Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Claims

If you are involved in an accident and the other driver does not have any insurance or not enough insurance you may be able to pursue an uninsured or underinsured motorists claim against your own insurance company. This insurance coverage requires that you pay an additional premium but protects you and the other people in your vehicle and not the other driver. You always want to buy this insurance coverage so you don’t insure the other driver better then yourself. See our discussion about Understanding Insurance Coverage for more information.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims are still adversarial claims even though it is your own company who is paying the claim. Although one would naturally think that it would be logical that your own company should treat you fairly since you’re paying an insurance premium to them, it is often not the case. The claim process is really no different then if you were pursuing the other driver’s insurance company. The same challenges and what you should do that we outline in the section entitled Car Accidents should be your guide.

Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the other driver does not have his/her own insurance coverage, and you as the driver of your car are not at fault for the accident. Although Arizona is a mandatory insurance law state, our experience is that half the time someone involved in an accident does not have insurance coverage. Purchasing this coverage is the only way you can recover your medical expense, lost wages, incidental expenses and aggravation of being involved in the accident when the other driver does not have insurance.

Underinsured motorist coverage is available when the other at fault driver is insured, but the amount of coverage he/she purchased is inadequate to fairly compensate you for all the injuries (damages) you sustained in the accident. Generally, you can not pursue an underinsured motorist claim until you have resolved the claim against the other at fault driver. Also, your underinsured motorist insurance company will want verification that the other driver is in fact underinsured before accepting this claim. Coordination of the various insurance benefits is critical to the resolution of these types of claims.

If we can help you with your uninsured or underinsured motorist claim, please contact us for a free consultation about your particular facts and circumstances at 602.424.5547 or complete the online form.