When you get hurt in an accident caused by the other driver’s negligence, they can legally be held responsible for the injuries you suffered, and you can be eligible to collect large sums in compensation. What happens, however, when the defendant doesn’t have the insurance to cover the damages they cause? This is exactly why uninsured or underinsured coverage exists on your insurance policy.
You’ll need to file a claim with your own insurer under these provisions to get paid for the damages you suffer. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pitfalls and hurdles you’ll face when you file this kind of case, and you may have difficulty from an insurer that doesn’t want to pay up. Discover the steps you need to take to file an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim in California, and why a car accident attorney is so important.
Underinsured and Uninsured Motorist Coverage
The first thing to understand is that not everyone has underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage. The second is, if you don’t have it, you should. Without it, if you have an accident with someone who has inadequate liability coverage, you can get all the damages in the world awarded, but you might never see a dime.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is vital to protect you when you need to file a claim based on someone not being able to pay out. These kinds of coverage protect you when a party has liability coverage, but not enough for the full settlement (underinsured coverage), or when a party has no liability coverage at all (uninsured coverage).
How This Coverage Works
Let’s imagine you are in an accident with another driver, and the total award after your personal injury suit comes out to be $50,000. It turns out that driver has only $15,000 in liability (the state minimum in California). That leaves $35,000 they can’t pay. In this case, your underinsured policy would kick in to cover the remaining $35,000, or up to the maximum of your policy.
The same thing applies with uninsured drivers. If a $50,000 award is handed down, but the defendant has no coverage, your uninsured policy will kick in to cover the damages, up to the policy maximum (thus, if you have only a $30,000 policy, you’ll still only get $30,000 of the total award).
Often, your under/uninsured coverage can only equal your own liability coverage. It’s very inexpensive to carry, though, and is well worth it.
Seeking Help from an Attorney
Unfortunately, even when you have coverage, sometimes your insurance company might put up a fight rather than simply pay out. Insurance companies are never eager to pay out claims, and it can be helpful to have an attorney on your side who knows how to deal with these cases. If you’re in California and you need help with an uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage case, the Gruber Law Group can help. Give us a call today to talk about your case and receive a free consultation.
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