Insurance Considerations in Aurora Bicycle Accident Cases

Aurora bicycle accident insurance processes can be confusing. What often happens is that the health insurance company would send the injured person the ledger and a lien amount, which is 100% of what they have paid on the claim submitted.

They will demand full recovery of whatever they paid, but if that is not possible because there is a policy limit issue with liability insurance, or there is just not enough money in the settlement, they will usually take a reduction that is fair.

This is something that a qualified personal injury attorney would work out with the insurance company. Most people do not have that general knowledge. Insurance companies typically demand 100% reimbursement, but are willing to take a reduction depending on the circumstances if the settlement is too low. When an injured person gets involved in a situation with an ERISA health insurance plan, they will go after 100% of what they paid and will not take any reduction because they do not have to.

Insurance and Extra Payment

When a person pays to be insured, their insurance company does not ask for extra payment. It is not really an extra payment, but if there is fault involved in a personal injury case, a subrogation right can come into play. The whole concept is that whoever is at fault, whoever caused the accident, is primarily liable to pay for the injured person’s damages.

Health insurance is beneficial because a person can cover those costs up front so they are not sitting in a collection for a year while being treated. When an injured person receives a settlement based on his medical bills, those medical bills are presented to the at-fault insurance company as damages that they have incurred, but that also have not been paid. When a person has health insurance, they have been paid.

A person cannot get their medical bills paid by health insurance and also get compensated for those bills. Personal injury compensation is when an injured person is given money to pay their bills or refund themselves if they have paid out-of-pocket.

Insurance Rates Following an Accident

A person’s health insurance rates should not be affected by a bicycle accident claim. A person’s car insurance rates would not be affected any differently than if it was a car accident. Health or car insurance rates are affected if the individual is the person at fault. In that case, premiums would probably go up. Whether the insured is on a bicycle or in a motor vehicle does not affect it any differently in an Aurora bicycle accident insurance process.

Other Factors that Influence Insurance Rate

The main factor would be whether or not it was an injured person’s fault. If the injured person caused the accident, even if they were on a bicycle, their insurance rate is going to go up.

Steps with Health Insurance

It is important for everyone to know the deductible and out-of-pocket expenses are under their insurance. They should know in-network providers within their health insurance plan to make sure that they are not paying extra for certain providers.

It is important for everyone to also know the coverage their plan offers. Many plans do not cover chiropractic visits or different therapists, or they might cover only a certain amount per year. Someone who sees a Chiropractor may assume that their insurance covers it and it may only cover up to 12 visits. At visit 24, when they realize the actual coverage, they may owe a lot of money. It is very important to know the coverage with health insurance in advance.

Benefits of a Lawyer

There are many benefits associated with the retention of a personal injury lawyer after a bicycle accident in Aurora, especially in dealing with health insurance companies and settlements after an Aurora bicycle accident. People are not aware of that subrogation concept and personal injury attorneys will explain to a person injured in a bicycle accident up front in that first meeting what subrogation is.

Attorneys will negotiate health insurance liens once a settlement is received and possibly obtain some reductions so that the plaintiff might recover more in the end. The money that the health insurance company reduces their lien by goes directly into the injured person’s pocket. Attorneys will go through those health insurance ledgers and pick out unrelated claims. People would not know they should do that and would end up paying their health insurance company more than they are owed.