When the Judgment Exceeds Your Coverage
Learning that a judgment is larger than your insurance is frightening, and the instinct is to deal with the judgment. The more important question is how the case got there.
The exposure may not be yours to carry
If your insurer had the chance to settle within your limits and unreasonably passed it up, the excess it created may be its responsibility rather than yours. That is the entire basis of the claim, and it turns on what happened before the verdict rather than on the verdict itself.
What to gather immediately
Every settlement demand and the insurer's response. The correspondence from assigned defense counsel. Any reservation-of-rights letter. Anything you were told, or not told, about exposure above the limits. This is the record of how the decision not to settle was made.
Two clocks run at once
Post-judgment deadlines — appeal periods, enforcement timelines — run on their own schedule, separate from any claim against the insurer. Both need attention immediately, and the first is usually the shorter.
What you can do about it depends on your state
This describes the denial itself, which works much the same everywhere. Whether you can sue under a statute, what you can recover, and how long you have differ sharply — choose the state where your policy was issued.
Common questions
Am I personally liable for the excess?
Potentially, but if your insurer unreasonably refused a within-limits settlement, that exposure may be its responsibility. Get the settlement correspondence reviewed quickly.
Should I negotiate with the judgment creditor myself?
Not without advice. How an excess judgment is resolved can affect the claim against your insurer, including whether it can be assigned.
Is this what happened to you?
A free, confidential review can tell you whether the denial holds up — no cost, no obligation.
Other reasons claims get denied
General information, not legal advice. Insurance law differs by state and every policy is different.