An uninsured claim can be made only when the person who caused an accident had no insurance coverage at all. Your own insurance policy may, however, cover what the other person’s insurance should have covered.
For example, let us say that you or someone you love was seriously hurt in a car accident in Chandler that someone else caused. The person who caused the accident should be responsible for paying medical expenses, lost income, pain, frustration, and all other damages resulting from the accident for which the injured party can claim compensation. What would happen, however, if the responsible party had not bothered to pay for insurance? Just because the responsible party did not have an insurance policy does not mean that the injured party is without recourse or cannot make a claim.
A Chandler, Arizona car accident victim may be compensated in such cases if he or she had uninsured motorist coverage in the same manner in which they would have been compensated had the negligent party had at fault insurance.
Underinsured motorist coverage deals with similar situations. It is utilized more frequently when serious injuries result from an automobile accident. Let us theorize that a negligent driver causes an accident resulting in a serious injury that costs a considerable amount of money to treat. Medical expenses in some cases are so high that the other person’s insurance does not cover all of the medical bills, leaving no money available to reimburse lost wages from being unable to work or for anything else the law allows compensation.
By contacting a top Chandler car accident lawyer, you will not only be able to learn what your case may be worth, but you will also find out if there is additional insurance coverage that was unknown. In cases of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, it may often require the services of an experienced personal injury trial lawyer to find the coverage that will allow full and fair compensation after a Chandler car accident that was not your fault.
Obviously, the amount of medical bills, the amount of wage loss, the amount of the other person’s policy and the injured driver’s underinsured policy change on a case-by-case basis. But what’s essential is to purchase these additional coverage options to protect you or your loved ones if an uninsured or underinsured driver causes an accident while you’re on the road.
Finding underinsured motorist coverage and uninsured motorist coverage policies in particular can require an experienced Arizona personal injury trial attorney. A competent litigator knows how to locate the clauses in the policy that protect you by allowing full and fair compensation for everything you or a family member has gone through after a car accident.
If you or a loved one has recently been in an auto accident in Peoria, the experienced Peoria car accident lawyers at Breyer Law Offices, P.C. can help. We always offer free, no-cost consultations and are more than happy to answer any questions that you may have. Call 623-930-8064 today.
Underinsured motorist coverage is called upon more frequently than uninsured coverage when the injuries suffered in an auto accident are more serious. Let’s say a driver causes a serious injury that requires a substantial amount of costly medical treatment. Phoenix personal injury lawyers have seen first-hand how medical costs can be so great in some cases that the at-fault party’s insurance does not even cover the hospital bills. And if the policy cannot even cover those expenses, it is unlikely to sufficiently reimburse past and future lost wages, rehabilitation, or other expenses that are allowed by law. In these cases, uninsured motorist coverage claims are made.
An uninsured motorist claim allows an injured motorist to turn to her own insurance policy (or a family member or other loved one’s policy, which may also cover the motorist even if she did not pay for the policy herself) to defray medical expenses, pain, frustration, and all the lost wages and other losses left over when the other driver’s insurance policy limit has been reached. So if the person at fault had a $100,000 insurance policy and the injured party incurs $80,000 in medical bills, the injury victim’s medical bills alone nearly exhaust the entire policy. If the claim includes damages for pain and suffering or ongoing rehabilitation costs, the person who caused the accident does not have enough insurance to cover the entire claim.
In this case, the injured party would be very interested to find out that she has taken out an underinsured motorist coverage policy. If her policy provides an extra payment in this circumstance, she could claim the money that should have been otherwise paid out by the at-fault driver’s insurance, had it been sufficient.
To learn more about what role underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage may play in your auto accident case, please feel free to contact the experienced Peoria car accident lawyers at Breyer Law Offices, P.C. We have assisted many injury victims in obtaining the compensation that they deserve for their injuries sustained in accidents with uninsured and/or underinsured motorists.
In the first blog of our two-part series, we will begin our discussion regarding uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage is an automobile policy option that covers you for property damage and bodily injury caused by another motorist who does not carry car insurance.
Let’s look at an example.
Say you’re badly hurt in an auto accident in Maricopa County and the accident was caused by a negligent driver. Under Arizona law, that negligent driver is responsible for paying for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages. But what happens if that person doesn’t have any car insurance?
If that’s the case, then you could use the uninsured motorist coverage in your policy (if you have that kind of coverage). So your own car insurance would provide the compensation for your injuries and the expenses incurred.
Underinsured motorist coverage is similar, but it deals with situations where the negligent driver has insurance, but it’s not enough to compensate you for your injuries or damages.
Here’s an example.
Say, for instance, you’re involved in a car accident in Maricopa County and you’re seriously injured. Because of your injuries you require a lot of medical care. The bills rack up and get so high that the at fault driver’s insurance policy no longer covers the amount of the medical expenses, not to mention the wages you are missing out on because you can’t work. In this kind of scenario, you’d access your underinsured motorist coverage in order to make up the difference. Your underinsured motorist coverage can then help pay for your medical expenses, current and future lost wages, and any pain and suffering that you’ve endured.
Please refer to our next blog post to learn more about the major differences between underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage.
Did you know that almost a quarter of all drivers in Arizona do not have any car insurance? To make matters worse, a recent study showed that because of the economy, more and more people are dropping their insurance altogether. For those who aren’t, many are decreasing the amount of car coverage they carry. According to the report, the Insurance Research Council (IRC) has estimated that by 2010, one in six drivers will be uninsured if economic struggles persist.
This is a huge red flag and a warning to all Arizona drivers!
As Arizona auto accident attorneys helping people in Scottsdale, Tempe, Globe, Mesa, and throughout the East and West Valley, we have seen far too many people who have been tragically injured – and who did not have enough insurance coverage to protect them. That is why it is vital for Arizona residents to purchase adequate amounts of underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage.
If you suffer serious personal injury in Arizona from an auto accident caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver, your best chance of getting any financial recovery comes from having purchased these types of coverage before the accident happened. The good news is that the cost for underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage is relatively small.
Perhaps it sounds strange to many that Arizona personal injury lawyers who go against insurance companies for a living would encourage people to buy more insurance. However, we’ve seen how auto accidents can destroy lives physically, emotionally – and financially. If having the right insurance protects victims of car accident in Arizona, then we’re all for it. For more information regarding your Phoenix uninsured or underinsured motorist claim, contact Breyer Law Offices, P.C.
