Virtually all personal injury settlements and verdicts are paid by insurance companies.
This is a good thing because most people do not have the funds to pay for your injuries and makes the chore of actually collecting on your settlement or judgment relatively easy. Also, insurance companies will pay for the other driver to have an attorney. This is a common feature in insurance policies.
The first place we look for insurance to compensate you for your injuries is the other driver. We send a formal request along with an affidavit to the other driver’s insurance company as listed on the Police Report. The insurance company must, under Georgia law, respond with the available coverage. Some states don’t require insurance companies to provide this information, so it is nice that Georgia understands how fundamental this information is. Once we receive a sworn statement from the at-fault person’s insurance company with how much insurance they have and what kinds of coverage, we then evaluate the amount of coverage the other driver has against the extent of your damages.
If you are unfortunate enough that your damages exceed the other driver’s policy, then we must seek out other sources of insurance coverage. We may be able to bring in additional defendants, such as an employer, who will each have their own insurance policies. We may also review your own automobile policy(ies) and umbrella policies to determine if you have insurance coverage for the accident. A lot of people have uninsured motorist coverage, which may provide for additional funds. We can also try to “stack” multiple insurance policies in an effort to obtain more coverage for your compensation.
Insurance coverage and the law which allows you to stack policies is very complex. If you have suffered serious injuries where your medical bills will exceed $25,000, you need to seek out an attorney who is adept in insurance because you will need to find additional insurance to access. David used to be an insurance defense attorney who worked for the insurance companies. He will tell you that insurance companies will ask attorneys to examine every possible way to not have their insurance policy “exposed” to your claim.
