After another driver causes a crash, you expect to get out of your car and exchange insurance information. After all, the expectation is that you will need to contact the other driver’s insurance company to make a claim. In some shocking situations, one learns that the offending driver doesn’t have a current policy or has extremely limited coverage that won’t even begin to touch your losses. What do you do then?
The attorneys and legal professionals at Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, see this situation all too often. Accident victims come to us—understandably upset—because they’ve been hit by a driver without the proper insurance coverage. Luckily in some cases, we can help you recover compensation for your medical bills and other losses. We ALWAYS explore every possible avenue to get fair compensation for our clients, so please call our office for your FREE accident case consultation today at (800) 898-4877, or contact us now by CLICKING HERE!
Filing an Uninsured Motorist Claim
When purchasing a new insurance policy, you have the option to buy uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. This coverage is activated when you are hit by a driver with no insurance or minimal insurance that won’t cover your losses. While this coverage can add to your monthly premium, it can save you thousands and thousands of dollars out of pocket if you’re ever hit by a driver without enough coverage. It’s always a good idea to protect your health and your finances by purchasing this type of policy.
When another driver causes an accident, you normally would file a claim with that person’s insurance company, which obviously can turn into an adversarial situation. With uninsured motorist coverage, you will deal with your own insurance company—the one you chose and that you pay every month to protect you. You would think this claim process would go much easier than with someone else’s insurance company for these reasons.
Sadly, this isn’t always the case. Insurance companies will try to limit payouts to any claimant—even policyholders with the company. They do this to protect their bottom line—and to the detriment of accident victims even when they are their own paying customers!
If you pay for uninsured motorist coverage, your insurance company should pay you if you’re hit by an uninsured motorist. After paying additionally each month for this extra coverage, you may feel shock if your claim was denied or that your insurer is withholding coverage by offering much, much less than you deserve.
Hiring an attorney who understands uninsured motorist claims can often make the process easier for you with better results. Our attorneys at Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, can make every part of your claim solid from the foundation. We’ll review each settlement offer and offer evidence to prove you deserve much more than your insurance company offers. We can advise you when we feel you have received a favorable offer and when we should keep negotiating. We never back down from insurance companies, and play hardball for our clients.
Unfortunately, many drivers ignore insurance laws and put other drivers at the risk of serious losses each and every day by not purchasing the proper insurance coverage. If you don’t already have uninsured motorist coverage, don’t wait another second—purchase it. You don’t want to suffer due to an accident, but you definitely don’t want an uninsured driver to injure you without you having uninsured motorist coverage. Make sure you have this coverage, and call a member of our legal team to help with your claim as soon as possible!
Accident Victims Without Uninsured Motorist Coverage
If you didn’t have uninsured motorist protection at the time of your crash, your insurance company will likely do little to pay for your injuries. All hope is not lost, however, because we can explore other paths to see if you can recover compensation.
First, we can dig into whether the other driver actually did have insurance coverage available. Sometimes, an insurer will deny a claim, stating the coverage was inactive when the crash occurred. With a little pushing, we may get the insurance company to admit that some coverage was available, resulting in a settlement offer to you.
Another option that you have is to file a personal injury lawsuit against the driver. Just because you get a judgment doesn’t mean you will ever see the money, however. A driver will bear personal responsibility for paying any judgments. Many people without insurance are trying to cut costs or can’t afford the premiums, so an uninsured driver will probably lack the personal assets to cover all of your losses. In addition, the driver can get rid of the judgment by filing for bankruptcy, unless they were drunk at the time of the crash.
Some people may let their insurance lapse simply because they forgot to pay or they failed to set up automatic payments for a new policy. In reality, the driver could afford insurance and may have substantial personal assets and property. In this situation, bankruptcy may not protect them from paying the judgment, and you may collect some or all of the compensation you deserve.
Your car accident attorney should closely examine the specific facts of your uninsured motorist case and explore the situation of the uninsured driver. Never assume that you’ll never get paid after this type of crash—instead, schedule a free consultation with an experienced law firm that knows how to best handle uninsured driver cases.
Our Car Accident Attorneys are Here to Help You
After any crash, you may not know where to turn. You have to deal with your injuries, and the last thing you want to do is search for an attorney and deal with your insurance company. The good news is that our team of attorneys and legal professionals handles every part of a car accident case for our clients so they can focus on their physical recovery.
The nationally recognized attorneys at Stewart J. Guss, Attorney at Law, have fought against insurance companies on behalf of our injured clients for more than 20 years. Because we take all of our personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, you will not owe us a DIME unless we win your case. For your FREE case evaluation, call us today at (800) 898-4877 or contact us now by CLICKING HERE.
