Does a Personal Injury Claim Affect Insurance?
If you’ve been in an accident on the road or hurt in another way, you may be wondering if a personal injury claim affects insurance. In short, it certainly does, though how it will make its impacts vary depending on the circumstances.
Since each situation is unique, speaking with personal injury accident lawyers is encouraged to help you determine the right actions to take. Read on to learn about the variety of ways a personal injury claim can affect insurance.
How Is Insurance Affected by a Personal Injury Claim?
How insurance is affected will depend on the type of personal injury claim as well as the circumstances. Here is a look at what could happen with insurance and a personal injury claim:
Personal Injury Claims for Auto Accidents
Understanding how your car accident claim could affect your insurance depends on whether or not you were at fault. Since Wisconsin is an at-fault state, the driver who caused the accident will be held responsible for the damages.
However, due to the modified comparative negligence rule in the state, each driver may be assigned some of the blame. If you are found to be 51% or more at fault, you will be prohibited from collecting compensation.
When faced with fault for causing a car accident, you may experience the following impacts on your insurance:
Increased Premiums
If your insurer has to pay out on a personal injury claim, they will most likely increase your insurance premiums. You will be seen as having a greater risk for future claims, and this is the reason behind the payment increase.
Cancellation of Your Policy
If you have caused a serious accident, such as a drunk driving crash, or you’ve filed many claims in recent years, your insurer may decline to continue coverage. This can also happen if you have a few different minor crashes. When the risks are deemed too high, insurers will often drop a policyholder.
Use of Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
When you’re in an accident with a driver who has minimal insurance coverage or even no coverage at all, you may need to rely on your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Even if it wasn’t your fault, you may see your rates increase when you file a claim with your own insurer.
Optional MedPay
Some drivers may have optional MedPay coverage, and that can be useful in covering immediate medical expenses. This added coverage can be used no matter who was at fault, and can really make a difference when another driver lacks insurance, causes your injuries, and leaves you stuck with the bills.
Using Health Insurance for a Personal Injury Claim
Whether you’re injured in a car accident or another type of personal injury accident, you may need to use your health insurance to cover your medical care. If you exhausted the limits of your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage or are trying to get the care you need before your personal injury claim settlement is paid out, you may need to rely on your own health insurance.
A personal injury claim can affect health insurance through:
Liens
It should be noted that your medical care and needs should be your biggest focus. Skipping treatments because of the bills can make injuries worsen. Still, if your health insurance carrier pays for any of the medical expenses associated with your injuries from your personal injury claim, they may place a lien on your settlement.
When a lien is placed on a personal injury settlement, it means they are entitled to receive reimbursement from the money you receive to cover the amount they paid. It is fairly common, though to avoid surprises, you should discuss your case with a personal injury lawyer.
Deductibles and Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Another thing to be aware of when it comes to using your health insurance to get medical care after your personal injury is that your insurer may have deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. You would need to pay these things before the insurance will cover the remaining medical costs.
No one ever anticipates an accident, and it’s the reason you buy insurance for your car, health, and home. However, you should understand your policies and what they will and won’t cover. Armed with this understanding, it can help you make the right decisions when you need to rely on your coverage.
Personal Injury Claims for Premises Liability Scenarios
If someone slips and falls on your property or your dog attacks someone, you will need to rely on your homeowner’s insurance to cover the claim. Any injury through a dangerous condition that you knew about or should have known about and didn’t fix caused to someone who was permitted to be on your property will be covered by this insurance for your property.
Similarly, if your dog bites a visiting family member or friend, the strict liability laws in the state mean you’re automatically liable. When you have to file a claim on your homeowner’s insurance, you will likely face higher premiums. Frequent claims on homeowners insurance policies will always cause them to rise.
What Should You Do If Someone Else’s Negligence Caused Your Injuries?
Different types of insurance can be impacted in a personal injury claim, and if you are at fault or even partially at fault, you may experience these impacts. However, you may not have done a single thing to cause your injuries. Perhaps you were sitting at a red light, waiting for it to turn green, when the driver behind you slammed into your fully-stopped vehicle. It would be hard to prove that you had any sort of fault in a situation like that.
What, then, should you do if another person’s negligent behavior thrust you into this traumatic situation?
Report the Accident
Whether on the road, an invited guest on a private property, or a customer shopping at a store, you need to report the accident immediately. Fault may not be as crystal clear as the car accident example above. By reporting it to the police for road crashes or to property owners, it establishes a record that it occurred.
Get Medical Care
Never skip seeking medical treatment after you have been injured in an accident caused by another person. Many victims claim they feel fine in the immediate aftermath, though hours later, it becomes apparent that something is wrong.
You could put yourself in a life-threatening situation by ignoring the need for medical care. Taking this step immediately creates medical records, which makes it difficult for an insurer to claim that your injuries were caused by something else.
Document the Accident
If it’s safe to do so and you are capable of moving around on your own, take photos and videos of the accident scene. After a car crash, capture both vehicles and the damage to them, as well as the surrounding area.
In a store or on someone’s property, take photos and videos of the hazard that caused you to sustain your injury. It’s common for these things to be quickly cleaned up or fixed afterward, and then it would be your word against theirs, especially if video footage was destroyed.
Witnesses can be incredibly helpful when you’ve suffered injuries in a personal injury accident. Make sure you get their contact information and a statement before the details of this event fade from their memory.
Talk to an Attorney About Your Options
When personal injuries occur, there are many things that will happen in the days and weeks that follow. Your insurer will need to know what happened and prepare for a third-party claim, and if the other party harmed you, you’ll want to file with their insurer. While the insurance adjusters will sound pleasant and friendly, it is their job to make you feel at ease so you’ll divulge more information than necessary.
They can then twist your words or use what you say against you to reduce your settlement or deny the claim outright. When you talk to an attorney, you’ll learn what you shouldn’t say and have someone who can take over all aspects of your legal claim, allowing you to take care of your health and recovery.
What happens in many instances is that an insurer will offer a settlement quickly, and the victim will jump at it without realizing it’s not enough. You may have thought about your medical bills, but have you thought about the future medical care you’ll need?
Have you thought about how much money you’ve lost by being unable to work? If you have serious injuries, they can also cause mental and emotional impacts, such as making you fearful of getting into a car or after being bitten by a dog, causing you to fear all dogs.
All of these things deserve fair compensation, and an attorney will help you navigate your claim amid the complexities of insurance claims. With an advocate on your side, you’ll be able to understand how insurance policies and state laws may apply in your case.
