When you have the right auto insurance coverage, it can protect you, your passengers, and other drivers. Insurance is personal injury protection in case an accident occurs. However, in the United States of America, many drivers do not have personal auto insurance. Statistics show that 1-in-8 drivers are on the road without insurance.
Uninsured or underinsured drivers do not have sufficient coverage to take care of whatever expenses they might accrue if they get in an accident. However, as an insured driver, if you have uninsured or uninsured motorist insurance coverage, the amount of money you would spend on vehicular repairs and medical expenses would be minimized.
This article will inform you about uninsured motorist insurance coverage. Suppose you were in an accident that involved an uninsured driver, you need to contact a personal injury attorney to walk you through the process of recovering your damages.
What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
Uninsured Motorist coverage or UM coverage is a part of an auto insurance policy. This coverage comes in handy when an individual or policyholder gets involved in a car accident with an uninsured motorist. The uninsured motorist policy or coverage pays for injuries to the policyholder and passengers in their vehicle.
An uninsured driver could fall under any of these three categories:
- Someone who has no auto insurance
- An individual who does not have the insurance that meets the state’s required minimum liability amount
- A person who has insurance but whose insurance company is unable or unwilling to pay for the damages or claim
You should also know that a hit-and-run driver can also be considered an uninsured motorist. If you happen to get in an accident with a driver without insurance and do not have uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, you may not receive compensation or settlements.
Types of Uninsured Motorist Coverage
There are two major types of uninsured motorist coverage. These are uninsured motorist bodily injury liability or coverage and uninsured motorist property damage coverage.
- Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury Coverage: This coverage is an injury liability coverage covering the injuries that the injured party sustained in the accident. It includes compensation for medical bills, loss of wages or earnings, and funeral expenses (if there were fatalities).
- Uninsured Motorist Property Damage Coverage: This coverage is concerned with any damage to the vehicle. Sometimes, this coverage covers those in hit-and-run accidents.
Insurance companies divide liability insurance coverage into 15/30/10. This is the standard policy, and it is divided into the following:
- $15,000 per person for bodily injuries
- $30,000 for bodily injury per accident
- $10,000 per accident for property damage
What Is Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM)?
Underinsured motorist coverage or UIM coverage is another part of an automobile insurance policy. This coverage pays for your expenses if an underinsured driver hits you. An underinsured driver has auto insurance but does not have enough coverage to cover the other driver’s damages if they are at fault in the accident.
Also, an underinsured driver is someone who has liability limits that are less than or equal to your UIM coverage limit. In other words, as an insured driver, you have underinsured motorist coverage limits. For a driver to be considered underinsured, their liability limit should be less than or equal to your UIM coverage limit.
In filing an underinsured motorist claim, your insurance provider and the underinsured driver’s insurer would come together for negotiations and settlements. The UIM coverage would augment whatever payment the other driver gives you.
What To Do if an Uninsured Driver Hits you
Getting involved in a motor vehicle accident in Las Vegas is not a pleasant experience. However, it could be much worse if the fault driver is uninsured or underinsured. After an uninsured driver hits you, you must take some necessary steps to ensure you get the uninsured motorist protection.
Seek Medical Attention
You need to get medical treatment after a car accident, irrespective of if the fault driver was insured or not. Going to the hospital after you leave the crash scene can save your life. This is because some injuries do not surface immediately after the accident because of adrenaline.
At the hospital, the medical personnel would give you a list of your injuries and future treatments you might need. This list is your medical report. The report is beneficial when it comes to recovering damages and compensation from your insurance company. This report also contains your medical cost.
Report to the Police
When you are in an auto accident, it is important to report the incident to the authorities. If, for instance, the accident was a hit-and-run accident, you need the police to help with tracking down the driver.
The police are responsible for carrying out investigations to determine all that transpired before and after the crash. The police report is an unbiased third-party account of the accident.. This report is a vital document when filing a claim against an uninsured fault driver.
Inform Your Insurance Company
If you discover that the other driver involved in the accident is uninsured, you need to inform your insurance company immediately. This would be the beginning of filing your insurance claim. They would go through your insurance policy and ensure you have uninsured motorist coverage.
After careful examination of the appropriate documents, the insurance company would determine the cost of damage and how much compensation you would get. These documents include medical records, police reports, pictorial evidence of accident scenes, proof of insurance, etc. With your UM coverage, you should have your medical bills and property damage covered.
Speak to Eyewitnesses
Eyewitnesses are those who were present at the scene of the accident. Just like the police report, eyewitnesses would provide the court or your insurance company with impartial details of how the accident happened. The eyewitness’s accounts could prove that you were not at fault in the accident.
So, before you leave the accident scene, you must exchange details with eyewitnesses. These details could include their names, phone numbers, and addresses. This would help you locate them quickly when you need their testimonies.
Gather Information
You need to get as much information as you can concerning the accident to recover damages. Even if the other driver is not insured, you can still get pieces of information from them. For example, you can get the driver’s name, phone number, address, and license plate number.
You can also take pictures of the accident scene and the cars involved in the accident. This would help the court or your insurance company know the extent of physical damage that occurred due to the crash. This would, in turn, assist in determining how much you deserve.
Speak to a Lawyer
After you are hit by an uninsured driver, speaking to a personal injury lawyer would significantly help your case. Your lawyer can help in the negotiation and settlement process. An experienced personal injury attorney would make sure their client ends up with a reasonable settlement. A lawyer would also be beneficial when it comes to gathering evidence and speaking to eyewitnesses.
Do I Need Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Nevada?
According to the Nevada Revised Statute 687B.145(2), insurance companies must offer uninsured motorist coverage to motorists. But drivers do not have to accept this coverage. Although this insurance policy is optional, it is highly advisable. The extra protection and coverage UM gives safeguards you in case of an accident.
The state of Nevada recognizes that the damages that occur due to car accidents can be costly. So, if you are involved in an accident that causes injuries to you or your vehicle, your UM insurance will cover them, provided you are not the at-fault driver. If you are the at-fault driver in that accident, you will forfeit your rights to the coverage, and your insurance premium would increase.
Filing a Claim Against an Uninsured Driver
Before you file an uninsured motorist claim, the first thing you need to note one thing. If you do not have uninsured motorist coverage, you cannot file against the uninsured driver. This rule stands, irrespective of how much the damages to you are. You also need to provide evidence of insurance.
As we mentioned earlier, the first step you need to take is to inform your insurance company. This is very important if you hope to recover damages because of specific policy limits. Alongside this, you compulsorily need a police report and evidence gathered at the accident scene.
You need to understand that you will have to file your claim against your own insurance company if the other driver is uninsured. On the other hand, if the other driver is underinsured, your insurance company will be negotiating with the other driver’s insurance company.
If you are unhappy with your offer from the other insurance company, you need to get a personal injury attorney to represent you and your demands. But if your displeasure is from the offer of your own insurance company, you have to go to binding arbitration. Here, you will face arbitrators who act as judges and decide on a course of action to which you have to agree.
Get a Free Consultation at McDonald Worley Law Firm
McDonald Worley is an award-winning personal injury law firm in Las Vegas, Nevada. We know how much a car accident can take a toll on its victims. This is why our car accident attorneys put in a lot to protect our clients’ financial future..
Our attorneys merge their legal experience with hard work and modern technology to bring about the best results for your claim. Getting in an accident with an uninsured driver can be stressful and burdensome, but with the proper legal representation from the right law firm, you can sure you would be pleased in the end.
We offer free case reviews to all our clients. Let’ get started on yours today!