What To Do If the At-fault Driver Has Little or No Insurance
Posted in Accident & Injury on April 8, 2014
Ohio attorney Michael Eisner discusses what to do if you were injured in a car accident by a driver who does not have insurance or only carries very little coverage.
Being involved in a motor vehicle accident can be a very stressful situation as you try to recover from your injuries and resolve financial issues.
What happens if the driver who was at fault for the accident does not have any insurance or only carries the minimum coverage, which does not cover your costs?
To put yourself in the best position possible, you should purchase as much UM/UIM coverage as you can afford.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) was designed to provide a source of recovery when a driver without any insurance causes harm. UM coverage is paid by your insurance company to cover costs incurred due to the accident, subject to policy limits.
Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage will protect you if the at-fault driver has insurance, but not enough to cover your costs. With UIM coverage, your insurance company pays you the damages that you would have recovered had the other driver carried full coverage—also subject to the policy limit. For example, if your injuries incurred a cost of $100,000 dollars and the other driver only holds a $25,000 insurance policy, your own coverage would put in the rest of the money up to the amount of your policy.
Unfortunately, these situations are all too common. There thousands of drivers on the road who are uninsured or underinsured and they cannot cover your losses. These losses can include medical bills, hospital stays, prescription drugs, lost wages and any other costs associated with your injuries.
To recover under any of these types of policies, your attorney will need to present evidence demonstrating the other driver was at fault and that your insurance policy does not cover the complete costs of the injuries that you have suffered. What you’re technically doing at this point is filing a claim against your own insurance policy.
Filing suit against your own insurance company may sound strange. However, it is important to remember that you paid for this coverage to protect you in precisely these types of unfortunate situations. If your insurance company does not respond properly or handle the claim in an appropriate manner, it is your right to pursue the claim in court.
To learn more about personal injury law, I encourage you to watch the video above and to explore our educational website at www.elkandelk.com. If you have legal questions, please call us at 1-800-ELK-OHIO. I welcome your call.