Skip to main content What if I get into a car accident with someone who doesn’t have insurance?
You purchase a car insurance policy because you want to ensure you receive financial protection in case you fall victim to Murphy’s Law: “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong.” In most states, motor vehicle owners do not have a choice when it comes to buying auto insurance. Forty-nine out of the 50 states require some form of car insurance to make it legal for a car owner to operate a vehicle. Although coverage varies, state laws mandate the purchase of car insurance policies.
However, many car owners decide to skimp on car insurance or not purchase a policy at all. This means you might someday have to answer the question, “What if I get in a car accident with someone who doesn’t have insurance?” At Morgan, we help clients answer the question by first reviewing their car insurance policies, and then examining state law as it pertains to punishing drivers that operate a motor vehicle without insurance.
Hiring one of the experienced car insurance attorneys at Morgan and Morgan can help you recover the financial losses caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist. With more than three decades of experience, our lawyers have a thorough understanding of state car insurance laws, as well as the legal options available to get our clients the compensation they deserve after a vehicle collision.
Schedule a free case evaluation today to learn how to proceed with the filing of a car insurance claim.
What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
If you become involved in a car accident in which another driver does not have car insurance or possesses an insufficient policy, you must contact your insurance company to recover financial losses. This means you should purchase uninsured motorist (UIM) coverage, which typically represents a type of optional car insurance coverage to help pay for the financial losses caused by an uninsured car owner. A few states require the purchase of uninsured motorist coverage, while most states require insurance companies to at least offer the coverage to policyholders.
For most policies, UIM coverage cannot exceed the value of liability coverage. For example, if you have $50,000 in liability coverage, your UIM coverage cannot be more than $50,000.
What Is Underinsured Motorist Coverage?
An underinsured motorist has purchased a car insurance policy, but the policy does not fully pay for your financial losses. Adding uninsured motorist coverage to your car insurance policy protects you in case you sustained injuries and property damages as a result of a collision with an underinsured motorist. Unlike uninsured coverage, most states do not require motorists to purchase underinsured coverage.
One important note: A vast majority of insurance companies establish a deadline for policyholders to file uninsured and underinsured motorist claims. The deadline can be as short as 30 days after a car accident. The Morgan and Morgan insurance attorney assigned to your case ensures you meet the deadline for filing an uninsured or underinsured claim.
How Does No-Fault Insurance Impact Uninsured and Underinsured Drivers?
As of August 2022, 12 states mandate the purchase of no-fault insurance. No-fault car insurance means your insurance company covers the costs associated with an auto collision regardless of which party or parties caused the car accident. If a motorist who caused an accident does not have insurance, your insurance company must cover your financial losses. The fact that the other driver does not have auto insurance or has purchased insufficient insurance does not matter as much as it does in the remaining 38 at-fault states.
If you live in a no-fault insurance state, you usually cannot file a lawsuit against another motorist unless you sustained serious injuries that generate medical bills that exceed a certain value.
How Does an Attorney Help Me File a Successful Car Insurance Claim?
Whether you got involved in a car accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist, one of the highly-rated insurance lawyers at Morgan and Morgan walks you through the process to ensure you file the most persuasive claim.
Your attorney conducts an extensive investigation to gather and organize physical evidence. The success of car insurance claims depends largely on physical evidence such as photographs of the accident scene, as well as traffic camera footage shot at an intersection. Law enforcement officers that respond to the accident scene collaborate to submit a formal police report that contains physical evidence and the statements made by witnesses.
Receiving legal support for a car insurance claim enables you to free up more time because your lawyer acts as an intermediary between you and your insurer. Experience matters because the team of insurance attorneys at Morgan and Morgan has established positive relationships with insurance adjusters throughout the United States. We monitor the progress of your claim to prevent it from getting bogged down in your insurance company’s processing system.
Learn more about how to handle an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim by scheduling a free case evaluation with one of the state-licensed insurance attorneys at Morgan and Morgan.
