Navigating Insurance In Oregon

It is easy to be overwhelmed when you’re in an auto accident. This is especially true in a small town in Oregon. We want to make navigating insurance easy; so, we provide the following information to help guide you through the process.

Four types of Insurance in an Auto Accident

There are usually four types of insurance involved in an auto accident: your Personal Injury Protection insurance (PIP), your health insurance, the at-fault party’s auto insurance, and your UIM insurance. There may be more insurances involved, but for simplicity we will discuss these main four.

Your PIP Insurance

Your Personal Injury Protection is also known as PIP insurance. In Oregon, these limits are usually $15,000.00 unless you have decided to increase those limits. This $15,000.00 goes to paying your medical providers for any medical bills you incur from any auto accident, whether it is your fault or not. When you get in an accident and call your insurance, your insurance should give you a policy number. Provide this PIP policy number to your medical providers and they will bill your PIP instead of your health insurance. Usually there is no co-pay or deductible involved with this insurance so it is best to use the PIP first until it exhausts. Additionally, if you have lost wages, you may recover some money up front for those lost wages through your PIP insurance. The lost wages part of pip is separate from the $15,000.00 medical bills coverage so it is good to use it to get by financially until you settle your claim with the at-fault party’s insurance.

Your Health Insurance

Your health insurance will only be used once the PIP is exhausted. You should provide it to your providers and let them know that it is secondary to your PIP insurance and that the provider should bill the PIP first.

At-Fault Party’s Casualty Insurance

The at-fault party’s casualty insurance comes into play when you are not at fault and want to recover from the person who hit you. There are generally two recoveries from the casualty insurance: property damage and injury damages.

Property damage is usually estimated by an independent estimator company. Usually, but not always, there is not a lot an attorney can do to help you get a significantly better recover on your property damage claim. Sometimes your attorney can argue that you recently installed some upgrades on your vehicle and that these upgrades were not considered in the initial estimation. Sometimes this can get you some extra value for your vehicle, but generally your attorney will be much more helpful on the injury side of your claim. After speaking with an attorney, you can typically settle the property damage portion of the claim and keep your injury settlement separate.

As to the injury side of your claim, the at-fault party’s casualty insurance company will try and get you to settle fast without talking to an attorney. Or, alternatively, they may avoid you completely and be difficult to get ahold of. They will low ball you and try and get you to settle even before you know the extent of your damages. Or, they will ghost you and try and get your claim to expired past a special limitation on claims that is called the Statute of Limitations. If you do not file a claim before the Statute of Limitations your claim is barred, and you cannot recover. Thus, it is best to speak with an attorney early on to make sure you do not miss out on recovery.

Generally, your attorney will make sure your casualty claim is either filed or settled before the statute of limitations time limit runs out. Your attorney will generally counsel you to not settle until you are fully done treating. Or, if your treatment is severe and long term, your attorney will counsel you to wait until you have a clear vision of your future medical treatment and either settle or file before the Statute of Limitations. Your attorney will handle the negotiations and make sure that you are fairly compensated for any loss.  Your attorney will typically make sure that any outstanding debts to medical providers or insurance companies (liens) are taken out of the final settlement.

Your UIM Insurance

There are times when you are injured so severely that the at-fault casualty insurance does not have high enough limits to fully cover your claim. There are also times when the at-fault party carries no insurance. In these instances, your attorney will help you recover from your UIM (Uninsured or Under-insured Motorist) coverage. UIM is usually provided by the same company as your PIP, but it usually uses a different claim number. This coverage is limited to your contractual coverage amount. Often, these limits are $100,000.00 or more. You should deal with UIM similar to how you deal with the at-fault casualty insurance company because the UIM typically does not want to pay any more than they have to. A good attorney will ensure that UIM pays appropriately and can sometimes get your UIM to waive any PIP liens. This area of law is tricky, so it is important that you hire an attorney to help you through the process.

Disclaimer

This article is to be used as educational material only and is not to be construed as legal counsel. If you feel you have a claim, we recommend speaking with an attorney to help you in your claim. Riverpoint Law specializes in helping with car accident claims in Oregon. They can help you navigate through this difficult process.