Obtaining the Benefit of Medical Payments Coverage or Uninsured-Underinsured Coverage That You Had Not Purchased
Your settlement amount in a Nevada personal injury claim may be increased substantially if you had “Medical Payments Coverage” in the insurance coverage on your vehicle. Many people do not buy this coverage considering it too expensive or considering that it duplicates health insurance coverage. [Neither reason not to buy is that good – the coverage is usually not that expensive, and it acts differently than health insurance coverage]. Be that as it may, you may not have purchased the coverage. Further you may not realize that you don’t have the coverage until after an accident.
It is also true that your settlement in a Nevada personal injury claim may be increased substantially if you had Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Coverage on your policy. However you may not have purchased it, or may not have realized that you didn’t purchase it.
If you did not sign waivers of these coverages on a form approved by the Nevada Insurance Commission you may still benefit from the coverage. The insurance company must offer these coverages to you in writing, and you must decline to accept the offer in writing. Otherwise, you will be afforded the benefit after an accident, even though you did not pay the premium.
Many times the insurance company includes the waiver within the application form and the insured signs the waiver as part of the application form. Many times, but not always.
In numerous instances I have obtained these benefits for my client, in particular medical payments, as a result of an oversight by the insurance agent during the application process.