What Is No-Fault Insurance?
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Sometimes, in an accident, there is no particular person who can be
held responsible. In cases where there is some doubt about where the fault
lies, the solution is no fault insurance, which is a simple way to speed
up the process and reduce expenses for all concerned.
When the blame for an accident is to be laid at your door, you can get
liability insurance to protect you against liability if you cause damage
to persons or property. However, in cases where there is some doubt about
whose fault the accident, long hold ups and increased costs may be the
norm. And those who have been hurt may remain uncompensated for a long
time.
That is where no fault insurance comes in. Here it does
not matter where the blame for the accident is placed, since those involved
will have their medical costs covered by their own insurance carriers.
So all the problems and loss of time loss involved in deciding who is
to blame for a particular accident is done away with.
At the moment, there is no place that has only no fault insurance
covering accidents. There are thirteen states in the U.S. that
have established a partial no fault plan as the norm, and some of them
go in for appended or add-on plans. In such add on plans, there is nothing
to prevent you from claiming liability in an accident, but it is generally
your own carrier who will cover you in case of an accident. The legal
aspects of no fault insurance differ quite widely in different states;
however there are certain things that are covered by most no fault laws.
These are discussed below:
• The insurance carrier will cover issues such as some funeral costs,
medical charges, loss incurred by not earning wages and the expenses involved
in getting others to do your work, such as home chores one cannot do because
of some injury.
• Damage to property is not one of the areas dealt with by no fault coverage;
this would be taken care of in another portion of the coverage.
• No fault insurance coverage does not compensate for pain or trouble
suffered by the victim; such claims can only be made if a case is made.
• Generally speaking, you can only make claims after the costs that are
taken care of by the no fault coverage go beyond a particular limit. Similarly
you are protected from claims by other people involved in the accident
until their expenses go beyond what is covered by their no fault coverage.
Since cases of claims for damages may arise even when no-fault
insurance is the norm, many states insist that vehicle owners
must also get themselves adequate liability coverage.
There are types of add-on no fault insurance where the victim can claim
for damages or injury and the general benefits offered are almost as comprehensive
as a pure no fault insurance
plan.
