A motorist who gets struck by a negligent driver should not have to worry about personally paying for the cost of medical bills and car repairs. This is why Mississippi mandates that its drivers carry liability insurance. Ideally, you should be able to get compensation from the insurance company of the at-fault motorist with little trouble.
Unfortunately, you may find unexpected and unwelcome difficulties that make it hard to obtain approval of your damages claim.
A lapsed policy
An active insurance policy requires the policyholder to keep up the policy through regular premium payments. Unfortunately, some people neglect paying their regular premiums, and the coverage lapses. As a consequence, they no longer have the liability coverage to pay for damages they cause in an accident.
Inability to establish fault
An insurer is not going to pay out a claim lightly. You can expect the insurance company of the other driver to investigate the accident carefully, and they will likely resist accepting your claim if they have sufficient cause to doubt you were not at fault.
Gathering evidence as soon as possible following a crash could make the difference. Contacting the police to survey the scene and write up a report, taking pictures of the scene yourself, and interviewing witnesses could form a strong case that you bore no responsibility for your injuries and vehicular damage.
Insufficient policy limits
Even if the at-fault driver has liability coverage, it may not be enough to cover your damages. Insurance liability policies go up to a certain limit, and it is very possible for an automobile crash to rack up expenses that surpass a state-mandated liability policy.
Fortunately, some people buy policies with higher limits, so it is worth investigating to see if the at-fault driver has a more substantial policy. If not, the at-fault motorist may end up personally responsible for the amounts not covered by the insurance.
