Insurance Damages in Biloxi Car Accident Cases

A car accident victim’s own auto insurance may provide recoverable damages separate from the damages paid for the at tortfeasor’s insurance company. A tortfeasor is a legal term for someone whose negligence or misconduct caused injury to another.

When a person is involved in an accident caused by another individual’s negligence, he could pursue recovery under his own insurance policy under two different types of coverage. For more information about insurance damages in Biloxi car accident cases, it may be wise to get in touch with a qualified car accident lawyer.

Recovering Through Med-Pay

Many people have Med-Pay coverage, which provides a specific amount of money to help pay medical bills regardless of fault. Crash victims may be able to use Med-Pay coverage to seek immediate relief for their medical bills.

For example, if someone has Med-Pay coverage for $5,000 and they are involved in an accident, they may therefore be able to recover $5,000 directly from their own insurance company to help pay their medical bills no matter who is at fault. In that case, their insurance company may have a right of subrogation to recover its money back from the insurance company of the individual who caused the accident.

Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Another type of insurance coverage that is extremely important to have in Biloxi car crash cases is underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage (UM). The premiums for UM coverage are comparatively much less than the premiums people usually pay for liability coverage, so it is generally a good idea to carry as much UM coverage as one can afford.

Under state law, an individual can have as much UM coverage as they have liability coverage. If they choose to get the minimum liability coverage under Mississippi law for bodily injury, the maximum allowable UM coverage would be $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.

An interesting feature of UM coverage in Mississippi is that it can be stacked. Stacking UM coverage is an option that allows individuals to increase the available coverage through the UM bodily injury coverage they purchased. The total amount of available coverage increases based on the number of cars the person insures. For example, if a family has three cars, and each carries $25,000 of UM coverage, the three coverages can be “stacked” to provide total UM coverage in the amount of $75,000.

If the individual or a family member is injured in an accident, they can be compensated for both economic and non-economic damages suffered as a result of the accident caused by someone else who has no insurance or does not have enough insurance. If the at-fault driver’s policy limits are not enough to cover all one’s damages, he may recover the difference from the UM carrier under his own insurance policy.

It is important to note that under Mississippi law a UM insurer gets a credit for the amount of liability limits held by the at-fault party. If someone has $100,000 of UM coverage and collects $25,000 from the person responsible for the accident, they have an additional $75,000 of potentially available coverage available under their own insurance policy to cover economic and non-economic damages. However, UM coverage can be waived or forfeited if the injured person does not give his or her insurance company proper notice, and get permission to settle with the at fault driver.

Seek Professional Help Pursuing Insurance Damages After Biloxi Car Wrecks

When seeking to recover insurance damages in a Biloxi car crash case, it may be important to contact an experienced car accident lawyer. Sometimes it is complicated to determine how much Med-Pay or UM coverage is available, and many policies require that certain steps be taken to avoid waiving one’s ability to collect compensation.

In addition, accident victims often need to seek permission from their own insurance company to settle with the tortfeasor for the tortfeasor’s policy limits and get their insurance company to agree to waive its rights of subrogation in order to make a recovery under their UM policy. If you would like assistance with understanding how much UM coverage may be available to compensate you for your injuries and damages, call today to set up a free initial consultation with a qualified attorney.