Types of Insurance

The person or company that caused your injuries is responsible to you for the harm they cause. However, we know as Fairfield County Personal Injury Lawyers, that the person who caused your harm may not have sufficient money to pay you, so insurance becomes a big part of the process. We thought we would touch on some of the types of insurance that may come into play as part of your case.

The most important type of insurance is liability insurance. Liability insurance protects a person when they cause harm. However, the insurance company is only responsible to pay up to the amount of insurance that was purchased. In Connecticut, when it comes to liability insurance for cars the lowest limit that can be purchased is $25,000/$50,000. That means the insurance company will pay no more than $25,000 to one victim but their total exposure is $50,000 regardless of the number of victims.

When our client is harmed by someone who has a state minimum policy on their car, that is frequently not enough coverage to fully compensate our client. So, as Fairfield County Personal Injury Lawyers we look to our client’s own automobile policy for what is called Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage to make up the difference. Every car insurance policy in CT has UM coverage. The question becomes how much is there. The state minimum for UM coverage is the same as liability insurance. To make a UM claim you must have more insurance than the person who hit you. So, if you and the other driver each have the state minimum, a UM claim will not be an option for you. UM coverage is inexpensive compared to liability insurance. We encourage all of our clients to increase the limits of their UM coverage in order to protect themselves and their families.

Some people buy something called an umbrella policy. An umbrella policy is an extra layer of coverage to protect someone or some company when it causes harm. An umbrella policy can be issued by the same company which issued the liability policy, or it might be an entirely different insurance company. As Fairfield County Personal Injury lawyers, we always ask in each one of our lawsuits if there is an umbrella policy available to pay our clients. Corporate defendants frequently have umbrella policies.

Health insurance is a very important type of insurance when you have a case. We want as many of your bills put through your health insurance policy as possible so that you do not have to pay outstanding medical balances from your settlement. It is in only limited circumstances where a health insurance company is entitled to get reimbursed from your settlement. If you do not have health insurance, it can be difficult to get treatment. Also, if you have insurance through the state, many doctors do not participate in those plans. In those cases, we may provide you with a list of names of doctors who will treat you on what is called a letter of protection. In a letter of protection, we as your attorneys promise to pay the doctor from your settlement.

If you are hurt on the job, there may be workers compensation insurance to pay your doctors. If you are hurt on the job, there are certain forms you must fill out to open the claim. Your employer will then give you a list of names of doctors who participate in your company’s workers compensation plan. You can select the doctor who is the best for you from the plan. So, if you have a hand injury for example, maybe you should see a hand specialist.

Insurance can get very confusing, very quickly. Schedule your free consultation with us so we can explain what types of insurance come into play in your particular claim.