I tapped someone at like 5mph and now I'm terrified they'll come after my house

Not legal advice, but I'll give you some context. In a genuinely low-speed impact with no objective evidence of injury — no ER visit that night, no ambulance, no diagnostic imaging showing anything — it's very hard to get a large verdict. Plaintiff attorneys take cases on contingency and they're doing math too. Spending trial resources to chase a speculative excess judgment on a fender-bender is a losing business decision for them in most cases. That said, if you're seriously worried about asset exposure, it might be worth a one-time consult with your own personal attorney (separate from your insurer's) just to understand your options. Some people in high-asset situations look into things like homestead exemptions or other protections depending on their state. Again — not legal advice, just things worth asking about.

From a medical standpoint, soft tissue injuries from low-speed impacts can be real but they're also hard to prove objectively. A lot of claims in these situations involve things like neck soreness or headaches that resolve in a few weeks and don't show up on imaging. That doesn't mean the person is faking — it just means the medical picture usually doesn't support catastrophic damages. If there's no ER visit, no MRI findings, no ongoing treatment — that matters a lot when someone is trying to establish the severity of an injury.

I was the at-fault driver in a low-speed parking lot thing a couple years ago and got the same attorney letter about two weeks later. Panic mode. My insurer handled every single communication and it settled without me writing a check or signing anything beyond basic paperwork. I know that's not a guarantee for you, but it's way more common than the horror stories online suggest. The horror stories get shared; the boring "it just resolved" stories don't.

Ugh, I really feel for you. The gap between "I barely tapped someone" and "now there's an attorney involved" is such a jarring jump. It sounds like you're handling it responsibly though — you have good coverage, you're paying attention, and you're not just burying your head. That counts for something. Hoping this just quietly resolves for you.

Stop reading excess judgment horror stories at 2am. Seriously. You're catastrophizing a fender-bender into losing your house and it's not serving you. Let your insurer do their job, document everything you remember about the accident while it's fresh, and if it would genuinely help your anxiety, pay for one hour with a personal injury defense attorney just to hear a real professional assess YOUR specific situation. One consult fee is worth more than a hundred Reddit spirals.

I worked claims for years. Here's the honest inside view: attorneys send those letters on basically every file they pick up — it's a form letter half the time. It doesn't mean they're planning to go to trial or that they think you're a whale worth hunting. What they usually want is a quick, clean settlement within policy limits so they can collect their fee and move on. A 5mph scuff with a healthy-looking driver at scene is not a case most plaintiff firms are going to bet years of litigation on.

The thing that changes the calculus is if the other driver develops a documented, serious injury — herniated disc, surgery, that kind of thing. That's worth watching over the next few months. But based on what you described, you're most likely in the boring-outcome category.

To answer your specific questions as best I can from a process standpoint: asset discovery typically happens after a lawsuit is filed and in formal discovery — not before. Pre-suit, they're mostly working off general knowledge and public records (like whether you own property). If your insurer settles within your policy limits and gets a proper release signed, that release should protect you personally — that's literally the point of it. Whether your impact profile makes excess pursuit less likely... yes, generally speaking, the smaller and less documented the injury, the less likely anyone is chasing personal assets. But definitely loop in your own attorney if you want eyes specifically on your situation.

One thing worth knowing: your own insurer's rep is NOT your lawyer. Their job is to protect the company's money, not yours. If a settlement offer comes in right at your policy limit, they have a financial incentive to take it — but if they mishandle negotiations and a verdict comes in above your limit, you could be exposed. Some states have laws about insurers acting in "bad faith" in exactly that scenario. Just be aware of whose side that rep is actually on.