Insurance companies are required by law to meet their obligations. Still, each company has the ability to limit the extent of those same obligations. The existence of an official paper, one that is known as a release, highlights the role of specific limiting factors.
What is a release?
It is a signed, legal document. It acknowledges the existence of an agreement. The person that has signed the release has agreed to forego the chance to pursue a lawsuit. By foregoing that right, the person signing the release allows both parties to move on, and to focus on other issues.
Insurance companies do not want their former claimants to seek compensation for new symptoms. A release’s signing removes the legal basis for a claim against an insurer, in the event that a claimant’s formerly treated injury suddenly fairs up.
Considerations to make before signing any releases
Consult with your own insurance company; get that company’s OK. The willingness of a policyholder to consult with the representative for the appropriate insurer becomes especially important if the purchased policy includes underinsured motorist coverage. Be sure that you are clear on the agreed-upon settlement amount. In fact, the insurance adjuster should provide the designated claimant with a paper that gives the agreed-upon amount for the settlement.
Be certain that you understand the details of the settlement payment. Check to see how the delivery of the payment is to be made. Is the claimant supposed to receive a lump sum, or is delivery of a series of small payments supposed to equal the size of the promised compensation?
Try to obtain confirmation of the fact that the insurance company’s bank account contains enough money to cover the size of the promised payment. Sometimes an insurer fails to deliver a promised compensation because the insurer’s company has gone bankrupt.
Actions to take before signing any releases
Check to see what accident-related injuries are covered, once the release has been signed. Make sure that the payment covers the total cost for all of the medical expenses. Arrange to have the release reviewed by a Personal Injury Lawyer in Mississauga as they can understand the legal language that gets used in various releases. Someone without a lawyer’s training could miss the mention of a significant fact. If that were to happen, a claimant might learn too late about the absence of what was supposed to be a fair and just settlement.
Make sure that no one else could be held responsible for the injury-causing accident. Someone that had been driving a vehicle that got hit by a commercial truck should definitely undertake that specific action. There are many different businesses that might be held responsible for any single, commercial truck accident.
