Admit Details

Admit is an insurance term used to accept liability. In many cases, the auto insurance industry uses the term admit when an insurer is involved in or caused a collision or bodily injury. When an incident occurs, the insurance company looks at all damages and injury in conjunction with outside factors. If it is proven that the policyholder was, in fact, at fault, then the insurance company admits liability.

From this point, several things can happen. The insurance policy typically covers any or all damages incurred at the time of the incident. However, personal injury is significantly different. If a person outside of the insurer's policy is injured, the injured party now has to prove that the incident caused the injury. This may prove challenging to do.

An insurance adjuster considers many factors when deciding whether to cover the injury in question. Some of these factors may include the length of time between the incident and seeking treatment or pre-existing conditions. In many cases, proving personal injury is difficult. This may lead to a settlement or coverage less than that of the expenses incurred to the injured party due to the incident.

Example of Admit

Joe and Sally were in an automobile accident. Joe had been driving down a busy road and came to an intersection. Joe needed to make a left-hand turn. However, the light had turned yellow. Because Joe was running late, he decided to rush the light. In doing so, he collided with the driver's side door of Sally's vehicle.

During this collision, Sally hit her head on her driver's side window. Sally was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where she underwent several medical tests and procedures. It was here that Sally was diagnosed with a concussion. Once Joe and Sally both were safely home, Joe's insurance company reached out to both parties. After going over the details of the crash and reading the police report, Joe's insurance company admitted liability for Sally's vehicular damages.

However, Sally was unhappy with Joe's insurance company as they refused to cover her ongoing treatment for post-concussion syndrome. The insurance adjuster assigned to the case decided that Sally could not prove that the collision caused the ongoing medical issues because she had a history of migraines. After a long battle with Joe's insurance company and several letters from Sally's doctor, Sally was able to be fully covered for all medical expenses related to the collision.

Admit vs. Deny

In some cases, an insurer may not admit to liability. In that case, the insurer would be denying liability. The individual seeking damages may choose to drop the claim or to pursue a trial. Most often, a settlement is not offered in the case of a denial. It is at this trial that the claimant must prove that the other party is indeed at fault. However, in some cases, the insurance company in question may be required by law to deny the liability.