After an accident, among other things you must do, the most important is to exchange specific information with the other driver to know more about them and whether they have adequate insurance coverage or not.
What can you do if there is an accident with an underinsured or uninsured motorist and you are in it with your own insurance?
Don’t Let Insurance Companies Walk All Over You
If you have a good working insurance policy, it may include coverage for underinsured motorists. If you have this type of auto insurance coverage, your own insurance policy will allow you to file a claim to receive compensation after an auto accident with your own insurance company.
Personal Injury Lawsuit for Uninsured & Underinsured Motorist Insurance Coverage
Uninsured motorist coverage is an insurance policy that comes as part of an automobile liability policy, which covers the occupants of a vehicle when the at-fault driver or the negligent party who caused the accident is an underinsured driver.
The uninsured motorist claim is only viable if the uninsured party is at fault or the negligent party, which means that any payment to the insured policyholder by their uninsured motorist carrier is an admission that the insured policyholder was NOT at fault, and, therefore not at risk for raising their premiums.
Underinsured motorist coverage is coverage that kicks in after the negligent party’s insurance carrier has tendered its policy limits, and the limits are inadequate to compensate the insured motorist for their injuries.
Filing an Underinsured Motorist Claim
To file underinsured motorist claims, you must be able to prove with substantial evidence that the other driver was at fault and that they are not insured.
There are strict deadlines on the provision of a notice of a potential uninsured motorist claim, and that means you must endeavor to notify your insurer as soon as possible.
The Coverage Limits
The uninsured motorist coverage limits must exceed the defendant’s insurance policy limits in order for coverage to apply.
This protects you and your family members even when neither you nor they are in your car because it applies whenever they are in any car accident whatsoever.
This includes situations where you may be a passenger in someone else’s car, and that person’s insurance policy is not enough to cover your injuries or damages.
Your uninsured coverage will give you or any of your family members insurance if uninsured motorists cause a crash. California law requires your insurance company to offer you uninsured coverage with policy limits equal to the limits of liability for bodily injury in the underlying policy (California Insurance Code 11580.2 (a).
It is not mandatory to purchase this policy, but the insurance company must have you sign a declaration declining such coverage if you don’t.
If they did not do that, and you get in an accident with an uninsured driver, your insurance company must provide you with insurance up to $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident, depending on the liability coverage set forth in your policy (Ins. Co. vs. Mulleague (1987) 196 Cal App. 3d 528, 241 Cal. Rptr. 846.)
Another reason uninsured motorist coverage is vital is that accidents involving uninsured drivers are usually more severe as they are more than likely driving without a license, drunk, at high speed, or other guilty of other road crimes. Find yourself or a family member in one of those cases with an uninsured driver and do not have adequate uninsured motorist coverage. You may be out huge sums of money in medical expenses and lost earnings.
When To Hire An Uninsured Motorist Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one gets in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist, call Ehline personal injury lawyers now at (213) 596-9642 and claim your free consultation. You can contact our Los Angeles car accident lawyers to help you with legal advice against Orange County and California drivers using a free consultation at our Los Angeles office for more information.
