The $500 or $1,000 deductibles are for actual repairs done or proposed to be done to your vehicle. The $36,000 deductible is requested and approved by the FSCO, which regulates insurance in the province. This deductible isn't widely spoken of, because the ONLY people who "pay" it are those who are injured and make a claim.
I learned of it, when I spoke to my lawyer, at our very first meeting 2.5 years ago. It is yet again another symptom of the governments "promise" to lower insurance premiums, so they raise the deductible meaning the insurer pays out less. It also cuts down on people suing just to see if they "can make any money" IE sue for $50,000 without any real injuries to substantiate, a settlement.
Two things that sound alarm bells for me with the OPS story. You say your accident was only a year ago and your lawyer is already settling? Normally, "good" firms don't even file your suit against the other party until just before the 2 year limitation. They do this in the event your injuries get worst. I know I thought that is crap BUT 18 months after my collision, suddenly one of my fingers began to curl and stiffened at one of the joints. There was NO sign of injury until this began and it is directly attributable to my collision.
I can tell everyone here, (having spoken to more than one firm before I settled on one of them), the 30 - 35% is pretty standard. ALL costs, Photocopies, couriers, process servers, etc etc etc, are then tacked ON TOP of that 30 - 35%. So the second point of concern in the story is if they are settling within a year, without a lawsuit being filed etc, then the costs should be relatively low. I know my costs are already north of $10,000, but it has been 2+ years of battling the insurer to get my treatment plans approved etc.
OP when you said you didn't know if your treatment provider's, (physio and Chiro), had been paid, it sounds like you really didn't do ANYTHING on your claim but just relied upon the lawyer to do everything for you. You would have had to sign the treatment plans and your insurer, (once treatment is approved) is required to mail you a copy of the treatment plans. So either you got these and didn't pay attention to what you were getting or your insurer sent them only to your lawyer, (they are supposed to provide copies to your lawyer AND to you). Seems like you just let everyone else do the work for you and you didn't follow up at all to protect your interests, (just because you have a lawyer, you still need to monitor everything, YOU are your own best advocate, I have never spoken to my adjuster on my second claim, I leave it to the lawyer to do it all, BUT I follow up with emails, and ask the lawyer to explain if I don't understand anything).
i am also aware that I have the $36,000 deductible to deal with so we are suing for an amount which will take these "expenses" into account. Basically I told the lawyers what I NEED to get as a settlement, in MY pocket. It is then up to them to figure out their cut and settle for that amount.
You can ask the courts, to assess your file and they will give the lawyer a "fair" amount, but not permit them to just rape you. The lawyer must present the court with their full accounting of expenses etc, plus what is and what isn't permitted under the contract you signed. Your FIRST move is to request a copy of the agreement you signed to retain counsel. then see what they are permitted to charge and how these charges are to be calculated. Then ask the lawyer for a full accounting of all expenses, including billable hours etc.
Can someone explain how this deductible works, because it doesn't make sense to me, the way it's currently been explained.
With insurance, I pay my $500 deductible and my vehicle gets repaired in full whether the repair costs are $100 or $10,000. I don't pay my $500 deductible + the cost of repairs.
It would seem that the deductible discussed here is more like a minimum charge to avoid frivolous lawsuits, but then wouldn't the cost be $30,000 dollars or actual cost to represent, whichever is higher, up to a capped % of settlement? I must be missing something.
