Posted by John Merchant on October 11, 2004 at 12:48:07:
First, call your lawyer and find out and ask him/her if YOU have any exposure here.
Then, if you do, there might be something you can do that would put pressure on your ins. co. to settle within policy limits.
You could send them a certified letter w receipt, USPS, demanding that this case be settled within your policy limits…in some states this has been adjudged to put the co. in a position where they must either do this, as per your demand, or they’ll have to pay any difference between your policy limits and actual final judgment awarded to the plaintiff.
So,e.g, let’s say you demand they settle and pay the plaintiff $25,000, but the co. refuses and makes the case go to trial…and the J against YOU is $100,000…this law, if your state has adjudicated it favorably for the policy holder like you, would then require the co. to pay the entire $100,000 plus court costs. Not you, but the co. !!!
So it’d be worth your little bit of effort and time.
Just be sure and send it to every address you can find for the co., its lawyer, etc. so you can later prove they did get it…and make sure it precisely references the case, the parties’ names, your policy #, your name and address, etc.
Ins. co’s generally hate these pol. limits demand letters, as they are effective pressure point for the policy holder who’s in the squeeze.
Could be too late to be effective, but wouldn’t hurt to try. If they’ve already got an enforceable agreement, it is too late.