No Fault Car Ins Vs. Fault Car Ins.

tallrick · 09-19-2007, 08:33 PM

Even with the current "no fault" system I was sued for 25,000.00. Some idiot driver opened his door of his car while parked on Coral Way as I was driving by. Since I was next to a truck I could not swerve and ripped the door off. My insurance company did not pay him anything, as the accident was not my fault. Yes I recieved a lawsuit a year after the accident. I had to respond to court briefs, file motions and waste at least 20 hours of my time getting that lawsuit dismissed. None of that time or effort was reimbursed, and no lawyer would take on suing him. I have no respect for the current system.

mamacita · 10-15-2007, 05:40 PM

The way the law reads (according to all the research I've done on line), the only reason for no fault is to prevent drivers from being sued. That is it. It has nothing to do with medical insurance or medical coverage. It is simply to prevent one driver from suing another. I lived up north for years with "typical" car insurance, paid half of what I pay now and never encountered any of these reasons you site for having no-fault. I always had an option as to whether I wanted full-coverage (which covered even if somone else without insurance crashed into me) or minimum collision and liability. I, personally, think that the only ones who benefit from no-fault are the insurance companies, as they are the ones who pay if you (their customer) is sued. So I truly do not understand why you all think no-fault is better. I seem to be in the minority, but having my car insurance more than double because I moved to Florida, even though I kept the same insurance company I had for years... seems insane to me, and unnecessary. Maybe I am not seeing the entire picture. If someone can clarify, that would be helpful.

Lilybeans · 10-15-2007, 06:03 PM

No fault pays for medical care and lost wages. Without no fault, if you are hurt in an accident, the only way to recover lost wages is to sue. If you need those wages now, no fault pays right away. Without no fault, you have to sue the other driver, and then you are looking at a couple of years.

Kappy · 10-15-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stacylee926

Being in Virginia with regular fault insurance....
Are you worried that your medical insurance will increase if your car insurance decreases??

I think that most companies in the US offer medical insurance to their employee's and the employee usually pays a small fee out of their paycheck based on the coverage they chose. In these cases the employers are paying a large piece of the insurance for you - and this is a benefit to you. So medical insurance increases would be minimal.

My guess is that the majority of medical claims is NOT from car accidents. If I was in a car accident that was not my fault and injured - either my personal medical insurance would pay or if I was looking for some 'compensation' for that accident, I would sue the other driver. However, the 2 insurance companies usually work to take care of you and offer you a settlement before that point. I have been sued twice for car accidents (over 15 years ago). One was ridiculous and they got about 3k and that didn't even cover atty fees. In another I was sued for 1.5 million dollars!!!! My insurance offered her 75k to settle at one point and she declined. 8 years later we ended up in a jury trial and after 2 days she got 4500 dollars!!!! 8 years of legal fees.. haha. So it really isn't that bad.

Several weeks ago when I was in Florida for vacation, we found that the drivers were really aggressive (nice way to put it). My theory is that it might be due to the insurance situation. Just a thought.....

I would love to see no fault insurance go away before we decide to move down!

I don't agree that most companies in the US offer medical insurance; maybe large companies do but even so, the cost is not minimal. Also consider that the person making 100k a year pays the same health insurance cost as the person making 30k a year within the same company. Many don't even opt for coverage because they can't afford it. IMHO medical insurance increase would be problematic to many.

Lilybeans · 10-15-2007, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kappy

I don't agree that most companies in the US offer medical insurance; maybe large companies do but even so, the cost is not minimal. Also consider that the person making 100k a year pays the same health insurance cost as the person making 30k a year within the same company. Many don't even opt for coverage because they can't afford it. IMHO medical insurance increase would be problematic to many.

20% of Floridians do not have health insurance. It is very expensive. If you are self employed or do not work for a big company, forget it, you are on your own.

I think people that work for big companies think of health insurance as a right and expect it. It just ain't that way. If everyone in this country actually had to pay for their own insurance (not just some small portion) then we could see some real insurance reform.

CURT · 10-16-2007, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stacylee926

Being in Virginia with regular fault insurance....
Are you worried that your medical insurance will increase if your car insurance decreases??

I think that most companies in the US offer medical insurance to their employee's and the employee usually pays a small fee out of their paycheck based on the coverage they chose. In these cases the employers are paying a large piece of the insurance for you - and this is a benefit to you. So medical insurance increases would be minimal.

My guess is that the majority of medical claims is NOT from car accidents. If I was in a car accident that was not my fault and injured - either my personal medical insurance would pay or if I was looking for some 'compensation' for that accident, I would sue the other driver. However, the 2 insurance companies usually work to take care of you and offer you a settlement before that point. I have been sued twice for car accidents (over 15 years ago). One was ridiculous and they got about 3k and that didn't even cover atty fees. In another I was sued for 1.5 million dollars!!!! My insurance offered her 75k to settle at one point and she declined. 8 years later we ended up in a jury trial and after 2 days she got 4500 dollars!!!! 8 years of legal fees.. haha. So it really isn't that bad.

Several weeks ago when I was in Florida for vacation, we found that the drivers were really aggressive (nice way to put it). My theory is that it might be due to the insurance situation. Just a thought.....

I would love to see no fault insurance go away before we decide to move down!

Many medical insurance companies will not pay medical bills caused by another party. they will make you sign a paper stating that you will reimburse them. If the party at fault doesnt have insurance you can't get the money from that source. If the party at fault is very poor and doesnt have property, etc you won't get the bill paid by a law suit.