Getting Sued by an Insurance Company for Subrogation
One of the frequent calls we get it is "help, I have been contacted or sued by lawyers from a car insurance company and they want me to pay them back for a repair they made to their insured's car." The typical scenario is that you are involved in a car accident and are found to be at fault and have no liability insurance. If you have liability insurance, then it is typically no big deal because your insurance will pay off the car repair debt to the other insurer or the other driver. Another subrogation scenario occurs where you cause an injury and have no liability insurance.
Property Damage Subrogation
This is the most common situation, so we will tackle it first. You caused a crash and had no valid insurance or not enough insurance to cover the damage (could be a high end car or multiple cars damaged) If you don't have insurance to cover the repairs, then the other driver turns to their uninsured motorist coverage to pick up the repair tab. When the driver does that, they subrogate their claim against you for your negligence to their insurance company. Some time later the insurance company will come after you seeking to get their money back. First you will receive collections letters and then if you do nothing, they will sue you for it.
So the question is, what do you do? If you did not cause the crash and have some decent evidence then it may make sense to fight them over it. Use witnesses and photographs. If the money they are suing for is large enough, it may be cost effective to hire a lawyer to defend you on the grounds that you did not cause the crash.
If it is pretty obvious you caused the crash, then this is like any other debt. They want to collect as much as possible, as soon as possible. You can enter into a repayment plan over time or try to scrounge up a portion of the amount owed as a lump sum. Just be sure to put in writing the purpose of any payments you make and what the agreement is.
Can the insurance company really sue me for this? Yes, they can.
Bodily Injury Subrogation
This situation used to be rare but is becoming more common. Here the other driver was injured and made a claim for the injury to their uninsured motorist coverage. This can arise because 1) you had no insurance or 2) the insurance you had was not enough to cover a serious injury. For example, in Georgia, many people have minimum limits insurance policies which only cover $25,000 in injury liability. If you break someone's leg and they have $45,000 dollar surgery, then if the victim's uninsured motorist coverage pays out, they may come after you. It is harder for them to prove their damages in the injury scenario, but again, if it is a significant claim, hire a lawyer to defend you.
In either scenario, do not just ignore the problem because it will not go away. If you receive legal papers, take them to a lawyer and figure out what it means. In Georgia, you only have 30 days to file you legal answer to a lawsuit after it is served (given to you or an adult roommate). If you fail to answer, you admit everything the lawsuit said and you can lose even when its unfair.
Property Damage Subrogation
This is the most common situation, so we will tackle it first. You caused a crash and had no valid insurance or not enough insurance to cover the damage (could be a high end car or multiple cars damaged) If you don't have insurance to cover the repairs, then the other driver turns to their uninsured motorist coverage to pick up the repair tab. When the driver does that, they subrogate their claim against you for your negligence to their insurance company. Some time later the insurance company will come after you seeking to get their money back. First you will receive collections letters and then if you do nothing, they will sue you for it.
So the question is, what do you do? If you did not cause the crash and have some decent evidence then it may make sense to fight them over it. Use witnesses and photographs. If the money they are suing for is large enough, it may be cost effective to hire a lawyer to defend you on the grounds that you did not cause the crash.
If it is pretty obvious you caused the crash, then this is like any other debt. They want to collect as much as possible, as soon as possible. You can enter into a repayment plan over time or try to scrounge up a portion of the amount owed as a lump sum. Just be sure to put in writing the purpose of any payments you make and what the agreement is.
Can the insurance company really sue me for this? Yes, they can.
Bodily Injury Subrogation
This situation used to be rare but is becoming more common. Here the other driver was injured and made a claim for the injury to their uninsured motorist coverage. This can arise because 1) you had no insurance or 2) the insurance you had was not enough to cover a serious injury. For example, in Georgia, many people have minimum limits insurance policies which only cover $25,000 in injury liability. If you break someone's leg and they have $45,000 dollar surgery, then if the victim's uninsured motorist coverage pays out, they may come after you. It is harder for them to prove their damages in the injury scenario, but again, if it is a significant claim, hire a lawyer to defend you.
In either scenario, do not just ignore the problem because it will not go away. If you receive legal papers, take them to a lawyer and figure out what it means. In Georgia, you only have 30 days to file you legal answer to a lawsuit after it is served (given to you or an adult roommate). If you fail to answer, you admit everything the lawsuit said and you can lose even when its unfair.
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