Illinois has fault-based insurance laws that require the victim of an injury to file a claim against the responsible party if they seek compensation for injury-related damages, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. A personal injury case recovers compensation when someone else’s careless, reckless, or intentionally wrongful actions cause injury.
A key aspect of many personal injury cases in Illinois is a policy limit demand letter. Understanding policy limits in personal injury cases in Chicago helps an injury victim set realistic goals for their case.
Most personal injury claims are filed against the at-fault party’s insurance, for instance, auto insurance after a car accident, or commercial liability insurance after a store slip-and-fall accident. Insurance policy contracts specify the amount of coverage available under the policy. For example, in Illinois, drivers must carry at least $25,000 per person for bodily injury coverage and $50,000 total bodily injury coverage per accident.
These are the policy limits. In this example, an injured car accident victim with serious injuries would seek at least the policy limit of $25,000 for their injury damages. Their attorney would send a policy limit demand letter to the insurance company seeking the maximum compensation of $25,000 for their client’s injury.
Insurance companies are in business to make profits, which they often do at the expense of paying fairly on a claim. In states like Illinois with fault-based comparative negligence laws, they may protect their profits by assigning a portion of fault to the injury victim. This allows the insurer to deduct an injury victim’s assigned percentage of fault from the payout on their claim.
When an attorney sends a policy limit demand to the insurance company, the demand package typically includes the attorney’s findings on the case after they’ve investigated. The findings may include the following:
An injury victim’s attorney sends a policy limit demand when their client’s damages meet or exceed the limits of the at-fault party’s policy, and lets the insurance company know that the attorney’s investigation proves their policyholder’s liability and the full extent of the injury victim’s damages.
About 4% of personal injury claims go to court. An insurance company may negotiate with the personal injury attorney and attempt to offer a lower settlement amount than the policy limit.
In this case, the attorney consults with their client and determines whether to accept the lower settlement offer, keep negotiating, or file a lawsuit petition to go to court seeking the full amount. Insurance companies do not want to go to court. Juries tend to side with injury victims over powerful insurance companies.
For the insurance company, going to court risks a loss that could potentially leave their policyholder personally liable for the injury victim’s damages beyond the policy limit, or could require the company to pay a punitive amount for bad-faith insurance practices if they failed to honor the terms of their contract.
An insurance company is not on your side, especially when you have substantial damages and seek the full amount of coverage up to the policy limits. Instead of leaving your claim in the hands of an insurance adjuster, contact our attorneys at Smith LaCien Trial Lawyers, LLP for experienced legal representation.
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