Originally Posted by sxrich
I'm a bodily injury adjuster for a large insurance company. Really too much information to go into the full detail of how a bodily injury claim works. More than likely, your insurance company received a "demand" from the 3rd party's attorney. I would assume that the attorney did not know your Bodily Injury policy limit, so the attorney demanded a large amount, based on her medical bills, loss wages and pain and suffering. The letter you received was an "excess letter." Your insurance company is legally required to notify you that there is potential that the 3rd party's bodily injury claim might exceed your $100k Bodily Injury coverage. The language in the letter will advise that you have a right to obtain an attorney. However, as part of your personal auto policy, your insurance company will provide a defense, if it went thru the courts, i.e. mediation, arbitration or trial. So, honestly, I wouldn't worry about retaining an attorney at this time.
Based on your vague description of the accident, I would be SHOCKED if your insurance company did not challenge the mechanism of injury that would cause medical bills in excess of $100k. With that said, legally, your insurance company has a legal obligation to do everything in their power to settle the 3rd party's bodily injury claim within your policy limit. Thus, your insurance company might make a business decision to settle her claim for your $100k bodily injury policy limit, in order to protect you and your family's assets. If they didn't and it went to court and the jury amount exceeded your policy limit, you would be personally responsible for the amount above your limit. However, you could then sue your insurance company for Bad Faith, which is a capless lawsuit (that's how multi-million dollar judgments are levied against insurance companies). With that said, I would not stress out about the letter you received, as your insurance company will ultimately do what's best for you and them, which is to ultimately settle her claim.
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