That kind of scenario can be confusing. The insurance company gets a credit if you file a personal injury protection or medical payment claim. So, if your UM/UIM claim is worth $20,000 and the insurance company has paid out $5,000 on your personal injury protection claim, they have a credit of $5,000, but still owe you $15,000.

However, if your claim exceeds the limit of your policy, there is an exception. For example, if your claim was worth $90,000 but your coverage was only for $30,000, the insurance company still pays the full amount of your coverage ($30,000), regardless if they paid any amount for a personal injury protection or medical payment claim.

Research indicates that about 13 to 17 percent of Texas drivers don’t carry any insurance.  The uninsured part of the question isn’t difficult.

The second question is more complex, because you don’t know whether a person is underinsured until you know the amount of harm they cause.  A person with the Texas minimum limits of $30,000 of insurance might not be uninsured in a very small wreck, but he or she will be significantly uninsured in a more serious wreck.  Most drivers who have insurance have the minimum limit of $30,000 that is required by law. In most wrecks that involve a hospital visit or any significant follow-up care, that insurance won’t be enough to cover the damages.  You can safely estimate that almost fifty percent of Texas drivers are underinsured for even a moderate wreck.

No, your insurance company does not automatically pay your claim if you file a UM/UIM claim. In situations like this your auto insurance carrier may assert defenses against the claim. Such a defense may include disputing your injuries and/or medical treatment.

ccording to the law every driver in Texas must have their vehicle insured. Despite this law, many do not follow it or, they only get the minimum required coverage.

The Texas Department of Insurance indicates that roughly 20 percent of Texans do not have any type of insurance. That translates into a one in five chance that any car crash is going to involve an uninsured driver.

Since there are an estimated 1.6 million uninsured drivers on the highways and byways in Texas, it is a good idea to have that kind of coverage. (https://drivetexas.org/#/7/32.340/-99.500?future=false) You never know when you may be involved in a crash.

When people are involved in a collision, their first thought tends to be wanting to file a suit against the uninsured driver to recover damages. However, that is the least effective way to be fairly compensated. Even if you did win such a case, nothing is stopping the uninsured driver from filing for bankruptcy.

Drivers in the Lone Star state are required to have basic liability vehicle insurance. That does not mean that every driver complies with the law. Drivers are mandated to carry liability insurance providing $30,000 of coverage for each injured person and up to $60,000 per accident. The reality of today’s prices for hospital care and other medical care means those figures are nowhere near what the actual cost of damage and medical care would be.

The real reason the limits are lower is that the 30/60 maximum amount an insurance company pays out would be $60,000 no matter how many people were injured. The lower the payout, the happier the insurance company.

Car owners must also carry $25,000 in property damage coverage. Again, realistically, property damage to vehicles on the road today would be astronomical. The $25,000 would be a minuscule amount toward the actual cost and/or repairs.

Another frustrating problem with uninsured driver accidents with people that do not have even the minimum insurance requirements to drive is the “named driver” policy. Those policies mean that only the named driver is covered while driving. As a result, if the owner of the car loans the car to a friend or family member, the friend or family member would not be covered by the owner’s insurance if the friend or family member gets in a wreck.

This often happens with families who have teenagers, but the family does not want to pay the high insurance rates that teenagers bring. If the named driver lets their older teen drive and the teen causes an accident, coverage likely does not apply to the collision. That means the other driver is left with no recourse to recover damages. This is a good policy for insurance companies so they do not have to pay out on accidents. However, it creates a difficult situation for those who were in a crash.

Do you need uninsured motorist coverage? Yes, it would be a good idea to protect you and your family.

In Texas, state law mandates that drivers must show proof that they can pay for any accidents that they cause. That is why most drivers buy auto liability insurance.

Liability insurance kicks in to pay to repair or replace the other driver’s vehicle, other property that has been damaged, and covers some medical costs when you are deemed to be the person responsible for the crash. It’s also important to know that if you are still paying off your vehicle, your lender requires that you have comprehensive and collision coverage because it covers their investment in you.

There are eight basic vehicle insurance coverages available. Those are liability, collision, comprehensive other than collision, medical payment coverage, personal injury protection, uninsured/underinsured coverage, towing and labor coverage and rental reimbursement coverage. That’s a lot to choose over and above what is legally mandated.

What each choice of insurance coverage provides:

• Liability coverage: the Texas minimum limits are referred to as 30/60/25 coverage as it covers $30 thousand of injuries per person, $60 thousand per accident and $25 thousand for property damages. A person can buy almost an unlimited amount of liability coverage.
• Collision coverage: repairs/replaces the driver’s vehicle post accident.
• Comprehensive coverage: pays if a vehicle is damaged by something other than a collision (this would include things like hail damage or theft)
• Medical payments coverage: sometimes referred to as MedPay, covers the driver’s and passenger’s medical expenses.
• Personal injury protection (PIP): similar to MedPay coverage, but also covers lost wages and other non-medical costs. All Texas vehicle policies include PIP unless you decline it in writing. PIP is also better than MedPay because PIP does not have a subrogation provision.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: this policy covers a driver hit by someone who was not insured or does not have enough insurance to cover the full amount of a person’s damages. It covers hit and run accidents and must be offered by insurance companies. If you do not want it, you have to decline it in writing.
• Towing/labor coverage: covers cost of towing if a vehicle cannot be driven and pays for labor to jump-start a car or change a flat.
• Rental reimbursement coverage: a driver can rent a car if they had their vehicle stolen or if it is in for repairs after an accident. Some policies may pay for ride-hailing services or a taxi

No, Texans are not required to purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance.  However, our state legislature believes it is important enough that when you purchase your auto insurance, you have to specifically reject uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance in writing to not purchase it.  It’s important.

es, there are minimum insurance requirements in Texas. The minimum amount is $30,000 per person and up to $60,000 per wreck. That means every driver is supposed to carry an insurance policy that pays out an injured person up to the amount of $30,000.If passengers in the vehicle are injured, they would be paid up to $60,000 divided among all passengers in the vehicle.

If you were seriously injured and facing a very long recovery period, a portion of $60,000 is not enough to handle all the medical, rehabilitation and drug expenses. Alternatively, if you were catastrophically injured and needed around-the-clock medical care for the rest of your life, the small portion you would get from a division of funds would not be sufficient.

The minimum is often not enough insurance to cover losses in less severe cases. For example, one trip to the emergency room can cost more than $30,000, leaving no recovery for any other losses. Driving without adequate vehicle insurance is not only illegal, it is also risky.

Two of the most important coverages you can buy when you are buying your auto insurance are Personal Injury Protection and Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage. These coverages help protect your family when you’re in a wreck.

These coverages are so important that Texas law includes them in your auto insurance unless you specifically reject them in writing when you’re buying your insurance.

What Is Personal Injury Protection Insurance?

Personal injury protection (or PIP) insurance is an option that you can purchase when you buy your own automobile insurance. PIP pays for your medical expenses and your lost wages when you’re in a car accident or wreck.

You can buy almost any amount of personal injury protection coverage. If you buy it, then you have at least $2,500.00 of insurance. That’s the minimum required by law. Other common amounts are $5,000.00 or $10,000.00 of coverage. The most I recall seeing is a former client who was a lawyer who had $100,000.00 of coverage.

PIP has two important features. First, there is no subrogation interest; unlike health insurance, if you submit bills to your PIP carrier, you do not have to reimburse the PIP carrier for amounts paid when you receive a verdict or settlement that includes the same bills. And second, you can submit bills to your PIP carrier even if the bills have been paid by your health insurance. Because of this, generally, all money recovered on a PIP claim goes straight to you (we do not charge to assist clients with making PIP claims, though some attorneys do).

If you have been in litigation involving a car wreck or accident, you know that there are many expenses, including attorneys’ fees and case expenses, that you never have the opportunity to recover. Because PIP can help “offset” these items, and because PIP is also fairly inexpensive, it’s a good way to protect you and your loved ones from many of the losses that come with being victims in a car wreck.

Why Is Personal Injury Protection Insurance Important?

One of our recent cases demonstrates the importance of buying insurance to protect yourself. Dick and Jane were both passengers in a vehicle that was hit when the other driver made an improper turn. We represented both Dick and Jane in the wreck, and we settled their claims for what we thought were decent amounts. From the settlements, both Dick and Jane were to receive roughly the same amount. But Dick’s purchase of significant amounts of personal injury protection insurance made all the difference in the world.

In our case, Jane had purchased PIP in the minimum amount offered by insurance companies. On the other hand, Dick had purchased the coverage for a very high amount. As a result, after it was all said and done, Dick will take home thousands more in cash than Jane, even though their medical expenses and lost time at work were similar.

What Is Uninsured/Undersinsured Motorist Coverage?

In addition to PIP, uninsured and underinsured (UIM) coverage can also be purchased through your auto insurance to protect you in case the person who hits you doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance. At a time when the state regulatory authorities estimate that twenty percent of drivers don’t carry any automobile liability insurance – and a majority seem to have only the minimum limits ($30,000.00) – it’s critical that potential victims protect themselves by purchasing UIM coverage.

Like PIP, you have to pick how much UM/UIM coverage you are going to buy. If you buy it, the minimum that you can currently buy is $30,000.00 of insurance. That’s the most common amount, but we also frequently see clients with $50,000.00, $100,000.00, and even $250,000.00 of coverage.

So how does it work?

If the other driver doesn’t have any insurance, then we figure out the value of your claim, and instead of making a claim against the other driver, we just make it against your policy. If you purchased $30,000.00 of uninsured motorist insurance, and your claim is worth $20,000.00, then your insurance company will pay you the $20,000.00.

You typically can’t recover more than the policy limits. For example, imagine a case where the other driver doesn’t have insurance, you bought $30,000.00 of uninsured motorist coverage, and your claim is worth $50,000.00. In that situation, you don’t get compensated for the full $50,000.00. Instead, the insurance company only has to pay the $30,000.00 of coverage.

If the other driver has insurance, but not enough to compensate you for your injuries, then you make claims on both policies. But, your uninsured motorist coverage carrier gets a credit for any amounts paid by the other driver’s insurance. For example, imagine a situation where the other driver has $30,000.00 of coverage, you have $30,000.00 of uninsured motorist coverage, and your claim is worth $50,000.00.  In that situation, the other driver’s insurance will pay their $30,000.00 of coverage. Your underinsured motorist insurance will then pay you $20,000.00 (the $50,000.00 value of the claim minus the $30,000.00 paid by the other driver’s insurance).

Why Is Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage Important?

As I noted above, a large percentage of Texas drivers are uninsured, and most of the drivers who have insurance have only the $30,000.00 minimum policy.

I routinely have to tell clients that I can’t help them recover the compensation they are due and that their families often need to help go forward because there isn’t enough insurance available. Buying enough UM/UIM insurance can help make sure that you and your family aren’t in that situation.