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New DC Law Protects Claimants

April 10, 2006 by Jonathan Stein

First, what is a claimant? A claimant is someone making a claim against another person’s insurance company. So, if Bill Smith injures Mike Jones, than Mike is the claimant.

Second, what does this new law do? Well, here is the text:

“(d)(1) If a person involved in an automobile accident, or his parent or guardian, executes, within 21 days of a motor vehicle accident, a release of liability, without the assistance or guidance of legal counsel, pursuant to the settlement of a claim for personal injury, that person or his parent or guardian may void the release; provided, that the insurance carrier or other settling party receives written notice of the intent to void the release within 14 days of the date that the release was executed, and the written notice is accompanied by any check or settlement proceeds related to the claim for personal injury that had been delivered to the claimant.”

Okay, let me translate. If the insurance company gets a claimant to sign a release and settle the claim within 21 days after the accident, then this bill would allow the claimant to get out of the settlement. Why does this matter? In the first 21 days after the accident, you are most vulnerable to settling your case for a small sum. Thus, this gives you three weeks and would require the insurers to either risk you voiding the settlement in the next 14 days or wait until you have had a reasonable amount of time to review your options before settling.

This is a great idea and I would love to see it expanded!

Categories: Auto Insurance, Claims, Law

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