39
votes
Why does the U.S. have much higher litigation cost than other countries?
Litigation Costs v. Liability Insurance Cost
It is worth noting that what the Institute for Legal Reform, a tort reform lobbying group, is stating, is not that the U.S. has "higher litigation ...
- 240k
37
votes
Accepted
What happens when an insurance company cannot pay insurance because of natural circumstances?
It goes bankrupt
It happens constantly; 10 per year is the typical number of insurance company bankruptcies in the USA, but it did hit 50 per year in the 1990s.
Typically, these bankruptcies are due ...
- 227k
36
votes
Accepted
Can an insurance company drop you after receiving a bill and refusing to pay?
If you were on your parents policy with the understanding you were a student in college, then yes, they can drop you and refuse to pay. You need to read the terms of the insurance very carefully, ...
- 9,245
32
votes
Accepted
How to mitigate the risk of getting sued by clients (web dev contracting)
Nothing gives you complete protection. You can (and should) have artfully drawn contracts with disclaimers and indemnification, but if the counterparties decline to comply with the contracts you may ...
- 22.1k
28
votes
Accepted
A car catches fire in a carpark. The resulting fire spreads destroying the entire carpark. Who is liable?
In General
The insurer is never primarily liable for anything. Someone who may or may not have insurance is responsible.
A person harmed can't sue somebody else's insurance company (except in the rare ...
- 240k
25
votes
Accepted
Can earthquake insurance companies legally ask about "Other Insurance"?
Is there anything legally non-monopolistic about the CEA clause quoted above?
Yes. The clause is not monopolistic at all, since it is not prohibiting you to purchase or retain policies from elsewhere....
- 45.5k
24
votes
Is it legal to file two insurance claims for the same loss?
Assuming that both policies actually cover the loss, this is called “double insurance.” Generally speaking, you can claim against both insurers, but you can only recover the loss once. See my answer ...
- 9,356
23
votes
How can one be compensated for loss caused negligently by someone who dies in the process?
united-states
Dead people can't be charged with crimes.
The estates of dead people can be sued for personal injuries that they caused during their life. The executor of the estate defends the lawsuit. ...
- 240k
20
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to discriminate on marital status for car insurance/pensions etc.?
The UK is no longer an EU member and is able to depart from EU Directives (although in this case that hasn't happened, yet).
The Act here is UK law, the Equality Act 2010
The particular areas to ...
- 476
18
votes
Can earthquake insurance companies legally ask about "Other Insurance"?
Insurance is not gambling
Insurance covers your loss. Insuring with multiple insurers does not entitle you to make a profit.
This has been a fundamental part of general insurance law from the ...
- 227k
15
votes
Mistake on car insurance policy about use of car (commuting/social)
united-kingdom
It's likely that your policy documents say you must tell the insurer if any information is incorrect.
Immediately tell an insurer about any mistakes in the policy. In such circumstances ...
- 19.3k
14
votes
Accepted
If involved in an accident, while uninsured, for which the other driver is insured, can the other insurance company turn them in?
Threatening to report the uninsured driver to avoid payment would be blackmail and illegal / criminal. As a result, they are not going to do this. Reporting the uninsured driver on the other hand is ...
- 35.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Home ownership burden of insurance in Scotland
You actually have a statutory duty to have insurance when you own one of the flats in a tenement. It's possible that the title condition goes beyond this requirement in some way, but there is still a ...
- 8,512
11
votes
How to mitigate the risk of getting sued by clients (web dev contracting)
You can never prevent someone suing you
Your contract with your client is about risk allocation - who assumes the risk and who pays for the risk.
In general, the least cost solution for everybody ...
- 227k
11
votes
Accepted
United States: Can an insurance company sell a policy that pays fines and costs incurred by the policyholder knowingly breaking the law?
Insurance is regulated at the state rather than the federal level in the United States, and the terms of individual insurance contracts also matter.
Most states prohibit insurance of intentional ...
- 240k
11
votes
Accepted
I am being threatened by a company to pay a disputed liability NOW or face additional Solicitor costs
Issues in the question
In Australia, any civil claim below $10,000 is considered a small claim
This depends on the State or Territory involved. In three the limit is $25,000, not $10,000. In only ...
- 115k
11
votes
What happens if an insurance company does not mention a critical clause of a policy during a telephone purchase?
In any sane jurisdiction, the clause would hold.
By and large, the legal fiction is that one has read and agreed to execute the entirety of the contracts they signed. If it was otherwise, no contract ...
- 1,489
11
votes
Has, or could, a state or city become a group insurer under federal law?
It is legal. Vermont tried it. They ended up abandoning the project because it would have required a tremendous tax increase.
- 3,321
10
votes
Can an insurance company drop you after receiving a bill and refusing to pay?
You contracted for the services so the debt is yours. Even if the insurance company were legally obligated to pay, that does not shift the obligation from you to the insurance company. The dentist ...
- 217k
10
votes
Is it legal to discriminate on marital status for car insurance/pensions etc.?
I assume [the ECJ ruling] is based on discrimination law, of which gender is only one of a list of protected characteristics.
This is incorrect. The ECJ does not interpret or enforce UK national law, ...
- 2,709
9
votes
Accepted
Insurance - Forced to call for cancellation
Such a right would only exist if the legislature has created it by some act. Insurance is excluded under the class of covered contracts under The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations ...
- 217k
9
votes
Accepted
Public liability in the UK during building works on house
No one is required to have Public Liability Insurance
If a contractor (or householder) wants PL insurance they are free to take it out but there is no legal requirement to do so.
There may be ...
- 227k
9
votes
What happens if an insurance company does not mention a critical clause of a policy during a telephone purchase?
Aside from what others have mentioned, there are a few more barriers to you making a successful claim due to not having been able to read the contract yet.
First is what is reasonable and customary in ...
7
votes
What if persons involved in the accident with the same Insurance company?
You have been told that the other person's insurance may not be valid. Why it may not doesn't really matter, perhaps the other person didn't pay premiums or lied on an application. So the situation is ...
- 115k
7
votes
Life insurance and taxes: Does a sole beneficiary need to tell other heirs? (Utah)
NO
In most cases there is no tax owed by the beneficiary and it has, in any case, nothing to do with the estate.
- 13.3k
7
votes
broker cancelled life insurance policy without authorization
We are tying to determine what an acceptable compensation would be
It mostly depends on whether the acts and representations by the broker caused you to pay in excess and/or have made it more ...
- 45.5k
7
votes
Has, or could, a state or city become a group insurer under federal law?
Analogous programs
This is essentially how the the insurance policies offered on Obamacare (a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act) insurance exchanges for people seeking non-employer plans work. In Colorado, ...
- 240k
7
votes
How can one be compensated for loss caused negligently by someone who dies in the process?
australia
The lifetime care needs of anyone injured in a motor vehicle accident are covered by the state or territory compulsory third-party personal injury policy, commonly called a green slip, ...
- 227k
6
votes
Is there a reason not to use liability insurance?
She damaged you - your beef is with her.
If she has insurance, the choice of is she wants to claim or not is up to her. She is not obliged to make a claim and probably not obliged to tell her insurer ...
- 227k
6
votes
What would be the fastest way to sue someone in a traffic accident? Post Accident Legal Strategies
Short answer
The general approach and attitude that you propose is a horrible one that would bring an unfavorable result. It would add many months or years to the time when the case would mostly ...
- 240k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible