California Personal Injury and Insurance Blog

What makes a trial lawyer?

This is always a fascinating argument. Here is the debate out of Memphis, TN from my friend James Ferrell.

This is simple from my perspective. First, if you want to call yourself a trial attorney, you need to try cases. That is what people think of when they think of trial attorneys. They think of an attorney who is in court.

Second, if you are looking to hire an attorney, you want a trial attorney. Why? Because that person will get more respect from the insurance companies. They know that an attorney who tries these cases will cost them more money. And they know they can, and often do, lose. Additionally, the insurance company knows that they do not have to make a fair offer to an attorney who does not try cases because there is no downside to them. They know he will settle the case at some point.

A trial attorney: someone who actually tries cases. And that is who you want on your side if you have been involved in a car accident.       

The value of a good lawyer

Some people think a good attorney can just increase the value of your case. And he or she can, as I will discuss. But, before we get there, a good attorney can help you avoid wasting your time.

Case in point: attorney asks me today if his client can pursue a claim against his insurance company when the client was at fault for the accident. The answer, as every driver's ed student at Franklin High knows, is no. Uninsured motorist coverage only protects you if the at fault driver has no insurance. There is no insurance to pay you if you cause an accident.

But, this attorney was actually pursuing this claim. How much time and energy were wasted on a case that never had value? Too much.

In addition to avoiding wasting your time, a good attorney will get you more for your case. Insurance companies do not want to talk about it. But, their own reports show that an attorney can get you 30 to 70% more, on average, then you can get on your own.

How do you hire the right attorney? Besides reading my blog, you can get my free report by emailing me at hiringatty@jonathangstein.com to learn how to hire the right attorney and how that can get you everything you are entitled to after an accident.

FAQ: Reporting Auto Accidents

I have written about this before, but it has been some time. So, I thought I would do it again.

Q: I have been involved in a car accident. Must I report it to my insurance company?

A: The simple answer is yes. Your insurance policy says that any accident must be reported. The policy is clear that you do not have to report a claim, but rather anything that may lead to a claim. So, if your car is vandalized, it must be reported. If you hit a mailbox, it must be reported.

But, the reality is different. If you have a small ding from someone hitting your car in a parking lot, you may elect to repair it yourself. If you have a small accident where you hit your neighbor's mailbox, you may decide to pay for it out of pocket.

Why? Because if you have an at fault accident and the insurance company pays out $750 or more, your rates will go up.

So, yes, technically you have to report every accident, but in reality no one does.

Read the policy

I know I have said this before, but I have had a rash of phone calls lately from people with some obscure coverage questions. The questions have ranged from "Am I covered if I drive another car?" to "Am I covered if I run from the police and get in a car accident?"

My answer is always the same: I don't know. Why do I not know? Is there some character flaw? Is it because I am not that smart? Maybe. But the real reason I do not know is because I do not know what that person's specific policy says.

Most policies follow the ISO standard policy. However, not every policy does. In fact, even within an insurance company, there are two or three or four auto policies. And, some insurance companies write their own policies. When I was an adjuster for CIGNA, we had these "plain English" policies that were written to be understood by people. Unfortunately, they were so different from every other policy that no one really knew what was covered!

So, if you have a question on what is covered by your insurance policy, start with the basics: read the policy. If you are having problems with that, and most people do, then contact an attorney. And bring your policy!

Your Insurer Must Take a Claim

In the last two days, I have come across the same story twice: I have been involved in a car collision that was not my fault and my auto insurance told me I had to file a claim with the other party. WRONG!

In fact, this could not be more wrong. There are three reasons this is wrong:

1. Your insurance policy requires you to report all claims to the insurance company. You MUST report a claim. So, why would they refuse to take it?
2. Your insurance company has an obligation to pay any claim that is covered. By law in California, they cannot tell you no.
3. Your rates do not go up for filing a claim.

The simple truth is that insurance companies do not want to take your claim because they do not want to pay out money. They want to keep their money as long as possible. If they can discourage you from filing a claim, it is one less claim to deal with and more money for them to keep.

If you have been in a collision, report it to your insurance company. If they tell you no, tell them you want to anyway.

Buying Insurance for the Wrong Reasons

Okay, so when you watch tv these days, you are bombarded with insurance commercials.  You hear about accident forgiveness, pet coverage, coverage if your car is beamed up by Scotty. It is amazing how many different coverages you can get for your car.

Remember, however, that car insurance is meant to cover two things: your car and any damage you cause to anyone else. Any other coverage you get is called "throw away coverage." Why? Because the insurance companies give it to you and throw away any money it costs them. Why? Because they get people to change their insurance company based on these coverages. Yes, people actually change to a new insurance company because they can get pet coverage.

Look, if insurance companies, or more importantly, insurance regulators thought it was important, it would be offered by every insurance company or even required. But it is not. It is a marketing ploy. And a bad one at that.

You do not need any insurance coverage. If you do not know what coverage you need, email me at insbook@jonathangstein.com and I will send you the Consumers Guide to Auto Insurance FREE (a $20 value).

Auto Insurance Zip Codes Matter

No, not for rating reasons. At least, not this time. When you complete your insurance application, you have to list the zip code where the vehicle will be garaged. This is information the insurance company uses.

When you move, you need to let the insurance company know. This may be a temporary move. For example, maybe you move for college. Or, your child goes off to college. You need to let the insurance company know. Maybe it is a permanent move and you have a PO Box for your mailing, but you move from zip code 12345 to 12346. It may not seem like much, but it is important.

What happens if you do not notify the insurer of your move? Your claim could be denied. The insurance company will consider it a "material misrepresentation." This means they can deny your claim and even cancel your policy.

Make sure you give the insurance company this information as the potential downside outweighs the amount of time it will take to give it to them.

AIG - At It aGain

AIG should have a new name - At It aGain. (Sorry, I had to take a  little creative license to make it work.) AIG just got bailed out from the government. So, what do they do? Spend over $200,000 on hotels and a spa retreat.

I do not know how you live, but my guess is that $200,000 is a lot of money to most of my readers. Heck, it is a lot of money to most of the people in the country. I could take $200,000 and do plenty of things with it. Yet, for some reason, AIG takes a bailout and then does not apologize for using it this way. Unreal.

Folks, not like you don't have enough reasons to switch from AIG to another insurance company. Fiscal irresponsibility is one more.

Collision, Comprehensive and Claims - Oh My

I know I have written about this before, but it comes up fairly frequently in my practice. What is comprehensive? What is collision? Can my rates go up for filing one of these claims? So, lets start with the basics.

Collision coverage applies, if you have it, when your vehicle strikes something else and you are making a claim for damage to your car. So, your vehicle is stopped and hit by another vehicle - collision claim. Your vehicle is being parked in the garage and hits the front of the garage - collision claim. Your vehicle rolls down a hill and into a building - collision claim.

Comprehensive, sometimes called other than collision, applies, if you have it, for anything that is not a collision for damage to your car. Fire? Theft? Vandalism? All comprehensive claims.

Now, lets make it fun. Your car hits a deer. Comprehensive or collision? Clearly, this is collision since the car struck the deer, right? Well, it makes sense, but any time a vehicle and an animal collide, its a comprehensive claim. It doesnt make sense, but go with it if you strike an animal.

Why does it matter? For a few reasons. First, some people carry collision but not comprehensive or vice versa. Second, your rates can go up for an at fault collision. In California, at fault means 51% or more at fault. For a comprehensive claim, your rates cannot go up.

So, you are driving to Santa Barbara and a deer is standing in the road. You hit the deer. The accident is your fault. But, because it is an animal, it is a comprehensive claim and your rates cannot go up. That is why all of this matters! 

Insurable Interest

I was driving the other day with the radio on and an ad came on for an insurance broker. The broker, who shall remain nameless, insures hard to insure drivers. You know, tickets, DUIs, accidents, young drivers, etc.... The ad went like this: "We can insure anybody. Tickets? No problem. DUIs? No problem. Accidents? No problem. The car is not in your name? No problem."

Um, problem. There is this little concept of insurable interest. What is insurable interest? Insurable interest means that you have an interest in what you are insuring. Insurance is not gambling. Okay, this is a complicated concept. So, a few examples.

Lets say I know a 16 year old who just got her driver's license. And, she is a bit accident prone. You know the type - she walks into walls or falls down while walking. Now, I know she is going to get in an accident. Its just bound to happen. According to this broker, I could take out insurance on her car. When she gets in an accident, I would collect on the insurance on the policy I took out on her car. That is called gambling - not insurance.

The basic rule is simple: you cannot insure a car if you do not own it. If you don't own a car, you can take out a driver's policy that will cover you if you drive someone else's car.