Nashville Personal Injury Lawyer - Auto Insurance in Tennessee

Tennessee Auto Insurance 103 (Med Pay Coverage)

George Fusner — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:50:54 GMT

In this part of the ongoing Tennessee automotive insurance series, I’ll go over medical payments coverage, and some of the less than fair tactics insurance companies will use to limit an accident victim’s recovery.

Medical payments coverage, often called “MedPay” (as I refer to it) or “personal insurance protection,” will pay for health services required as a result of an accident without regard to fault. The coverage “follows the vehicle,” meaning anyone in the insured vehicle is covered under the insured vehicle’s policy. Coverage usually extends to:

§ Policyholder
§ Policyholder’s relatives in the same household

Passengers
Other authorized drivers
Policyholder and family members if they are injured while riding in someone else’s car or as a pedestrian when struck by another vehicle. (in some states)

There are limits, though. MedPay will only cover what is deemed “reasonable” for the situation, and coverage is limited to things directly resulting from an accident. Additionally, something many people don’t know (because insurance companies don’t make this clear to them) is that if you are injured in another person’s vehicle that also has MedPay coverage, any amount you receive from their MedPay coverage limits your ability to recover from your own MedPay coverage. In other words, if you are injured in someone else’s vehicle, any money your own MedPay coverage pays you will have to be paid back if you are fully compensated under the vehicle owner’s coverage.

There is no legal requirement in Tennessee to have MedPay coverage, but is a worthwhile investment. The premiums are extremely low in relation to the coverage. Thousands of dollars of coverage can be had for only a few dollars a month. Even for those with health insurance, MedPay coverage covers injuries not covered under most health insurance plans. For example, many health insurance policies don’t cover a visit to a chiropractor, and are in the least reluctant to cover soft tissue issues, whereas MedPay covers these types of health care. The health insurance companies limit early treatment when often early diagnoistic treatment can be very healpful.

Even with MedPay coverage, getting your insurance company to pay the medical bills resulting from an accident will not always be easy. Something I see often in my practice is accident victims being delayed by their insurance company in receiving an MRI. My clients often complain of soft tissue damage resulting from an accident. While some soft tissue damage is readily observable, such as open wounds and bruising, some extremely painful and debilitating soft tissue damage (such as whiplash) is only detectable by an MRI. My clients often find their insurance company is unwilling to order an MRI, or delay the MRI for an arbitrary reason. The real reason behind this delay, though, is to decrease the accuracy of the MRI and decrease the chance the MRI will detect the damage appropriately. This could potentially limit the victim’s ability to claim whiplash or other soft tissue damage related pain and suffering.

It is important to talk to an attorney in any accident resulting in pain and suffering or injury. Accidents are often unfamiliar territory for victims, who aren’t aware of the tactics utilized by insurance companies.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by George Fusner

Tennessee Auto Insurance Basics (Liability)

George Fusner — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:07:54 GMT

On April 9, 2009 I posted a general overview of auto insurance in Tennessee. Today I am going to focus on the "liability" portion of the policy. Liability insurance is required in Tennessee on any motor vehicle operated on the public highways. This was mandated by the Tennessee Financial Responsibility Law of 1977 at Section 55-12-101. A motor vehicle is defined in section 55-12-102 (6) as

“Motor vehicle” means every self-propelled vehicle that is designed for use upon the highway, including trailers and semitrailers designed for use with motor vehicles, and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead wires but not operated upon rails, except traction engines, road rollers and farm tractors. “Motor vehicle” does not include “motorized bicycle” as defined in § 55-8-101;

Obviously this is a very broad definition.

Liability insurance pays for the damages you cause if the accident is your fault up to the limits of your policy. I often have my clients tell me they have "full coverage" an assume ALL damages are covered irregardless of the dollar amount. Wrong. The insurance company is only responsible for the costs of hiring a lawyer to defend you and the damages up to the policy limits. As explained below this could leave you hanging in a serious wreck.

One of the largest expenses an insurance company has is the cost of defense. Thus, once a basic policy is purchased, the cost to increase that policy above the state required minimum is small compared to the initial premium. That is one of the reasons I recommend in ALL cases a minimum of $300,000 in liability limits. The second, but more important reason is that the higher the liability limits the more uninsured motorist coverage you can purchase. (More on that in a later post.)

What are your duties when you are involved in an accident? Tennessee Code Section 55-12-104(a) requires that if there is an injury, death, or more than $400 in property damage an accident report MUST be filed with the department of Safety within 20 days of the wreck. That report requires you to list your insurance policy. If you fail to file the report or do not have liability insurance Section 55-12-105 requires the revocation of both your license and the registrations on all vehicles registered to you. Now your wife and children may be driving vehicles that are not registered and you are driving on a revoked license. The last ticket one of my clients was issued for driving without insurance cost him $290!!!

If injury results and the damages are not paid within 60 days as required by Section 55-12-118 of the code then your license and registrations can be revoked. Yet you said "I had full coverage!" Not if the damages exceed your policy limits. The insurance company will pay the limits and you will have to pay the difference to keep your drivers license and registrations. I hope now you see why the higher limits protects you.

Often I have clients who are afraid to turn in a claim or report an accident. They think the insurance company can automatically cancel them. This is a myth. Code Section 55-12-122 (e)(1) states:

(1) The liability of the insurance carrier, with respect to the insurance required by this chapter, shall become absolute whenever injury or damage covered by the motor vehicle liability policy occurs. The policy may not be canceled or annulled as to the liability by any agreement between the insurance carrier and the insured after the occurrence of the injury or damage. No statement made by the insured or on behalf of the insured and no violation of the policy provisions shall defeat or void the policy. Further, absent a finding of fault on the part of the insured, the policy may not be canceled or annulled solely due to involvement in a not at fault accident;

It cannot cancel you later unless you were at fault.

My experience is that the longer you are with the same insurance company the less likely they are to cancel you for an at fault accident. Do not jump from one company to the next year after year to save a few bucks. It may come back to hurt you in the future.

If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 615-251-0005 or drop me an e-mail at gfusner@aol.com.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by George Fusner

Tennessee Auto Insurance Basics

George Fusner — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:31:53 GMT

The Tennessee Financial Responsibility Law was enacted in 1977 and covers the minimum auto insurance required in Tennessee. Basically it requires minimum liability limits of $25,000 per person, $50,000 for 2 or more persons and $15,000 for property damage. This is found in Section 55-12-102 . In my opinion those limits are horribly outdated and low. However, before I start a rant, let me explain the basic elements of an auto insurance policy and how it works.

"Liability" insurance is required by law to operate a motor vehicle on the public roads in Tennessee. However, the basic policy also often contains coverages for property damage, uninsured/under insured motorist, comprehensive, collision, and medical payments. What does insurance mean and what do these terms mean?

"Insurance" is where a company "the Insurance Company" agrees for a fee "the premium" to reimburse you "the insured" for a covered loss or peril. The maximum amount the insurance company agrees to pay is called a "limit." The "insurance policy" is a contract between you the insured and it, the Insurance company. The insurance company agrees to reimburse you for the loss up to the policy limits.

The liability portion of your policy is purchased so that if a car wreck is your fault that the injured party will be paid by the insurance company for their injuries up to the limits of the policy. Without insurance you personally are responsible for these damages. The injured party can take your home, garnish your wages, and attach all your property. Not a pretty picture. Thus, you purchase the liability policy to protect yourself, your family, and your assets.

The $25,000 minimum limit for personal injury is just for those injuries you can recover if you are hurt. (I will make a separate bog post on that subject later.) The "property"damage limits is for damage to property such as the car, fence, guard rail. Guard rails are expensive and the cities or state will come after you. Several years ago my teenage son lost control and hit a guard rail in Brentwood. It only damaged about 10 feet of the rail. The bill? $3,500. I was glad I had property damage insurance on that car. Property damage insurance is required in Tennessee.

Now for the non required coverages. In my opinion the most important coverage of all is uninsured or under insured motorist coverage. That coverage makes your insurance company pay for the damages and personal injuries you receive when the negligent or responsible party has no insurance. The definition of uninsured vehicle by section 56-7-1202 of the Tennessee Code is

(a)(1) For the purpose of uninsured motor vehicle coverage, “uninsured motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle whose ownership, maintenance, or use has resulted in the bodily injury, death, or damage to property of an insured, and for which the sum of the limits of liability available to the insured under all valid and collectible insurance policies, bonds, and securities applicable to the bodily injury, death, or damage to property is less than the applicable limits of uninsured motorist coverage provided to the insured under the policy against which the claim is made; and

In Tennessee you can only buy limits equal to your liability limits. Thus, if you only buy $25,000 in liability insurance you can only purchase $25,000 in uninsured coverage. Why short your self to save a few bucks? Every year I have clients who do not receive the damages they are due under the law because they failed to purchase enough uninsured or under insured coverage. Under insured motorist coverage applies when the damages of the injured person exceed the liability insurance for the negligent party. For example. The responsible party has $25,000 in coverage. You have read this blog and have $100,000 in under insured coverage. A wreck occurs through no fault of yours and you are entitle to recover $75,000. The responsible party pays $25,000 and YOUR insurance company pays the next $50,000 so you get the full $75,000.

Comprehensive coverage is for items like broken glass, flood damage, or vandalism. Its pays basically to make repairs to your car.

Collision coverage is for property damage to your car if the accident was your fault or the responsible party had no property damage coverage. If your vehicle is financed the bank will require you to have this coverage. It will only cover the lesser of the cost of repair or the actual cash value of the car.

Medical payments is for the medical bills of the persons who are hurt in your car regardless of fault. It is dirt cheap but can help big time. (I pay about $50 year for $1 million in coverage!!!) Trust me the insurance company for the negligent party is not going to pay your medical bills until the end. They do not want you to seek medical treatment. Then they argue to the jury you could not have been hurt because you did not go to the doctor. You don't get to explain "I didn't have the money to go to the doctor, my emergency room bill was $3,000, I was out of work 2 weeks due to the wreck. I didn't have health insurance." More in detail on med pay insurance in another blog.

I hope the above helps. It probably raises more questions than it answers. Thats OK, feel free to e-mail me or call and I will try to help.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by George Fusner

“Motor vehicle” means every self-propelled vehicle that is designed for use upon the highway, including trailers and semitrailers designed for use with motor vehicles, and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead wires but not operated upon rails, except traction engines, road rollers and farm tractors. “Motor vehicle” does not include “motorized bicycle” as defined in § 55-8-101;