Suggestions for the Cerans' insurance issues

It's always nice to see outpourings of support when tragedy strikes, as it did horribly with the Ceran family this week. It sounds as though the Hale Centre Theatre fundraiser went well yesterday, and people are giving freely. We also hope the family is getting advice about their insurance issues. Paul Rolly wrote in the Tribune Friday that the Cerans don't have medical insurance to pay hospital bills. That raised questions in our minds that we hope someone is looking into for the Cerans.

1) Car insurance? If the other driver (Prieto), had it, they will likely accept liability quickly and pay up to their policy limits. (Technically, most health insurance policies limit coverage for car accidents, because those kinds of expenses are supposed to be paid for by car insurance. However, most health insurers usually advance medical expenses, then later try to get their money back from any car insurers involved.) A car insurer's decisions to pay usually are unrelated to criminal charges; in other words, the insurer usually pays immediately without having to await a criminal trial or plea.

2) Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage? If Prieto didn't have liability insurance, or the limits are too low, the Cerans' own car insurance may kick in. Car insurers are required to offer uninsured motorist coverage (although it can be waived, if memory serves). Under UM coverage, the victim's own insurance pays if the other driver did not have liability insurance. Many policies also have related UIM coverage, which kicks in if the other driver had insurance but the policy limits are inadequate.

3) COBRA? If Ceran had group health insurance at his prior employment (which Rolly said ended November 30), and if his prior employer had 20+ employees, Ceran should still be within a 60-day election period to continue his prior health insurance through COBRA. Under COBRA, it can be done retroactively, which usually eliminates gaps in medical coverage.

We don't know the answers to these questions. But since they are time sensitive, we hope someone is helping the Cerans look into them at this difficult time in their lives.