If you are injured in a car wreck in South Carolina, you may wonder if it’s possible to figure out how much insurance coverage an at-fault driver has. Fortunately, in South Carolina, after a car wreck, your lawyer will be able to help you figure out how much insurance coverage there is available from an at-fault driver.
The South Carolina legislature protects injured people by requiring insurance companies to say how much insurance an at-fault driver has. As of November 3, 2023, S.C. Code § 38-77-250 reads as follows:
“(A)Every insurer providing automobile insurance coverage in this State and which is or may be liable to pay all or a part of any claim shall provide, within thirty days of receiving a written request from the claimant’s attorney, a statement, under oath, of a corporate officer or the insurer’s claims manager stating with regard to each known policy of nonfleet private passenger insurance issued by it, the name of the insurer, the name of each insured, and the limits of coverage. The insurer may provide a copy of the declaration page of each such policy in lieu of providing such information. The request shall set forth under oath the specific nature of the claim asserted and shall be mailed to the insurer by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. The request also must state that the attorney is authorized to make such a request and must be accompanied by a copy of the incident report from which the claim is derived.(B)If the request provided in subsection (A) contains information insufficient to allow compliance, the insurer upon whom the request was made may so state in writing, stating specifically what additional information is needed and such compliance shall constitute compliance with this section.(C)The information provided to a claimant or his attorney as required by subsection (A) of this section shall not create a waiver of any defenses to coverage available to the insurer and shall not be admissible in evidence.(D)The information provided to a claimant or his attorney as required by subsection (A) shall be amended upon the discovery of facts inconsistent with or in addition to the information provided.(E)The provisions of this section do not require disclosure of limits for fleet policy limits, umbrella coverages, or excess coverages.(F)The information received pursuant to this section is confidential and must not be disclosed to any outside party. Upon final disposition of the case, the claimant’s attorney must destroy all information received pursuant to this section. The court must impose sanctions for a violation of this subsection.”
This is critical information for you and your attorney. This information will allow you to evaluate any settlement offers you might receive about a case. If you have a catastrophic injury, but you know that the defendant driver only has minimum liability coverage limits, then it may make sense to quickly accept a policy limits offer for a fairly low amount of money. On the other hand, if you have the same injuries, but the at-fault driver has a high limit policy, you may want to wait until you receive a more fair offer on your case before you settle. Additionally, the policy information may cause you to make the decision to take your case to a jury trial so that a jury can give you an appropriate verdict based on the evidence presented.
An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you get the insurance information you need to properly evaluate your case. Every case is unique and having a lawyer who understands these issues can help you as you work to resolve your case.
