Understanding Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
A motor vehicle accident can be such a stressful situation, not just during the immediate aftermath of what happened but also in the days, weeks and months following the crash. This anxiety’s often compounded if the driver who’s responsible for the crash was uninsured or underinsured, potentially leaving you scrambling to handle your medical, property and other related costs.
That’s where uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage comes into play, if you’d purchased it.
What’s Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage, and How Does It Work?
Despite it being a legal requirement in Texas, about 12% of motorists in the Lone Star State are uninsured, and many of the ones who are insured don’t carry enough coverage to reimburse other drivers for the car crash that happened.
Simply put, uninsured motorist coverage helps you get reimbursed for car accident-related expenses if the crash was caused by an uninsured driver. Meanwhile, underinsured motorist coverage applies when the responsible party does carry the legally required insurance but not enough of it to cover your expenses.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage
In Texas, drivers are legally obligated to carry auto insurance coverage with the following minimum limits:
- $30,000 per person for their injuries
- $60,000 per accident for everyone’s injuries
- $25,000 for related property damage
This is commonly known as 30/60/25 coverage.
If the responsible party doesn’t have this coverage, your uninsured motorist coverage would be activated.
Also keep in mind that when purchasing your own basic liability coverage, you may want to seek higher limits. That’s because if you’re the one who caused an accident and it’s an extensive one, you may be sued by other drivers and have to pay expenses that haven’t been covered by this 30/60/25 plan yourself.
Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage
Underinsured motorist coverage is relevant when the responsible driver does have car insurance, but it doesn’t cover everyone’s relevant expenses.
This can apply to anyone as regardless of how much insurance had been obtained by that person prior to the accident, it’s always possible that it won’t be enough. This is especially likely if the crash involved multiple vehicles or catastrophic injuries.
So, UIM will help cover what the at-fault driver’s insurance doesn’t pick up.
Why It Matters in Texas
It’s a legal requirement for all Texas drivers to be offered uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
However, you aren’t required to accept that offer. That said, if you do decline it, you must do so in writing. In other words, if you have car insurance but not UM/UIM coverage, that means that you’d signed a form stating that you had turned it down.
Examples of When UM/UIM Coverage Applies
In many cases, UM/UIM coverage will include payments for the following types of necessary expenses and damages following a relevant car crash:
- Medical expenses for those in your car
- Repair or replacement of your car
- Reduced car value
- Repair or replacement of affected property in the car or elsewhere
- Rental car
- Pain and suffering
These specifics will all depend on the type of UM/UIM coverage that was purchased.
Also note that if you’re involved in a hit-and-run accident and the person who caused the crash isn’t later located and identified, your UM coverage would almost always be applied as a result. However, if there was no physical contact between the hit-and-run driver and your vehicle, that may not be the case, such as if another driver had caused you to swerve and, for example, crash into a tree without them actually hitting your car.
That said, road-rage crashes – i.e. ones that were caused by violent, aggressive driving – are sometimes not covered normally but would be if you have UM coverage.
You might need to also use your UM coverage if the responsible driver was driving without the permission of the owner of the car.
As for UIM coverage, it would be utilized once the other insurance coverage that’s in place for both you and the person who’s responsible for what happened has been met. For example, if you have access to $25,000 for any property damage but your new car was totaled, you’ll likely need UIM coverage to meet a significant portion of those expenses.
In addition, note that if your injuries are significant, your personal health plan may kick in at some point.
In any case, take into account that there’s usually a $250 deductible for any car repairs or other property damage but no deductible for medical expenses.
A car wreck attorney can help simplify these applications and considerations for you.
How Much Coverage Should You Have?
You should consider having at least enough coverage that would allow you to replace your car.
As you do these calculations to decide how much coverage you should get, remember that UM/UIM coverage is usually offered in $5,000 increments, but you can check with your insurance company to see if they offer any exceptions to that general rule.
Keep in mind that if you turn down UM/UIM coverage, your collision coverage will usually still pay for repairing your car, albeit with a higher deductible, while you generally won’t be able to utilize any of the other advantages that UM/UIM coverage offers. Also, note that it’s likely that your health plan won’t cover this type of long-term care or reimburse you for not being able to work or, if it does, it won’t cover it as well as UM/UIM coverage would.
What to Do If You’re Hit by an Uninsured or Underinsured Driver
The first thing that you should do after being hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver is ensure that everyone, including yourself, receives any necessary medical care. As for you, make sure to get checked out even if you feel fine as injuries resulting from car accidents often don’t become apparent until later. It can also hurt your case if you can be shown to have not sought medical care soon after the crash, at least within 24-48 hours.
Also contact the police if nobody else has already so that an official report will be filed. This document may prove pivotal in the future as you look to get your health, quality of life and property damage handled from a financial perspective.
And notify your own insurance company as soon as possible but don’t provide any details beyond the basic information – i.e. time and location of the wreck and types of vehicles involved while not assigning blame to yourself or anyone else – until you’ve spoken with a car accident lawyer.
That said, you can usually start your uninsured motorist claim with your insurance company soon after. Meanwhile, if the at-fault driver has insurance, even if it isn’t enough to cover your expenses, you’ll need to file a third-party claim with them in order to seek those funds. This will generally need to be done before you can go back to your own insurance company to file an underinsured motorist claim.
In any case, it’s recommended that you don’t speak with the other person’s insurance company at all or your own in detail without first talking with a car collision lawyer.
But if you do decide to do this alone, never settle with the responsible party’s insurance company without the permission of your own. Doing so could result in your receiving no money from the latter.
Regardless, keep detailed records of your medical and property costs, changes in your income and perhaps even a recovery journal starting immediately after the accident and continuing for however long as is necessary.
Note that suing the at-fault individual for damages may be an option. Speak with a car wreck lawyer about this possibility.
Another potential option, depending on your car accident’s circumstances, is suing a third party, such as the manufacturer of a defective part or the city if legally required safe road conditions hadn’t been provided.
It may even be necessary to sue your own insurer. It all depends on the specifics of your case.
How PM Law Firm Can Help
It can be complicated to navigate the process when UM/UIM insurance is a piece of it, and PM Law Firm can do that for you. Our car accident attorneys are also well-versed in negotiating with insurance companies and always ensure that drivers hurt in car crashes are reimbursed as fairly and fully as possible. In fact, legal assistance can be pivotal in these circumstances as proving fault is oftentimes not simple.
Also, if you didn’t get UM/UIM coverage, whether due to not being able to afford its higher costs or otherwise, we’ll make sure to pursue every other possibility for getting you reimbursed for these medical and property damage expenses.
If you have been involved in a car crash, reach out to our car collision attorneys today for personalized legal support for your complex and stressful situation.