How We Save You Money Through Subrogation
No one thinks about the complicated nature of insurance companies until they have need of them, and when you have need of them, you have a thousand other things you need to deal with at the same time. When you are involved in a car accident, you are worrying about the damage done to your car, about the injuries caused by the accident, about whether you’ll be able to be able to recover fully from your injuries, and you’re worried about the financial cost this is all going to have on you and your family.
While insurance is meant to help you with your financial burdens, dealing with the bureaucracy and paperwork of choosing which insurance to use for what and whether it’s going to fully cover all of your expenses is just another burden to pile onto the heap. Subrogation is one of these finicky but important processes that can be quite complicated and is something you do need to deal with or else you could be losing more money than you thought. The good news is, Rocky McElhaney Law Firm has a dedicated subrogation paralegal whose only job is to help you get the most from your settlement award.
So, what is subrogation anyway?
Let’s let an insurance company itself define it. As per Progressive, subrogation “refers to the right your insurance company holds under your policy — after they’ve paid a covered claim — to request reimbursement from the at-fault party.” Subrogation is most commonly seen when you file a claim with your car insurance, but health insurance companies can also seek subrogation interest, also called a medical lien. This is when the health insurance seeks recouping of what they covered through the amount you were awarded in your settlement.
Anything that is paid by your insurance company can be recouped later through the at-fault party’s insurance. If they cannot recoup their losses through the other party’s insurance, the amount they want to recoup will be taken from your settlement.
Why would subrogation affect my personal injury award?
It has to do with the way that bills are paid by the insurance companies. If you were in a car accident, it would make sense to use your car insurance to cover your costs, right? Well, that’s not necessarily the case. Due to hospitals and doctors having deals with health insurance companies, you may save money on your treatments and surgeries if you use your health insurance over your car insurance.
For example, let’s say that due to your accident, your medical costs wind up being $350,000 that your car insurance covered. Your car insurance will then seek to recoup their losses from the at-fault driver. Now, if that driver’s car insurance only covers the minimum amount of $50,000, then your car insurance company still wants that left over $300,000. They will then proceed to take that from your settlement award. If your settlement award is $500,000… 300 grand is a hefty portion of that settlement award that you could be using to supplement your lost income or take care of your family. It should be noted that you only have to pay what you are billed.
However, if you use your health insurance to pay for your medical treatments, your medical costs are no longer $350,000, but $150,000. This is because health insurers get better rates than car insurers for health coverage. But once you win your award or settle your claim, they’ll look to recoup their losses directly from your award.
What our subrogation paralegal does is negotiate to get the costs down across the board, no matter which insurance company (if any) pays for your care. This means working on getting the overall cost of your care reduced, so that you can keep more of your verdict or settlement.
It is important to note that you should not settle too soon once you’ve filed a personal injury lawsuit because you want to make sure that all of your medical costs are covered, not just the immediate ones. For instance, many traumatic brain injuries can present with delayed symptoms, meaning that you might realize that you have a brain injury until a week later. Also, many injuries come with a host of complications that may not affect you until much later. You deserve to have those complications covered as well as your initial injuries.
Whether you use your car insurance or your health insurance, having someone who focuses exclusively on lowering your bills is ALWAYS a good thing, as they can communicate with the insurance companies and medical facilities to ensure you get the most out of the situation as possible. We want to maximize the recovery on your claim, but also maximize your recovery. Rocky McElhaney Law Firm in Nashville has specialized team members who focus primarily on subrogation. They can expertly handle your case, get the best deals from doctors and hospitals, and ensure that every reduction in cost possible is made so that more money goes to you and not the insurance companies. We have won millions of dollars in settlements for our clients, and we want to do the same for you.
If you have suffered injuries from a car accident, and you need help not only with filing a personal injury lawsuit but also with handling subrogation, call our Nashville injury lawyers or use our contact page to schedule a free consultation. We maintain additional offices in Hendersonville and Clarksville, and serve all of Middle Tennessee.