Bucci & Dix

New Law Requires Insurance Companies To Disclose Policy Limits In Motor Vehicle Accident Cases

The legislature recently passed a law to require insurance companies to disclose the applicable policy limits when a request is made prior to litigation.  Before this law was adopted, insurance companies were not required to diclose policy limits when a claim is made.  Instead, an injured person would have to file a lawsuit, and conduct discovery to force policy limits to be disclosed.

Under the new law, an attorney or injured person must give written notice to the insurance carrier in a motor vehicle accident matter that requests that the policy limits be disclosed.  The requesting party must provide facts of the car accident, including the date of the accident, the address of the party causing the accident, or a copy of the accident report.  Most importantly, the requesting party must submit medical bills and/or lost wage information that show that the damages claimed equal or exceed $12,500.  If these requirements are met, then the insurance company must disclose the policy limits within 30 days.

Also noteworthy, the fact that the insurance company discloses the limits does not mean that the insurance company admits that the insurance policy covers the accident, nor is the disclosure of the information admissible at a later trial.