If you are like most Minnesotans, you don’t want to sue anyone. Even when you have been the victim of an accident, where you did nothing wrong, and someone else was entirely at fault.
But did you know that insurance companies are required by law to set aside money to pay you for your injuries? This money set aside is called a ‘reserve’. Federal trade regulations require insurance companies to place money is a separate account to pay claimants for their injuries.
In fact, in most cases, no lawsuit is necessary to obtain a settlement on the claim. It is simply a claim that is made with the reserve in mind. It is no different than, for instance, a claim for damage to your home from a fallen tree.
Obviously, the claim can turn into a lawsuit if there is no agreement on the claim. But the fact is, less than 10% of claims ever go to trial. And 90% or more are resolved outside of court.
Knutson+Casey can help you make an insurance claim for the reserve, and help keep you out of court.
Reserves are money put aside to fund the insurance company’s legal obligations to pay a claim. These obligations typically appear in the insurance company’s profit and loss statement and other financial documents.
A reserve is basically an estimate of the future cost of that claim. The responsibility for setting a reserve on a claim is within the insurance companies claim department, or an individual claims adjuster.
It is the responsibility of the person setting the reserve to analyze the claim, and arrive at an estimate and evaluation of the value of the claim. The evaluation is a calculation of the estimated future cost of the individual claim. The responsibility for setting reserves is important to the financial well-being and security of the insurance company.
It is important to hire an attorney immediately after an accident, so that the attorney can work with the adjuster and insurance company to set an adequate reserve. If the reserve is set too low, it can become hard to obtain a claim settlement greater than the reserve, at a later date. Knutson+Casey strives to get the information necessary to the insurance company to set aside an adequate reserve at the beginning of the claim, so that the claim may be resolved early on.
Knutson and Casey Expert Legal Team
October 26, 2021
At Knutson+Casey, we take the time to understand each distinctive matter presented to us by a client in need of assistance. We make certain that our clients understand their options and can make informed decisions regarding the progress of their cases. We have 4 bar certified attorneys as well as 5 expert paralegals on staff to review all legal information and cases presented.