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Dealing with an insurance company.
Forbe!
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Alright here it goes.
This past April I was hit by a car while crossing through a pedestrian cross walk. I had a major sprain in my foot, ankle, and calf. I spun around 360 degrees when I got hit (luckily she only clipped my leg, because I was running when I saw she wasn't stopping).
Well, I went to the hospital, because at the time it felt broke. It swelled up to twice it's size, and was black and blue. Turns out it was a major sprain. I was off my leg for about two weeks before I was able to walk on it, and even then I couldn't walk on it for more than 15 minutes.
I missed about a half a week's worth of classes, and had to be driven around by friends because I don't have the Universities' insurance. I missed a due date for a project in one of my studio classes (I was given an extension) because I couldn't be in the Smithy without being able to stand.
I go to university during the school year, and during the summer I work at a seasonal job in Minnesota. So my address is always changing. Because of this, I have my mother handle most of my legal and financial matters. I was hit right before I went to Minnesota, so she handled it while I was away for the summer. The bills began coming in around May-June, all totaling roughly $1,600 (hospital, ambulance, emergency room, x-rays). However, some bills have come in as late as July/August, so we aren't sure if there will be any more. We called the insurance company and filled a claim in early May. They said we needed to pay the bills and submit the receipts (bullshit amirite?). Well, we sent all of the bills in August, and they said they would get back to us. Never happened. Around this time I started receiving letters/phone calls from collection agencies looking for their clients' money. I told them I was in the process of settling and would have the payments in when I received my settlement. I called up and told the insurance company if I was going to be ignored like this, I was going to contact a lawyer and settle it through that route. They said they'd get back to me. I contacted a lawyer, which I knew wouldn't be worth it, and they said I would probably be better off settling it on my own.
So, I called back again on Monday, and asked what I needed to do to settle my claim. At first I got a woman, who said she needed to know what bills I have, so she could see if we had sent them all in to her. I told her I don't hold that information, because I keep all of my records at my parents' residence while I'm at school. So I called my mom back, got the information, called back to the insurance company, and got another person. I told him what was up, and he said that he needed to get all the paperwork ready and gather all the information on it. He was really nice about it, and said he would call me back the next day (Tuesday) after my classes. I waited around, never got a call, and assumed they were going to call the next day. Well it's Thursday now, and no call. I'm thinking they're just giving me the run around. I don't know what to do. I'm not a nasty person by nature, so I don't want to get hostile over the phone. I'm afraid though, if these bills go unpaid much longer, it is going to ruin my (already low) credit. I just want to get this all out of the way. I'm not looking for a huge pain and suffering settlement, just for what bills need to be paid, and maybe a little bit extra in case some other random bills show up.
What should I do?
This past April I was hit by a car while crossing through a pedestrian cross walk. I had a major sprain in my foot, ankle, and calf. I spun around 360 degrees when I got hit (luckily she only clipped my leg, because I was running when I saw she wasn't stopping).
Well, I went to the hospital, because at the time it felt broke. It swelled up to twice it's size, and was black and blue. Turns out it was a major sprain. I was off my leg for about two weeks before I was able to walk on it, and even then I couldn't walk on it for more than 15 minutes.
I missed about a half a week's worth of classes, and had to be driven around by friends because I don't have the Universities' insurance. I missed a due date for a project in one of my studio classes (I was given an extension) because I couldn't be in the Smithy without being able to stand.
I go to university during the school year, and during the summer I work at a seasonal job in Minnesota. So my address is always changing. Because of this, I have my mother handle most of my legal and financial matters. I was hit right before I went to Minnesota, so she handled it while I was away for the summer. The bills began coming in around May-June, all totaling roughly $1,600 (hospital, ambulance, emergency room, x-rays). However, some bills have come in as late as July/August, so we aren't sure if there will be any more. We called the insurance company and filled a claim in early May. They said we needed to pay the bills and submit the receipts (bullshit amirite?). Well, we sent all of the bills in August, and they said they would get back to us. Never happened. Around this time I started receiving letters/phone calls from collection agencies looking for their clients' money. I told them I was in the process of settling and would have the payments in when I received my settlement. I called up and told the insurance company if I was going to be ignored like this, I was going to contact a lawyer and settle it through that route. They said they'd get back to me. I contacted a lawyer, which I knew wouldn't be worth it, and they said I would probably be better off settling it on my own.
So, I called back again on Monday, and asked what I needed to do to settle my claim. At first I got a woman, who said she needed to know what bills I have, so she could see if we had sent them all in to her. I told her I don't hold that information, because I keep all of my records at my parents' residence while I'm at school. So I called my mom back, got the information, called back to the insurance company, and got another person. I told him what was up, and he said that he needed to get all the paperwork ready and gather all the information on it. He was really nice about it, and said he would call me back the next day (Tuesday) after my classes. I waited around, never got a call, and assumed they were going to call the next day. Well it's Thursday now, and no call. I'm thinking they're just giving me the run around. I don't know what to do. I'm not a nasty person by nature, so I don't want to get hostile over the phone. I'm afraid though, if these bills go unpaid much longer, it is going to ruin my (already low) credit. I just want to get this all out of the way. I'm not looking for a huge pain and suffering settlement, just for what bills need to be paid, and maybe a little bit extra in case some other random bills show up.
What should I do?
Forbe! on
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you should be able to set up a conference call or something to work it out.
also your school should have a lawyer that is free for you for any matter that happened while you were enrolled at the school so you might want to consult him/her.
it's not your job to keep following up with the insurance company
This isn't the best advice. Unless the OP has a lien on record that states that he's waiting for the insurance company to cough up the dough before they get theirs, they can send it to a collection agency and screw with his credit rating. They don't care where the money is coming from, they just want to be paid.
The insurance company is going to keep giving you the run around. It's what they do. It's one of the way they avoid paying out large amounts. You probably should have gotten a lawyer as soon as you were in the accident, especially with the injury. The terms for representation is that the lawyer will usually take 33.3% of the total settlement, which is usually calculated into the amount of the settlement. If it actually goes to court, it's 40%. At this point, it could be difficult justifying the lawyer though, and if the lawyer's office actually said that it's probably not worth it for you, then it's probably not worth it.
Stay on the insurance company. Harass them. If they aren't getting back to you when they say they will, then you are justified in being nasty. You don't need to be nice, as it's their job and they are legally required by contract with their client to pay out for your expenses for this. Hell, if you're making the calls, send them the phone bill, too. It's their legal obligation by contract, and threaten that if they aren't going to cooperate, you'll hire a lawyer and they'll have to pay three times as much.
If the insurance company is drafting you a check directly, and you know this, pay the bill.
If you hear from them, be very polite but very firm: explain to them how long it has been, that it's starting to hurt your credit rating, and that it needs to be resolved within a reasonable time frame. Take notes during the conversation of the date & time of the conversation, who you talk to, and what was said (these can later be used to refresh your recollection; you should be taking notes during every conversation you have with them from now on). Inform them that you want to have a settlement in writing in a week, or you'll have no choice but to take them to court. Again, be very polite, be very respectful, but be firm.
If you don't hear from them, or that week passes, then you're going to want to go down to the courthouse and file a suit in small claims court. Find out what the maximum amount you can sue for is, and file for that amount (medical bills, lost work, pain & suffering, etc.). Don't expect to get that amount, but suing for that much should help to light a fire under the insurance company's ass, and gives the judge the option of giving you that much. You need to file against the woman who hit you. Get a friend, and serve her at home; really, you should call her and give her a heads-up before you do this; it sounds like she did the right thing, and her insurance company is jerking you around. Explain the situation to her, that it's her insurance company that's liable, and that you have to serve her to get the money out of them.
If it ends up going to court, dress well, be polite, only address the judge, and tell the truth. Don't try to play things up in order to get more money, just give him the facts. Make sure you bring in your notes from your phone conversations and your letter with the return receipt.
I really don't want to make some huge deal about all of this crap, I'm not looking for some huge check, I just want my bills paid.
Edit:
Also what do you mean by 'certified letter with a return receipt'?
It doesn't actually ensure it gets delivered, I suppose, but it tracks it (I think) and ensures that if it is delivered, there is proof of the delivery. If it gets lost, I think you can find out for sure... Anyway, that's the gyst of it.
That is a hard thing to determine. To my understanding, the way it is done on average when a lawyer gets involved is that the settlement (or what is asked for) is three times what all the bills and lost wages are. One third goes to pay the bills, one third goes to the lawyer, and the last third pain & suffering. Or something like that. I'm not sure if the medical bills are paid out of the lawyer's portion and calculated in as such. I'm going through my own litigation from a car accident right now because the insurance company was giving me the run around. When my own case gets settled, I'll have more info, but that could be a while.
Just to actually define it:
Certified mail provides legal proof that you mailed something (but generally judges will take your word on what you actually mailed in it) to someone ("someone" getting defined by the return receipt signature, because the return receipt is extra), and does not really guarantee that the mail will be delivered. I work at the 1-800 number for the USPS and certified mail can get lost sometimes.
edit: Certified is not actually trackable per se, but shows when you took it to the post office at least and when it's delivered. It won't necessarily have any more scans than that.
You need to wait to make sure you will have no more bills.
In the state of Illinois, you may purchase Medical Payment coverage on your own policy. Medical Payment coverage will pay for each of your medical bills as they come.
A bodily injury claim is against the policy of the person responsible for the accident. The other insurance company will not pay one bill at a time, they will only settle your entire claim at once and ask you to sign a release of all claims. Meaning that you will not come to them nor to their insured for any future bills.
If you do not have medical payments on your policy, you can chose to pay the pay or contact the hospital and explain the situation. The hospital can always put a lien on any settlement you may have with the insurance company.
When contacting an attorney, you have to think that 33% of your payment will go to the attorney.
I believe that Illinois has a 20/40 minimum requirement when it comes to bodily injury. Meaning 20K per person and 40K per accident.
If the attorney settles your claim for 3000, they will keep 1k. From your 2k, you will also be responsible for some costs acquired by the attorney's office.
My advice is to start making a list of all the financial losses you have as a result of the accident. Add dollar amounts to those losses. Once you are ready to settle your claim, you will provide all that information to the insurance company.
Do not forget to claim the diminished value of your vehicle. You can visit an appraiser's site: www.hiddenloss.com and have your diminished value calculated. There will be a cost for you, but you can ask to be reimbursed by the insurance company as you would not have had this cost if you were not involved in the accident.
When collecting diminished value payment, the insurance company will have you sign a property damage release of all claims. Meaning that you will not be able to come back to the insurance company if there is any additional property damage to your vehicle.
I hope this was helpful to you. Good luck.
You need to wait to make sure you will have no more bills.
In the state of Illinois, you may purchase Medical Payment coverage on your own policy. Medical Payment coverage will pay for each of your medical bills as they come.
A bodily injury claim is against the policy of the person responsible for the accident. The other insurance company will not pay one bill at a time, they will only settle your entire claim at once and ask you to sign a release of all claims. Meaning that you will not come to them nor to their insured for any future bills.
If you do not have medical payments on your policy, you can chose to pay the pay or contact the hospital and explain the situation. The hospital can always put a lien on any settlement you may have with the insurance company.
When contacting an attorney, you have to think that 33% of your payment will go to the attorney.
I believe that Illinois has a 20/40 minimum requirement when it comes to bodily injury. Meaning 20K per person and 40K per accident.
If the attorney settles your claim for 3000, they will keep 1k. From your 2k, you will also be responsible for some costs acquired by the attorney's office.
My advice is to start making a list of all the financial losses you have as a result of the accident. Add dollar amounts to those losses. Once you are ready to settle your claim, you will provide all that information to the insurance company.
Do not forget to claim the diminished value of your vehicle. You can visit an appraiser's site: www.hiddenloss.com and have your diminished value calculated. There will be a cost for you, but you can ask to be reimbursed by the insurance company as you would not have had this cost if you were not involved in the accident.
When collecting diminished value payment, the insurance company will have you sign a property damage release of all claims. Meaning that you will not be able to come back to the insurance company if there is any additional property damage to your vehicle.
I hope this was helpful to you. Good luck.