When a personal injury lawyer files a claim against a defendant, the ideal and most common scenario is the defendant has insurance. However, sometimes you aren't always quite so lucky. You might occasionally run into defendants that are self-insured. What does this mean, and how does the claims process work?

Uninsured vs. Self-Insured

It's worth understanding the difference between uninsured and self-insured defendants. Both do not have insurance coverage for common forms of liability. An uninsured defendant, though, hasn't planned at all to pay claims. Conversely, a self-insured defendant has. More importantly, they usually maintain funds specifically to address liability claims.

The typical uninsured defendant is a homeowner who doesn't have insurance or never thought they would need it. A personal injury lawyer does still have options for dealing with these folks, but filing an insurance claim isn't one of them.

Self-insured defendants, on the other hand, essentially act as their own insurance companies. Many large corporations do this because it's just cheaper. Also, some enterprises involved in dangerous industries are simply not insurable because no insurance company will take on their risk. The businesses save what they would have otherwise spent on premiums in anticipation that one day they might be liable for someone's injuries.

Filing a Claim

Notably, most self-insured defendants have some form of the standard claims process. Again, these are typically big enterprises with significant money or assets. Consequently, they often do the same things most insurers would do, especially appointing claims adjusters to investigate cases. Also, some have accountants and lawyers who may review claims, pull numbers from actuarial tables, and settle claims.

With these defendants, a personal injury attorney largely proceeds as they would with an insurance company. Your lawyer will collect information about your injuries based on police and fire department reports, doctor's exams, scans, and expert opinions.

When your attorney believes they have a good idea of what your long-term prognosis is, they'll send a demand letter to the defendant. This is one of the most notable differences between claims involving the insured versus the self-insured. With an insured defendant, they would pass the claim along to their policy provider. A self-insured defendant has an internal process for processing claims.

Presuming the defendant's appointed agents conclude the claim is valid, they should make a settlement offer. If you and your attorney are happy with it, they'll set up a payment process. For smaller claims, this might be a lump sum. Defendants often pay bigger claims as structured settlements using annuities.

If you're unhappy with the offer, your counsel will try to negotiate. When negotiations fail, the remaining option is to sue.

Keep these tips in mind when talking with a local personal injury lawyer near you.