Legal Question in Insurance Law in New York

What to do if there is an excess judgment

This question or a variation is one of the most frequently asked. I wish people would look at the old answers. Generally the insurance company will settle the case if there is a chance of an excess verdict. They have a duty to do this and

unless the injuries are very bad and you only have a minimum policy, you need to let them fight the case to verdict first.

Your daughter's bank accounts would not be subject to a judgment against you.

And if that did happen, an excess judgment against you, the most frequent

means of relief is filing for bankruptcy protection. The judgment becomes a debtor of your estate along with all your other creditors. This is one of the reasons people accept settlements. This is also a good reason to carry more insurance.

Re: damage over insurance policy limit

I assume the accident is of recent vintage and you have insurance. Maybe not a great deal of insurance, but you have insurance. That means the insurance company will defend you in the lawsuit. The outcome, if it is bad, is years away. Based on what you say about the case, it is likely that the case will settle due to comparative negligence on the part of the other driver, and within the policy limits. There is no reason to expect that your daughter is at risk unless she owns the car or was driving.

As a practical matter, if your insurance company were to tell the plaintiff's lawyer, here, our driver has a legal minimum policy, so take the $35K ($25 + $10 property) and go away, it's substantially certain they would take it. Plaintiff's lawyers are in business to make money, and that does NOT include going after peoples' bank accounts and wages. If the insurance company does not tender the policy limits in a significant case, the insurance company can get sued for "bad faith." The plaintiff will handle that aspect of the case, so don't sweat that, either.

Happy New Year and don't be such a worry-wart.