Car accidents completely transform the lives of those who experience them.
One minute you’re driving down the road, listening to music, and in the next moment, you are jerked out of your calm state by disorientation caused by the loud crushing of metal on metal, the motion of the vehicle awkwardly moving in a direction it shouldn’t be going, and you smell burning rubber.
A car accident has injured you. You can’t feel the pain yet; you feel adrenaline, but you know the pain is coming and your vehicle is in pieces.
You go through all the necessary steps of the police filing report. You go to the hospital and are seen by your physician or ER staff. You submit a claim to your insurance company to have an adjuster look at your damaged vehicle.
The car accident was a nightmare, and to top it off, you found out that the at-fault party doesn’t have insurance. If this scenario or something like it has happened to you, a car accident lawyer can explain your options to get back into a set of wheels and on your own two feet without draining your emergency savings.
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Uninsured Motorist Claims (UM) and Underinsured Motorist Claims (UIM)
A lawyer can help file UM/UIM claims and explain the difference.
- UM claims, or uninsured motorist claims, become necessary when you are hit by someone who doesn’t have insurance. If you’ve been hit by a driver who doesn’t have insurance, recovering any form of compensation will be difficult without a lawyer.
- UIM claims, or underinsured motorist claims, differ slightly. In UIM, the at-fault driver does have insurance, but not enough to cover your damages.
Types of Underinsured Motorist Claims
You can claim two types of UIMs by hiring a lawyer.
- Underinsured Motorist Property Damage (UIMPD) - An underinsured motorist property damage claim includes your vehicle and everything else of material value that was damaged in the accident. This claim can be made if the other driver was at fault in the accident and didn’t have enough insurance to cover the damages. You can recover compensation for all damaged car parts that must be fixed or replaced, phones, computers, glasses, etc.
- Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury (UIMBI) - This claim includes all bodily injuries and medical bills required because of an accident of an at-fault driver without enough insurance to cover the damages. To recover compensation, you or your lawyer must submit relevant evidence proving you were injured. Keep all receipts, invoices, and bills from medical visits.
You don’t need to purchase UIMPD or UIMBI if you have collision insurance.
Collision coverage should cover all property damage to your vehicle and the other vehicle and bodily injuries. Insurance companies offer UIMPD and UIMBI, but you should double-check with your provider to understand your exact coverage and whether adding the UM or UIM coverage will supplement your specific insurance plan.
How Does UM/UIM Insurance Protect You?
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage protects drivers and passengers after an accident with a driver without insurance or not enough insurance to cover the full damages. UM/UIM coverage can also be used when the driver who causes the accident does not pull over after the accident and leaves the scene before exchanging information or filing a police report, more commonly known as “a hit and run.
Some no-fault states like Florida require drivers to purchase policies with a minimum of $10,000 worth of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage and property damage liability (PDL) coverage.
Regardless of fault, you will submit claims to your insurance provider to recover damages. Remember, you can file a UM/UIM claim if the other driver does not have insurance and your personal injury policy won’t cover all of your damages and injuries.
Unfortunately, $10,000 (the limit for the state of Florida), may not cover all costs associated with the accident. Additional compensation for personal property, medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional damages, like PTSD or anxiety disorders, may be attained through the UM/UIM claim.
How Does Underinsured Motorist Coverage Work?
Usually, UM/UIM claims operate like a regular car insurance claim, except for one major difference: this claim is filed with your own insurance company.
We know a UIM is necessary when an at-fault driver doesn’t have enough insurance to match the damages. Because UIM cases must prove the at-fault party's liability beyond doubt, an investigation of the accident, a review of medical records and injuries will be completed, and other evidence and records will be compiled.
This evidence can affect the value of your fair compensation amount, so keep records of everything after the accident.
UIM claims may not fully compensate car accident drivers if comparative negligence or contributory negligence are considered in the case. Consult a lawyer to determine how they may help you.
If You Cannot Negotiated a Fair Settlement
What happens when you and your insurance company cannot negotiate a fair settlement?
Filing a lawsuit may not be an option, but you can submit your claim to binding arbitration. This is a more informal procedure than going to trial. Trials can limit your rights if you don’t like the outcome.
An arbitration is a hearing before a neutral arbitrator. On occasion, a panel of three arbitrators is assigned to the hearing. Arbitrators consider all evidence and listen to both sides before deciding the outcome.
Unfortunately, if you find yourself on the losing side of arbitration, there are minimal options for appeals. Usually, the losing side of car accident arbitration cannot change the decision and must abide by its rulings.
How Do I File an Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Claim?
The process includes the following steps when filing an uninsured/underinsured motorist claim.
- Contact your insurance company right away: You must promptly notify your insurance company if there has been an accident, and often for UM or UIM claims, the deadlines can be time-sensitive. For UM claims, If the driver who hit you is uninsured, notify your insurance provider immediately. Inform them that you intend to file a UM claim. For UIM claims, if the other driver is underinsured, obtain a statement from the other driver's insurance company that details the coverage limits.
- Compile evidence: Gather all relevant information relating to the car accident. Include the police report, medical documentation including expenses, receipts, invoices, witness statements, and photos of property damages and injuries.
- Liability Determination: Your insurance company will want to determine liability and discover whether the at-fault driver was uninsured or underinsured. If the at-fault driver is underinsured, they will identify the limits of the underinsured's liability coverage.
- Calculate losses or damages: Determine the total damages accumulated since the accident, including medical expenses, property damages, lost wages, and non-economic damages. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, or humiliation and embarrassment.
- File the UM or UIM claim: It helps to include your policy’s UM or UIM policy within your documentation and submit all documentation compiled for the claim to your insurance company. Show damages calculated with documentation.
Don't wait to file an insurance claim. Even if you don’t have any of the other driver's insurance information, and you believe the other motorist lacks the appropriate insurance, it will be important to let your insurance provider know immediately that you intend to file a UM/UIM claim.
How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help You?
To maximize recovery after a car accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver, contact a car accident attorney. A car accident lawyer can help your case in many ways.
Contact a car accident lawyer in uninsured/underinsured motorist claims because a fair resolution is not easy to obtain. By speaking with an attorney, you will better understand your options and can put a plan in place if insurance won’t cover the damages or things don’t seem to progress as you hoped.
- Manage the Claims Process: A car accident lawyer will work with your insurance provider to ensure the claims process progresses appropriately and that your provider assesses all necessary information.
- Review the Insurance Policy: An attorney will help you understand the complexities of your insurance policy, and more specifically, the details of your UM or UIM coverage. They can determine how each policy applies to your claim/case.
- Calculate the Value of Your Claim: A car accident lawyer can properly assess the value of your claim and negotiate a fair settlement with your insurance company.
- Negotiate a Fair Settlement: A car accident attorney can negotiate with your insurance company. They will be able to argue the validity of your claims based on their evaluation of your case. A car accident attorney will know how to maximize the compensation your insurance company will pay.
- Determine Other Compensation Options: In certain situations, a lawyer can discover other potential sources of compensation. These sources of compensation may come from personal assets or other policies of the at-fault driver. This can help to maximize your recovered compensation.
- Litigation, or “the formal process during which legal disputes are resolved” may be your final option. If you and your insurance company cannot agree on a fair settlement, an attorney can represent you in civil court.
Types of Compensation
There are many types of compensation you may be eligible for based on your injuries and expenses sustained, property damage, changes in lifestyle that result in financial loss, and pain and suffering.
- Medical expenses: Medical expenses are all expenses contributing to medical recovery. This includes past, present, and future hospital visits, medications, surgeries, medical devices and equipment, physical therapy sessions, counseling, prescriptions, etc.
- Property Damage: Any vehicle bodywork, parts, mechanical issues, electrical wiring, and labor charges due to damage to the vehicle will be covered in addition to material items lost or damaged during the accident.
- Lost Wages: After an accident, many people must take time off of work for medical appointments, surgeries, therapy appointments, etc. From the time of the accident and onward, these lost wages apply to your case.
- Pain and Suffering: If you’ve experienced pain and suffering that changed your life as a direct result of the accident, you are entitled to compensation.
- Emotional Distress: If you’ve been humiliated and embarrassed, or experienced other forms of emotional distress due to the accident or the aftermath, consider speaking to a lawyer about compensation.
Life can change in less than a second. Don’t wait to get legal help in your car accident claim. Let the car accident attorneys at Lulich & Attorneys shoulder the burden of bringing the at-fault party to justice and help you recover compensation for your losses.
By hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer to take care of your UM or UIM claim, you will have someone on your team to help you navigate the complexities of the claims process, insurance policies, and legal systems, and they can get you the compensation and justice you deserve after your accident.
Reach out to Florida car accident attorneys, Lulich and Attorneys today. They will help you secure a fair outcome for your uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist claim.
Contact Lulich & Attorneys at (772) 589-5500 or set up a free consultation on our website. Our law firm has helped clients for over 35 years, and has recovered many high-value settlements for other car accident victims.
Don’t wait to recover financially. Help is available.