became aware of the claim, but a date that positions the company best for future litigation. This is particularly true if the insurance company has failed in its duty to settle before the insured made a formal demand for defense and indemnity. In Missouri many of the bad things that can happen when an ROR is issued can be avoided by rejecting the reservations. Missouri law prevents insurance companies from using threats and leverage to bully insured's to accept a reservation of rights. Under Missouri law and insured is entitled to treat an ROR as a breach because an ROR is anticipatory repudiation of the contract. Although the insurance company still has the upper hand because of its financial strength and expertise, this gives the insured the option of walking away and controlling the litigation without the insurance company's involvement. This also gives the insured a chance to resolve the claim by negotiating with the company on more equal footing, or the insured can defend or settle the underlying lawsuit on its own and then suing the company for breach of the contract. The insured can also settle the claim so that the plaintiff has the obligation to pursue the insurance company, so that the insured can settle can get out without any further risk.

The decision to accept or reject an ROR depends on many factors, and may or may not be a good decision depending on the situation. These decisions can be particularly complex for businesses as the ROR may have implications that are not immediately apparent and must be thought through with extreme care. Anyone who has received an ROR from their insurance company should consult with a private attorney knowledgeable in this area of the law.

The law firm of Tatlow, Gump, Faiella & Wheelan, LLC may be able to help if you are having a problem with your insurance company. To learn more about our law practice visit our website.

Collision damage waiver (CDW) insurance covers the cost of damages to the rental car if you are involved in an accident. Technically, however, it is not insurance, it simply is a provision of the rental contract that addresses your liability for damages to the car. If you choose the collision damage waiver option and someone crashes into your car, you are not liable for the damage, nor or you liable for the lost profits the rental car company may claim they lost as a result of the car being out of service.

Whether or not you need this coverage depends upon your particular situation. To determine whether you need it, you should follow these guidelines. First, check with your own insurance company or read your auto policy before you rent a car. Many auto insurance policies will provide liability insurance if you injury someone else in an accident in a vehicle you have rented. However, rental cars that are damage may or may not be covered under your insurance policy depending upon the coverage you have selected. Many people believe they have full coverage, but this doesn't mean that you are in fact covered. You need to check the comprehensive and collision coverage portions of your auto policy to determine if the rental car will be covered. Furthermore, consider whether or not any damages the rental company would claim as a result of the vehicle being out of service.

Review your credit cards and member benefits from associations you belong to. Some credit cards and some associations provide benefits that will cover damages to a rental car in the event of a collision causing property damage to the vehicle. To be eligible under these programs you have to check the terms of the agreement with your credit card or the membership or association. Typically, you would decline the collision damage waiver as well as charge the full amount of the rental car on your credit card, or make your rental arrangement pursuant to your membership with the organization. Typically these memberships entitle you to a discount on the rental car in addition to any other services. Obviously, you must make sure that your credit card or member benefits provide this service. You should also fully investigate the exclusions under your credit card or membership agreement because sometimes they do not provide such services to any rental dealer, and may have limitations.

If you do not have appropriate coverage under a auto policy, or credit card or membership benefit, then you should strongly consider buying collision damage waiver insurance. Rental cars tend to be newer cars and the value of repair/replacement of the car could run into the tens of thousands of dollars. CDW damage pays for loss of use that is claimed by the rental car company. Most states do not cover loss of use under their auto insurance policies. In other words, your legislature and department of insurance do not force insurance companies to offer this coverage. There are a few states that are exceptions including Alaska, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, Rhode Island and Texas. However, Missouri does not mandate loss of use under auto policy; therefore, it is likely that your policy does not provide it.

Think carefully if you are a Missouri resident before declining the collision damage waiver coverage.

Mr. Faiella is a member of the law firm of Tatlow, Gump, Faiella & Wheelan, LLC. If you are having problems with an insurance issue or injury you can contact him through his firms web site www.tgflaw.com.

In Missouri, if you get in a car crash and are seriously injured you need a Missouri car accident lawyer to help you. These lawyers are generally called personal injury lawyers. Personal injury lawyers have experience in dealing with injury and insurance law. If your case must be decided by a jury, then a personal injury lawyer knows how to present your case to the jury to maximize the value of your case. Car accident cases are decided by determining two things: fault and cause. To collect money damages the person you are suing must have been at fault and must have caused damages. Whether they are at fault is determined by the law of negligence. Negligence is a person while driving fails to act like a very careful person would act under the same circumstances.
Car accident negligence is usually a result of improper attention to rules, regulations and/or safety. This breach of the rules must also directly cause the crash and resulting injuries. Sometimes the injuries are clear such as a death from trauma, at other times the injuries may be less clear because of other aliments or conditions in the injured person's medical history.
A car accident lawyer also has the ability to help you value your case depending on the severity of your injuries, and the disruption to your life and occupation. In most cases although you were injured by a negligent motorist, your real opponent will be an insurance company who will be insuring the opposing driver or the driver and his employer. If the opposing driver is uninsured or underinsured you may have to fight your own insurance company to get paid. Insurance companies know the law, and have an incentive to minimize the value of your claim, and to delay or avoid payment. If you want to learn more visit the car accident lawyers of Tatlow, Gump, Faiella, and Wheelan, LLC.

Roy Rogers once said an insurance policy is one page that tells you what insurance you have and 50 pages that tell you why it does not apply in your particular situation. The 50 pages that take coverage away are called exclusions.
Exclusions are the insurance companies way of narrowing the risk they have accepted under the contract. For example if you have a policy of insurance on your car, but the situation that arises falls within an exclusion you bear the risk of loss and not the insurance company. In a recent post entitled Don't Believe The Hype You Are Not Friends, I made the point that all you get from insurance is the written contract. The nice sales pitch and fuzzy promises on TV give way to the hard realities of what's written in the insurance contract when its time for a claim.
If the insurance company denies your claim, it is usually because of exclusion. By way of example consider a common exclusion in a personal auto insurance policy, the business exclusion, which takes coverage away if your vehicle is used in a business instead of personal use. Even if you have your car insured for liability and you are in a crash and hurt someone you won't have any coverage if you were using a personal auto on business. Fortunately exclusions in the policy must be phrased in clear, plain and unambiguous language. If the insurance company claims that exclusion applies it is their burden to prove that it applies. So to protect yourself read your policy carefully to see what is covered before you need to make a claim.