New York's No-Fault Car Insurance Laws
Background
Car accidents though undesired are yet inevitable. At some point in time, we are involved in accidents. Optimistically, we go unharmed but there are possibilities of personal injury or damage to the vehicle. Accidents can occur due to the fault of either party or solely from the fault of one party. Thankfully, if one is hurt in an accident, they can recover monetary (money) for their pain and suffering.
New York Car Accident Laws
Some of the laws related to insurance which should be known to the general public are about negligence, no-fault liability, and the statute of limitations.
Negligence
Negligence is typical defined as when one person fails to exercise reasonable care and precaution that a reasonable prudent person would have. Examples of negligence in car accidents are speeding or disregard for traffic control devices, such as stop signs or traffic lights.
Sometimes both the parties contributed to the negligence that caused an accident. For example, if a blows a red light and got hit by another driver who was speeding then both the parties will have a shared lability. This is known as comparative fault rule. In New York, you can recover money if one driver/person is at least 1% at fault for the accident.
No-fault liability
New York has no-fault insurance, which means that the insured parties are to be reimbursed by their own insurance company despite their own negligence in the accident occurred. In simpler terms, no matter whose fault the accident was, the car you are in pays your medical bills. The medical costs and the losses to the vehicles are reimbursed. Generally, to claim no fault benefits, the claim should be filed within 30 days.
Statute of Limitations
Section 214 of New York civil practice laws and rules specifies that if any person was injured in a car accident then the lawsuits pertaining to it shall be filed within three years from the date of the accident. There are exceptions though. For Example an accident with a City Vehicle (School Bus, Cop Car or Ambulance as examples), you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days from the date of the accident with the proper city agency.
Consequences Of Delay
It is suggested that the process of filing the claim should be started soon after the accident. Sometimes delaying could lead to skipping off limitation period unintentionally. Further, delay could also make it difficult to collect evidence. For example, the eyewitnesses of the accident might not be able to recollect the incident properly or could possibly even forget the essential details that could make the case strong. Any CCTV footage might get deleted or tampered with after some time. Further, delay in filing the claim can also lead to delayed reimbursement of claim which can lead to financial constraints if the accident has led to significant medical bills.
Types of Insurance
Broadly, the types of insurance can be of four types:
Collision Insurance – In this type of insurance the damage caused to the vehicle from collision is covered under the insurance. Collision insurance is an optional coverage given by the insurance company when insurance policy is taken by the insured.
No-Fault Insurance – No-fault insurance covers the cost of medical treatment for the injuries suffered by the passengers and drivers during the accident. The amount lost during the medical treatment is recovered.
- Bodily Injury Insurance – This insurance covers the compensation for the pain and suffering that the insured went through during the accident. It also covers any lost income or medical expense which was not covered under no-fault insurance. To get compensation the insured must establish that they suffered ‘serious injury’ as stated under Section 5102(d) of New York Insurance Law.
Minimum Threshold And Other Requirements
Minimum amount – There are different auto liability insurance coverage. For a property damage arising from a single accident the amount of liability coverage is $10,000. For any bodily injury and/or death of a person involved in an accident, the minimum liability coverage is $25,000 and $50,000 respectively. Further, if there are two or more people involved in an accident then the minimum liability coverage is $50,000 and $100,000 for bodily injury and death respectively.
Other Pre-requisites – There are certain other specifics that should be kept in mind. The insurance coverage should remain effective till the registration is valid. Further, the insurance company which is providing the coverage should be licensed by the New York State Department of financial services and also certified by New York state department of motor vehicles. Furthermore, the insurance must be issued under the name of the person who has the vehicle registered under his name.
What if the injury is caused by uninsured driver?
New York law mandates that in an insurance coverage, personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage, both should be included. There should be any specific coverage for any loss or injury caused by an uninsured motorist. Further, if the insurance policy is insufficient in providing the coverage, then the uninsured motorist can be sued for damages (within the limitation period).
In simpler terms, if you have or any member of your house has car insurance and you are hit my someone without car insurance (i.e., a hit-and-run) you just go through your insurance to recover.
Filing of the Report
Any accident must be reported to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days in the specified form MV-104 failing which can suspend the license till the report is submitted.
Why to hire an attorney?
Cases involving serious injury or death can complicate the matters at a later stage. Also, there are chances that the insured and the insurance company do agree upon the claim. In addition, no matter what they tell you, insurance companies do not care about you or work for you, their goal is to keep cost down and pay you as little as possible, that is a fact.
It is always best practice to hire an attorney as they do not get paid unless they get you paid and when an attorney is involved an insurance company will take the claim more serious and pay you more money. In addition, many times claims are complicated, and the paperwork might involve a lot of technicalities for a layman to understand. The injured party must understand and acknowledge the fact that the insurance company will always attempt to find loopholes in the claims and other reasons to avoid the insurance benefits. The insurance companies will draft the policy in a manner to make it difficult for the policy holder/insured to understand. Also, for the parties filing the claim without the help of attorneys, insurance companies use different tactics to deny the claim. Hence, the need for an attorney arises. Most certainly, if the insurance claim is denied then an attorney will be required to sue the insurance company. The injured person has already suffered a lot due to accident and should not go through with the further harassment of an insurance company and they should focus on healing themselves. Therefore, hire an expert attorney to act on your behalf. Our firm always offers a 24/7 free telephone consultation.
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