UM/UIM Coverage FAQs
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Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is a type of insurance that you may buy when you purchase your own car insurance. It is designed to protect you when you are involved in an accident caused by a driver who doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance to fully compensate you for all of your injuries. If you purchased it, it provides coverage for you or anyone in your car when your car is involved in a wreck. It also covers you in almost unlimited circumstances as long as you are injured by an uninsured/underinsured driver — it can apply when you are in someone else’s car, while you’re a pedestrian, while you’re riding a bike, or while you’re sitting on your front porch.
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about uninsured/underinsured motorist claims:
Initiating your uninsured/underinsured motorist claim is not difficult. First, you will need to set up the claim. The easiest way to do this is to call the claims number your insurance company provides. This should be on your insurance card or you can find it on the Internet.
The insurance company will then begin investigating your claim. They will send you release forms in an effort to get information . These will likely include a release that will allow them to get your medical records and your payroll records.
You must be careful in filling out these forms. Most of the insurance company forms allow insurance companies to obtain more information than they need and than they should be allowed to obtain. Properly navigating this process is one of the more important reasons to hire an attorney in your claim.
After you complete treatment and the insurance company obtains all of your records, then you will begin negotiating your claim. Remember, while this is your own insurance company, they are still your adversaries in this process. Do not trust what they tell you, and do not think you can rely on the, for advice on how to proceed or go forward in your claim.
Some states have complicated rules to calculate what an uninsured/underinsured (“UM/UIM”) carrier must pay. Texas isn’t one of them.
In Texas, the insurance company simply gets a credit for the limits of the other driver’s insurance. If your claim is worth $50,000 and the other driver has $30,000 in insurance, then your company owes you $20,000.
If you make a personal injury protection (“PIP”) claim or a medical payments (“MedPay”) claim, the insurance company is entitled to a credit for that amount. For example, if your UM/UIM claim is worth $20,000, but your insurance company has already paid you $5,000 for PIP, then your insurance company will only owe you $15,000.
The exception to this is when your claims exceed the value of your policy limits. For example, if your UM/UIM claim is worth $40,000, but you only have $30,000 of UM/UIM insurance, the company must say the full $30,000 even if it had already paid you some amount for PIP or MedPay.
Uninsured/underinsured insurance policies contain provisions that allow your company to insist on a process called an examination under oath. In this process, you will attend a meeting with a lawyer for the insurance company and a court reporter.
The reporter will administer an oath, much like you see on tv when people are sworn into testify in court. The attorney will then ask you questions, and the reporter will take down all of the questions and all of your answers. Because you are sworn under oath, your testimony is subject to the same penalties of perjury as if you were testifying live in court.
Insurance company lawyers have a number of tricks designed to trip you up during an examination under oath. As a result, it’s really important to properly prepare for an examination under oath. Your attorney should spend a fair amount of time helping you prepare for the examination under oath.
The short answer is “yes.” However, there are special rules governing hit and run claims.
The first question is whether it’s a true hit and run. Just because the other driver fails to stop doesn’t make the case a “hit and run” case for uninsured/underinsured coverage purposes. If you are able to track down the other driver down (for example, through a license plate or witnesses), then it’s not a “hit and run” driver, and the special rules don’t apply.
Does Your UM/UIM Insurance Cover You While Riding A Bicycle Or Walking?
In these situations, there are two primary places you can look for coverage.
First, look to the insurance company that covers the vehicle you are in or using. Any uninsured/underinsured policy provides coverage to the driver and all passengers occupying the vehicle when it is in an accident with an uninsured/underinsured motorist.