How Subrogation Can Affect Your St. Louis Car Accident Claim

If you stumble upon the word “subrogation,” chances are it has something to do with insurance companies.

If you’ve been involved in a car accident in St. Louis, you are most likely thinking about seeking damages. The first place a lot of people start is looking online for how these cases usually go and what they involve.

That’s not an easy thing to do, as you’ll be faced with a lot of difficult legal jargon and concepts that are hard to understand. One such example: subrogation.

What is Subrogation?

If you stumble upon the word “subrogation,” chances are it has something to do with insurance companies. It’s essentially the process your insurance company goes through to get their money back from another insurance company after they’ve paid you.

Let’s say you were involved in a car accident and you needed to go to the hospital. Your health insurance company may cover the cost of the ambulance ride and other treatment you had there, but they’ll want their money back at some point. They may not be able to get the money from you if the accident wasn’t your fault. So the only option for them is to go to the other driver’s insurance company.

When you file an injury claim against the other driver’s insurance company, you may not be the sole beneficiary of the settlement. Your health or auto insurance company will also have a big interest in it because they need to get their money back. And, depending on how much they paid in the first place, it can be a considerable amount of money.

How It Can Affect Your Claim

Insurance companies will most likely file a lien on your settlement until they get paid. That generally means you cannot access the money you’re entitled to until your health or auto insurance company gets back what’s theirs.

The entire process can be delayed even more after the at-fault party’s insurance company agrees on a particular settlement. Moreover, the final amount that you will ultimately get is tied to how much your insurance company will subtract from your settlement.

How Do You Handle It?

You shouldn’t have to. Discussing with insurance companies is never fun, and when you have multiple ones on the line, things can get very tricky very fast. It’s why you should seriously consider speaking with a St. Louis auto accident lawyer as soon as possible after a car accident. For one thing, they deal with insurance companies all the time and know all their moves, so they can make sure nobody is overstepping.

Additionally, the entire process can be frustrating and confusing when you have no idea how it works. You have a much better chance of coming out on top of this if you work with an experienced St. Louis car accident attorney on your side.

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