Ask a St Louis Personal Injury Lawyer: What if the other driver doesn’t have insurance?
An experienced St Louis Personal Injury Lawyer can find uninsured motorist coverage and under-insured motorist coverage.
What if the other driver does not have car insurance? An experienced St Louis Personal Injury Lawyer knows about uninsured motorist coverage.
If you’re not at fault for the accident, why should you be responsible for the bills? Car accidents can leave a devastating impact on the victim and the family. In some cases, an accident may cause the victim bodily pain and affect the victim’s family members for years afterward. What if the other driver wasn’t insured?
If the other driver is uninsured, and you have valid auto insurance, the answer is probably “yes, you are covered.”
What is UM or UIM?
Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage can pay for injuries to you and your passengers, and in some unique cases damage to your property, when there is an accident and the other driver is both legally responsible for the accident and considered “uninsured” or “underinsured.”
• An uninsured driver is someone who did not have any insurance, had insurance that did not meet state-mandated minimum liability requirements, or whose insurance company denied their claim, or was not financially able to pay it. A hit-and-run driver also counts as uninsured as it relates to bodily injury. In Missouri, actual contact with the other vehicle is not even required.
• An underinsured driver is someone who met minimum legal financial responsibility requirements, but did not have payment limits high enough to cover the damage they caused. In these cases, UM or UIM can pay you for your damages. It is important to note that uninsured and underinsured motorist protections are separate. Having one type of coverage does not mean you have both.
Uninsured motorist bodily injury
Uninsured motorist bodily injury protection can help you in another way. Let’s say you’re a pedestrian. If you carry this coverage and you get hit by a car while you’re trying to cross the street, the coverage could pay your personal injury claim. That could be important, because even if you have medical payments coverage and health insurance, those still won’t pay for lost wages.
In addition to protecting you as a pedestrian, UM/UIM can also protect you and your family members traveling in other cars. As Nicole Mahrt of the American Insurance Association says, “You probably can’t afford to drive without it.”
If you are seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident, you will incur medical expenses. As if to add insult to injury, you may learn that the careless driver who caused the accident did not have insurance. Call an experienced St Louis Personal Injury Lawyer for to assist you with the complex issues of uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage.
If you suffered personal injuries from accident, call a St Louis Personal Injury Lawyer at the Mueller Law Practice, LLC.
At the Mueller Law Practice, we listen to you. Serving Missouri and Illinois. Learn more: 314.421.4441.