Your case is against the responsible party, notthe insurance company. The insurance company represents the responsible party in court, and is liable to pay the full amount of any award, up to the ceiling of the policy.
the insurance company has the right to offer you any or no funds that it feels is appropriate. they have not committed any actionable offense by offering you less than you feel is warranted. Merely reject the offer, and sue the responsible party.

Find a really good Attorney in Illinois and ask them.

If your own attorney is making that statement then I’d say it’s a pretty sure thing. Otherwise, he’d welcome the opportunity for the additional business representing your family in the case.

But even if it was allowed in Illinois, it’s not the insurance company’s fault, it’s the drunk boater and that’s the one you need to be suing. Geez… I just agreed with an attorney.

You may have misunderstood your lawyer; neverthless, the Insurance company isn’t liable for the accident, the individuals are and all you need do is not accept the "settlement offer" and let the case proceed as normal or until the Insurance Company offers you a settlement you can accept.

This is the case everywhere in the US, not just in Illinois.

You have no relationship with the defendants insurer, only with the defendant himself. If you don’t like the settlement offer, then you turn it down, and sue the boater. It is his insurers responsibility to then defend him at trial and, if he loses, reimburse him for whatever he is ordered to pay.

Even though you ‘appear’ to be dealing with the insurer, you really aren’t – they are merely *representing* the boater, who is the one you have a case against.

Richard

LS: Ask your lawyer or research yourself through verdict databases in your area for verdicts involving same or similar cases and facts. That might help guide your decision on whether or not the offer is reasonable. Remember, there is never enough money to compensate for this kind of loss. The person at fault is the person who caused the death; the insurance company is just responsible to cover him up to the limits of the policy involved. In other words, if all the coverage available was $300K than that is all the insurance company would be obligated to pay in most circumstances if their insured (the at-fault party) was found liable in court up to that extent. This means, if you took the case to trial, got a $1M verdict from a jury; the insurance pays $300K and you have $600K to try and collect from the at-fault party. Bankruptcy would likely follow by this person and collecting nothing is probable. These are never easy cases, life isn’t perfect, but just remember, most other countries in this world don’t have insurance to even cover these losses. Sorry for the loss and good luck.