Esurance says that they want to make your claim experience as simple and smooth as possible. However, in Florida, they have a reputation for being below average when paying injury claims.
This means that you are more likely to need to sue Esurance (in a Florida injury case) than many other insurers. This assumes that you want to get fair value for your injury case.
Expect Esurance to assign less money to the pain and suffering component of your claim.
Example
Mike is driving a car. He rear ends John, who is driving another car. Esurance insures John.
Mike is diagnosed with a herniated disc. In Florida, assume that the full value of the pain and suffering component of a herniated disc is $25,000 to $50,000. This is only to be used as a starting point.
Esurance may assign $25,000 or less to the pain and suffering component of this claim. This is because they are a slightly below average insurer. In Florida, in this scenario, a doctor will need to say that Mike has a permanent injury in order for him to recover damages.
Colossus, Coverage and more
Esurance uses Colossus “as one factor in their offer” in a Florida injury case. Colossus is computer software that helps them give a settlement range for an injury case.
Esurance is less likely to exclude coverage if its insured failed to notify Esurance of all resident relatives at the time of they applied for the policy.
Esurance is not the worst Florida insurer, but they do have a reputation for paying below average. This comes as no surprise as Esurance is an Allstate company.
Allstate pays Florida injury claims way below average.
What to do if you are in a Florida car accident involving Esurance
Move the vehicles to a safe place
If it is safe to do and you are not badly hurt, take pictures of the damage to all vehicles involved in the crash. Then move the vehicles to a safe place.
Turn on your hazards
You do not want to be involved in a second accident. Turn on your hazards or warning lights if you have them. This may reduce your liability if another car were to crash into you.
Call 9-1-1
Call 9-1-1. A 9-1-1 call may help your case. Take an ambulance to the hospital if you feel the need.
Get Medical Treatment
If someone’s carelessness caused your injury, the full value of your injury case may be larger if you initially go to the hospital instead of a doctor. However, do what is best for your health.
There is never a guarantee that you get money for your Florida injury case. If you have neck pain, back pain, a broken bone or injury to a muscle, get treatment with an orthopedic doctor.
Medical doctors have more credibility than chiropractors with jurors. Treat with a medical doctor.
Call the police to the crash scene
Always call the police. You should do this even if the crash is minor. One of the first things Esurance will ask you is whether police were called to the scene.
You want to be able to quickly send Esurance a police report. Never admit fault. I have seen situations where my client did nothing wrong, yet he admitted fault to the other driver.
Do not sign any papers that the other driver gives you. I often see that truck drivers try to get the other driver to complete an accident report.
I have had clients who were given a statement form from the other driver. In some of these statement forms, my clients admitted fault. Do not do this.
The police will write on the crash report who they think is at fault. However, they are not always right. Make sure that you understand Florida motor vehicle accident law before assuming that the police officer’s fault assessment is right.
Write down important information
Write down important info like:
- The names of the other driver and passenger(s)
- Name and badge number of any police officers
- Exact location of the accident
- Contact info for any witnesses
- Insurance information of all drivers involved
- Type of all vehicles involved
Accurately document the scene
Accident scenes change through time. So your best chance to document the scene is immediately after the accident. If you are too badly injured to document the scene right after the crash, go back to the scene as soon as possible.
You should also:
- Take pictures of the entire accident scene from multiple angles
- Take pictures of any skid marks
- Take pictures of any obstructed views which may have caused the crash
- Take pictures of any “red light cameras” that may have captured the crash
- Look for any business surveillance cameras that may have recorded the accident
Make your auto insurance claim with Esurance
You can call Esurance at 1-800-ESURANCE (1-800-738-7262). If you are an Esurance customer, you can make an online claim.
Esurance also has an app through which you can make your injury claim.
Warning!
Be sure that you understand Florida auto accident law before calling Esurance. Their insurance adjusters are trained professionals. They know the exact questions to ask you to deny coverage or limit their liability.
Esurance claims adjusters handle claims forty hours a week. Maybe of them have worked for Esurance for many years. They are most likely more experienced than you at handling injury claims.
Third party car insurance claims against Esurance
You may be in a Florida car accident. It was the other driver’s fault. In Florida, the at fault driver’s insurance is generally responsible for paying some of your medical bills.
If your carelessness did not cause the crash, your auto insurance rates generally with stay the same.
Figuring out who is at fault at the crash scene
The police generally get it right, but not always. One of the many nice things about the police issuing a crash report is that it may include a diagram showing how the crash happened.
The police may also include the other driver’s statement of how the accident happened. This may be used, but only to a judge at hearing, if the careless driver changes her story as to how the accident occurred.
Florida is a no-fault state. This means that the careless driver’s insurer is generally not be responsible for a large portion of your medical expenses and lost wages.
The other driver is usually responsible for, at least, some of your medical expenses and lost wages. However, there are exceptions for motorcyclists, non-resident pedestrians, taxi and many other situations.
In Florida, your personal injury protection coverage (PIP) generally pays up to $10,000 of your medical expenses and lost wages. PIP may also pay medical expenses for your passengers. This is true even if you were at fault.
A personal injury claim against the at fault driver is known as a third-party insurance claim. This is because you are not a party to the other driver’s contract.
Making a third party injury claim with Esurance
When you make a third party claim against Esurance, keep in mind that their duty to act in good faith is to their insured. You are not their insured. Esurance does not owe you a duty to act in good faith.
Many Esurance adjusters are friendly. However, do not mistake friendliness for fair. An Esurance adjuster is likely to think that his or her offer is fair even though it is on the low end (or below) your injury claim’s fair value.
When calling an Esurance adjuster in a third party claim, do NOT give a recorded statement. You are not required to give one.
Let the third party adjuster know about your injuries as soon as possible. This includes sending the Esurance adjuster all of your medical information.
Medical information includes hospital/doctor records and bills, X-RAYS, CT scans, MRIs and more.
Why third party injury claims may take longer
It may take longer to get a third party settlement because the Esurance adjuster needs to speak with their insured to see get his or her version of the accident.
Low Bodily Injury Limits
Esurance mainly insures private passenger auto vehicles in Florida. Expect the bodily injury (“BI”) liability coverage on the policy to be low, though there are exceptions.
After handling Florida car accident cases for close to twelve years, I have no expectation that the careless driver will have BI liability coverage.
I believe that most Esurance policies in Florida will have at least $10,000 BI coverage. Unfortunately, in Florida there is no requirement to have any BI on a private passenger vehicle.
Florida Private Passenger Auto Insurance
When it comes to market share for Florida Private Passenger Auto Insurance, Esurance is not one of the top 15 insurers for liability, No Fault or physical damage.
However, per the 2014 FLOIR Annual Report, Esurance Property & Casualty Insurance Company had premiums of $190,254,326. They had 1.35% market share.
Esurance offers insurance on different names in Florida.
Esurance Insurance Company had premiums of $34,347,017. Esurance has a complaint index of 2.45, which is a bad sign for injured people. It means that they receive proportionately more consumer complaints than the average Florida private passenger car insurer.
It seems to me that all, or almost all, of Esurance businesses in Florida is insuring private passenger cars.
Which Florida private passenger auto liability insurers have more market share than Esurance?
- State Farm
- GEICO
- Progressive
- Allstate
- United States Automobile Association (USAA)
- Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company
- Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois (A Liberty Mutual Company)
- 21st Century Centennial Insurance Company (part of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies)
- Infinity Insurance Company
Did someone’s carelessness cause your injury in a Florida car crash or other type of accident?
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