Legal- Stowers claim due to auto collision

What state are you in

I googled this and it looks like Texas. Never heard of it before.

quote:

---

A Stowers demand is a time-limited offer to settle a personal injury claim made on behalf of an injured party to the insurance company of an at-fault party to an accident to make them choose between settling the case for an amount within the insurance policy limits or facing potential liability for the full amount of any judgment awarded by a jury at trial even if it exceeds the policy limits. A Stowers demand is typically made in writing to document the timing and reasonableness of the opportunity to settle. The letter then forms the basis of future action against the insurance company when their insured has an adverse judgment entered against them.

---

They're basically trying to set your insurance company up for a bad faith claim if they don't settle and you get hit with an excess judgment.

In Louisiana, most plaintiffs end up settling without resorting to seeking an excess judgment. Most. Not all.

If you think the claim is potentially worth more than your policy limits, then you need to express that to the adjuster in writing and indicate your desire to settle and not be hit with an excess. Here it's called a dynamite letter.
Make sure everything is in writing.

Normally, if a plaintiff gets an excess judgment, they try to get you to assign your bad faith claim to them so they can go after the insurer for bad faith and not come after you for excess.

It's a game but a dangerous one for insureds.

Not intended as legal advice but just some background for you to undersand the process and maybe seek counsel just in case.

250k liability + 1M umbrella.

SEEMS unlikely to me that damages get to 1.25M…but also don’t know what their lawyer fees are.

I’m looking at this as a stepping-off point that my insurer is choosing to forego.
While the likelihood of me paying out of pocket seems unlikely, I’m not comfortable taking that risk with (potentially) MY money.

Also, if the demand is actually in excess of your underlying policy, you need to put your umbrella carrier on notice immediately.

Did your insurer send you an excess coverage damages letter yet?

Sounds similar to Georgia. In Georgia, if you make a demand for policy limits and the insurance company refuses to settle, and you go to trial and the jury awards more than policy limits, the insurance company is on the hook for the jury award, not the defendant individually.