Is the Defendant Insured or Uninsured? And is the Defendant Solvent Enough to Pay for Your Damages?

All Texas drivers must have liability auto insurance. There are no exceptions. Several powerful technology tools and accessible databases have been introduced that allow law officers to detect if a driver has insurance immediately. They can then execute a certain amount of “street justice” by quickly towing non-insured vehicles and giving their drivers costly tickets. At least one-in-four Texas drivers don’t carry auto liability insurance. Whether an insurance company is involved makes a huge difference in the outcome of your claim and how it is handled. Certain conditions surrounding your accident (and winning compensation) can become convoluted and contentious, while others are relatively straightforward.

Suppose that both drivers involved in your accident were insured to some degree. Coverage is generally good news for you because when this happens, it usually means that – eventually –there will be at least some amount of money available to compensate you for your losses once you are successful in bringing your claim. And yet, most drivers with “street legal-only” insurance carry minimum coverage on their vehicle. Their policy may not fully reimburse you for your total losses if your accident was especially severe or expensive since the minimum amount is $30,000 for injuries for each person and $25,000 for property damage. And how many vehicles on the road today are worth over $25k, not counting the property that was in the vehicle?

Additionally, just because there is money that is theoretically available under an insurance policy to compensate you for your losses, it doesn’t mean that that money will be easy to get your hands on. Anyone who has carried minimum coverage understands that some companies pay better (and quicker) than others. And some, with both claimants as well as their customer’s in-general, aren’t generally very responsive to any process other than taking in premiums, then dragging their feet when it’s time to pay-up. In just about any accident claim or a civil case where an insurance company is involved, you’ll encounter opposition. You will be up against aggressive adjusters, accident recreation specialists, defense attorneys, and investigators who are all working to make certain that you lose your case.

Then there’s the one-in-four chance (at least!) that the other driver involved in your wreck was uninsured. Hopefully, you have uninsured motorist coverage. But aside from that possibility, if an insurance company does not represent the other driver, that other driver will probably be held responsible for paying you for your damages. Your primary interest is in whether this driver who hit you is solvent. If a defendant is insolvent, it means that he or she does not have enough money to compensate you for your injuries. When a defendant is insolvent, there’s little value in pursuing litigation against him, no matter how strong your case is in proving he should otherwise be held liable for your losses. It is sad, but an all too common reality that some accident victims are unable to recover compensation from insolvent defendants.

Sometimes, a driver who has been involved in a wreck will take desperate steps to hide his assets to appear insolvent. He or she might also try and hide this accident from their insurance company that threatens to drop coverage if this person gets in one more wreck. If you suspect this may be happening in your case, the auto injury attorneys at our Texas Law Firm can perform an asset check on any accident defendant to find out how much they are worth. If there’s money available, we’ll find it and work to make sure you get your fair share.

The auto accident lawyers at our Texas Law Firm have effectively handled car accident litigation for over 30 years. We’ve won favorable verdicts and settlements against nearly every major auto insurer in the state. Insurance companies recognize our name. The reputation that precedes us is beneficial in securing special attention to our clients’ claims from these insurers. Our goal is to make sure that you recover as much as possible for your injuries and make this sometimes complicated legal process as easy as possible for you.

Put our years of experience to work for you. Know your rights, how to proceed with your claim, and how much compensation you can secure from your auto injury case. Call our Law Firm now at 1(800) 862-1260 (toll-free) for a free consultation and find out how we can help you recover the full fair value of the damages you have suffered through the negligence of another driver.

This Blog was posted By The Carabin & Shaw Law Firm. principle Office in San Antonio, Texas