Kentucky Motor Vehicle Reparations Act (MVRA)

In Northern Kentucky, insurance companies are not allowed to indefinitely on a claim without incurring any liability for interest and attorney's fees. Ensuring the timely payment of basic reparation benefits (BRB) is extremely important under the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Reparations Act. The MVRA sets forth strict time frames in which a reparation obligor must pay BRB or must deny payment of BRB. The Act provides the insured with a remedy for “overdue” payments of BRB, including interest and/or attorney's fees.

The MVRA sets forth strict time frames in which a reparation obligor must pay BRB or must deny payment of BRB. The Act provides the insured with a remedy for "overdue payments" of BRB, including interest and/or attorney's fees.

Attorney for MVRA Claims in Northern Kentucky

If you were injured in a car accident in Northern Kentucky, then contact the personal injury attorneys at Steiden Law Offices to discuss your case. We represent the driver, passenger, or pedestrian after a motor vehicle accident in Northern Kentucky from our offices in Covington and Florence, KY.

Under the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Reparations Act, an out-of-state insured involved in a motor vehicle accident in Kentucky is statutorily entitled to the minimum amount ($10,000) of basic reparation benefits (BRB) if the insurer is an insurance company registered to do business in Kentucky. KRS 304.39–100(2). If the insurance company is registered to transact business in this Commonwealth of Kentucky, then it is statutorily mandated to provide the minimum coverage of BRB under KRS 304.39–050(2).

If the insurance policy covering the motor vehicle involved in the accident was issued in another state that does not transact business in Kentucky, then the BRB would be unavailable under the insurance policy covering the motor vehicle.

Call us to find out more about your claim under the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Reparations Act and related statutes.

Statutes Contained in the MVRA

The two statutes contained in the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Reparations Act include KRS 304.39–210 and KRS 304.39–220. Those statutes address the timely payment or timely denial of BRB, and the consequences for failure to do so.

KRS 304.39–210 provides, in part:

(1) Basic and added reparation benefits are payable monthly as loss accrues. Loss accrues not when injury occurs, but as work loss, replacement services loss, or medical expense is incurred. Benefits are overdue if not paid within thirty (30) days after the reparation obligor receives reasonable proof of the fact and amount of loss realized, unless the reparation obligor elects to accumulate claims for periods not exceeding thirty-one (31) days after the reparation obligor receives reasonable proof of the fact and amount of loss realized, and pays them within fifteen (15) days after the period of accumulation....

(2) Overdue payments bear interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum, except that if delay was without reasonable foundation the rate of interest shall be eighteen percent (18%) per annum.....

(5) A reparation obligor who rejects a claim for basic reparation benefits shall give to the claimant prompt written notice of the rejection, specifying the reason. If a claim is rejected for a reason other than that the person is not entitled to the basic reparation benefits claimed, the written notice shall inform the claimant that he may file his claim with the assigned claims bureau and shall give the name and address of the bureau.

KRS 304.39–220 reads, in part:

(1) If overdue benefits are recovered in an action against the reparation obligor or paid by the reparation obligor after receipt of notice of the attorney's representation, a reasonable attorney's fee for advising and representing a claimant on a claim or in an action for basic or added reparation benefits may be awarded by the court if the denial or delay was without reasonable foundation. No part of the fee for representing the claimant in connection with these benefits is a charge against benefits otherwise due the claimant.

(2) In any action brought against the insured by the reparation obligor, the court may award the insured's attorney a reasonable attorney's fee for defending the action.

This article was last updated on Friday, October 6, 2017.