Sued for policy limit + excess for son's accident
What is the name of your state? NY
In 06/03, my son turned into the path of an oncoming vehicle causing an accident that was his fault. The vehicle was mine and was insured for 300k/per person. The other driver was hurt and eventually needed shoulder surgery from injuries received and lost a year+ from her job. My son told the truth at depositions as I instructed him and admitted fault even though no tickets were issued. I felt that the 300k policy would be more than enough to compensate the other party. During the settlement hearing, my insurance company offered 170K, which I felt was paltry considering the woman's losses. The other side countered 3 days later with a one-time offer to settle at $235K, which I felt was more than fair considering the circumstances that fault was ours and the injuries were serious enough. My insurance company flatly rejected that offer, for no explained reason. We went to trial last month where we lost and the plaintiff was awarded $565,000. Since the policy is only 300k, I am now liable for the excess amount of $265k and have no idea how I am going to pay that. I blame this entire situation on my insurance company, who essentially threw me under the bus and didn't try to settle this case fairly. Can I sue my insurance company for breach of contract or some other action, since it was pretty obvious they didn't act in good faith to protect me as their policyholder?
What is the name of your state? NY
In 06/03, my son turned into the path of an oncoming vehicle causing an accident that was his fault. The vehicle was mine and was insured for 300k/per person. The other driver was hurt and eventually needed shoulder surgery from injuries received and lost a year+ from her job. My son told the truth at depositions as I instructed him and admitted fault even though no tickets were issued. I felt that the 300k policy would be more than enough to compensate the other party. During the settlement hearing, my insurance company offered 170K, which I felt was paltry considering the woman's losses. The other side countered 3 days later with a one-time offer to settle at $235K, which I felt was more than fair considering the circumstances that fault was ours and the injuries were serious enough. My insurance company flatly rejected that offer, for no explained reason. We went to trial last month where we lost and the plaintiff was awarded $565,000. Since the policy is only 300k, I am now liable for the excess amount of $265k and have no idea how I am going to pay that. I blame this entire situation on my insurance company, who essentially threw me under the bus and didn't try to settle this case fairly. Can I sue my insurance company for breach of contract or some other action, since it was pretty obvious they didn't act in good faith to protect me as their policyholder?
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