If the police investigate the accident, they will inquire into the insurance coverage details for every driver involved. If the at-fault driver does not have coverage, the police will likely inform you of this.
If the police do not investigate your accident in most cases, they should , you should still exchange insurance information with the other driver. If the other driver confesses a lack of insurance coverage, that is your cue to immediately make an uninsured motorist claim on your own auto policy.
The purpose of underinsured motorist coverage is to pay for your medical bills and property damages expenses in the event the at-fault driver does not carry sufficient automobile liability insurance to cover your losses. Essentially, underinsured motorist coverage is designed to fill the gap between what your bills and expenses are following a car accident and the insurance coverage limits that the at-fault driver's policy provides.
In a situation like this, you would need to make an underinsured motorist claim on your own auto policy. Unlike getting in a car accident with an uninsured motorist, it takes time to determine whether you have been in a car accident with an underinsured motorist. You may quickly find out the limits of the at-fault driver's coverage, but it will take time to determine the extent of your claim and where it fits or doesn't within those limits.
It will take time to determine how much medical treatment you will require, how much work you will miss, etc. As soon as you know the at-fault driver is underinsured -- whenever that may mean in your specific circumstances -- you should make your underinsured motorist claim immediately. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to make an uninsured, or underinsured, motorist clam, give notice to your insurance carrier immediately.
Typically, the time for such claims is limited sometimes a policyholder is given as little as 30 days to discover the need for the claim. Since many people who carry these minimum insurance policies do so because they cannot afford more coverage, they rarely have adequate personal resources to contribute to injury settlements or verdicts out of their own assets or income.
The total policy limits must be divided among multiple personal injury claims. Underinsured motorist UIM coverage can help cover this inadequate coverage gap. For the same reasons that uninsured motorist coverage is generally a good thing to purchase as much as we can afford, underinsured motorist coverage is also desirable. This type of coverage directly protects us, our vehicle passengers, and our resident family members from going inadequately compensated when a negligent driver injures one of us in a motor vehicle incident.
If we have uninsured motorist coverage in California, we have underinsured motorist coverage automatically. Unlike uninsured motorist claims, where proving the driver who caused an accident had no insurance can be somewhat challenging, proving the existence of an underinsured motorist claim is relatively simple.
It is typically just a matter of getting confirmation from the liability insurance company of the negligent driver that their policy limits were a specific amount and then showing that that amount has been exhausted — usually with a copy of the settlement check for the total sum.
Both policies must be in your name. Some states, like Connecticut, have exceptions. States such as Georgia offer you a choice. You would make a claim under your uninsured motorist bodily injury UMBI coverage for your medical expenses and your uninsured motorist property damage UMPD coverage, if you have it, for damage to your car. Then you would file a claim with your own car insurance company under your underinsured motorist bodily injury UIMBI to cover additional expenses. Your vehicle is parked in a public parking garage.
In this hit-and-run scenario, you would file a claim under your UMPD coverage if your state allows it. In some states, uninsured motorist coverage will also cover your car damage. But you would most likely need to hire a lawyer and the legal process could be time-consuming.
Uninsured motorist coverage not only pays for your medical expenses, but also for lost wages, pain and suffering and funeral expenses.
Uninsured motorist coverage can also come in handy for benefits like lost wages, and pain and suffering. Jason Metz is a writer who has worked in the insurance industry since He has a B. Select Region. United States. United Kingdom. Jason Metz.
Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. The damage is significant, and the responsible driver is uninsured or has low limits. These coverages could help cover the remaining repairs, up to the policy limits. They could also help to cover a collision deductible, rental car costs or other out-of-pocket expenses.
In some states, these coverages are required and automatically included for each vehicle on the policy. In other states where coverages are available but not required, if you want it for all vehicles on your policy, you'll need to add it separately for each. If you have more than one car on your policy you may be able to "stack" your uninsured and underinsured bodily injury coverage. Stacking is not allowed in every state.
When uninsured and underinsured motorists bodily injury coverage is stacked, your selected limit is multiplied by the number of cars.
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