Blog Topic

Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Claims
Posted by: Stephen Leshner
June 27, 2010

I previously posted about uninsured motorist (UM) claims. Those are claims against your own insurance coverage when the person who caused the collision has no insurance coverage. Underinsured motorist (UIM) claims are claims against your own insurance coverage when the person who caused the collision has insurance, but not enough coverage to compensate you for your injuries.

You don't have to be in your insured car to be covered. In fact, you don't have to be in a car at all. In order to be eligible for UIM coverage, you have to be struck by a motor vehicle that has insufficient insurance coverage. You can be in your car, or waking down the street, or at home in your bed when the underinsured car strikes you. Moreover, you don't need to have auto insurance at all to be covered. You do need to be a resident relative of someone who has UIM coverage.

For example, I just settled a case for a client who was injured when his car collided with another car. The other driver was at fault and had $25,000.00 in insurance coverage, which his company paid in full. My client had no insurance coverage on his vehicle. However, he was living with his uncle at the time of the collision. His uncle had $100,000.00 in UIM coverage. Even though my client was not listed as an insured on his uncle's coverage, my client was a "resident relative" of his uncle's household at the time of the collision, under the terms of his uncle's insurance policy, so there was coverage. His uncle's company paid their $100,000.00 policy limits to my client, so my client received a total of $125,000.00 for his injuries.

If you are injured in a motor vehicle collision, a knowledgeable, experienced lawyer can often secure insurance coverage even when there doesn't seem to be any available.

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