Every state requires drivers to carry minimum coverage for liability insurance, but unfortunately, millions of people don’t comply with this law. What happens when a driver who doesn’t have car insurance hits you? The answer is that uninsured motorist insurance would provide you with the coverage you need. This would also apply if you were the victim of a hit-and-run accident.
There are two main types of uninsured motorist coverage you can buy, including:
Uninsured motorist insurance covers you, your family members, anyone who has permission to drive your vehicle, and any passengers in your car at the time of the accident.
Uninsured motorist insurance is designed to cover most of the same losses that the other driver’s insurance company would have covered. These losses include:
However, uninsured motorist coverage will not pay for any punitive damages, unless your insurance company acts in bad faith and intentionally mishandles your claim. If that occurs, you can file suit against your insurer for punitive damages.
It’s important to remember that when you file an uninsured motorist accident claim, you are essentially acting as a third party against your own insurance company. This means that your insurance company may look for ways to limit or eliminate its liability, and one of the most common ways that happens is if you were at fault in any way for the accident.
In some states, if you are found to have contributed even slightly to the accident, you won’t receive any coverage at all under your uninsured motorist insurance policy.
In other states, your coverage amount would be determined by the percentage in which you contributed to the accident. For example, if your insurance company finds that you were 30 percent at fault, it would only pay for 70 percent of your damages up to your coverage limits.
But if your insurance company finds you to be at fault for an accident, and you think it has acted improperly, you can hire a lawyer to represent your interests.
Filing an uninsured motorist accident claim is not always simple, and in some instances, you will have to treat your own insurance company as the enemy if they fail to live up to their word. The Washington, DC car accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Duane O. King are here to ensure your rights are protected and you get the coverage you deserve. For a free consultation call 202-331-1963 or contact us online.