Three Legal Mistakes That Can Cost You Your Home - or More
Nearly all insurance policies require you to inform the company of a lawsuit, or even an anticipated claim, “as soon as practicable.” The courts have generally interpreted this provision as requiring that the insurer be given written notice of the claim within 30 days; otherwise, the insurer may correctly deny your claim. In order to best protect your interests, I suggest that you forward the insurer a copy of the suit papers both by fax (so you have a fax confirmation sheet) and by certified mail, return receipt requested to head off any claim by the insurer that they did not receive timely notice of the claim.
For a difference of roughly $100-$200 a year, you can probably get an additional $200,000 worth of liability insurance; for roughly $300 a year, you can get a $1 million umbrella policy. Very often, people look to save a few dollars on their insurance, and purchase minimum policies that leave their assets, such as their home and bank accounts exposed. This is pure foolishness. Simply put, at these low prices, you cannot afford not to purchase this additional insurance.
Ignoring the lawsuit will not make it go away – it will only make it far worse. You may not want to spend the money to hire a lawyer to defend your interests (again, this assumes that your insurer is not defending you), but if you don’t, you will end up with a default judgment against you that prevents you from demonstrating that this claim is meritless. Further, you may end up with a judgment that clouds the title to your home, shows up on your credit reports, and the sheriff may levy on your bank accounts.
Tags: accidents, frivolous lawsuits, legal mistakes that can cost you your home, slip and fall, trip and fall